freo84
Norm Smith Medallist
You're right on Wagner and it's more than likely Walters is out rd 1.
Preview 2025 Best 22 Discussion
- Thread starter Spirit Level
- Start date
- Tagged users None
- Aug 20, 2010
- 6,353
- 12,675
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
- Other Teams
- Manchester City
I'm predicting Draper and Cox are both B23 when fully fit. I mean, that's pretty obvious, particularly for Cox who is close to AA at his best. Recency bias kicking in ITT.
Fair chance Cox and Darcy in particular return to their best. Watch out if they do, Freo would be arguably the most talented squad in the league if all players are fit.
I'll do my own pre-Xmas squad.
B. Walker, Pearce, Ryan
HB. Chapman, Cox, Clark
C. NOD, Brayshaw, Sharp
HF. Frederick, Treacy, Bolton
F. Switkowski, Amiss, Jackson
Followers. Darcy, Young, Serong
I. Sturt, Draper, Johnson, Erasmus
S. Fyfe
I think it's certain this will change by March. Interestingly, when I look at that B22, the guy on the weakest footing is Sharp.
Unreal amount of talent pushing in. Bruce, Simpson the best of the youth. Very solid experienced depth in JOM, Wagner, Walters, Aish, Narkle, McDonald, Voss.
Exciting year ahead. I'm also keen to see how Murphy, Davies, Riddle, Carr, and Nichols go down at Peel.
Fair chance Cox and Darcy in particular return to their best. Watch out if they do, Freo would be arguably the most talented squad in the league if all players are fit.
I'll do my own pre-Xmas squad.
B. Walker, Pearce, Ryan
HB. Chapman, Cox, Clark
C. NOD, Brayshaw, Sharp
HF. Frederick, Treacy, Bolton
F. Switkowski, Amiss, Jackson
Followers. Darcy, Young, Serong
I. Sturt, Draper, Johnson, Erasmus
S. Fyfe
I think it's certain this will change by March. Interestingly, when I look at that B22, the guy on the weakest footing is Sharp.
Unreal amount of talent pushing in. Bruce, Simpson the best of the youth. Very solid experienced depth in JOM, Wagner, Walters, Aish, Narkle, McDonald, Voss.
Exciting year ahead. I'm also keen to see how Murphy, Davies, Riddle, Carr, and Nichols go down at Peel.
Last edited:
- Dec 6, 2020
- 3,681
- 7,820
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
You’re right, but I wish you weren’t, like Fyfe and Walters, JOM will get selected ahead of others just because of his name and how many games he’s played. Reality is NOD will be a better winger who can rotate inside but will have to smash through the door rather than push it open.
Any chance of an away team and a home team?
Fyfe, walters and to a lesser extent jom for the home team, younger options who travel and heal better for the away team?
(Still think prime fyfe and walters have a role to play - but there is no way they can play week in weak out any more!
Fyfe, walters and to a lesser extent jom for the home team, younger options who travel and heal better for the away team?
(Still think prime fyfe and walters have a role to play - but there is no way they can play week in weak out any more!
Personally I think Sharp is comfortably B22.
From your team I still have JOM ahead of Ras but it’s close.
And Wagner v Draper is a close one too - could depend on match ups.
I think I’d have Walters ahead of Ras if he’s fully fit too. Hmm, hard to get it down to only 23.
Days break and travel is another consideration.
I wouldn’t be playing Walters, Fyfe, and O’Meara on 6 or less day breaks.
Travel wise maybe they don’t play in Northern states.
All of them. Having Aish, Banners, Switta, Ras, Draper, Fyfe and Walters as our bottom 6 or 7, not sure that’s premiership class in 2025. I Might be harsh on Switta but he needs an outstanding season from here on in.
Always talk here about us resting players on short breaks and long travels. But it hardly happens in reality.
Sounds smart on paper, but somehow the match commitee doesn't agree.
Anyway, I'd say the few selection troubles we have here will sort themselves out with injuries anyway. Hopefully not in positions we have little depth...
Sounds smart on paper, but somehow the match commitee doesn't agree.
Anyway, I'd say the few selection troubles we have here will sort themselves out with injuries anyway. Hopefully not in positions we have little depth...
DocT
Club Legend
- Sep 4, 2022
- 1,028
- 2,201
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
Yes, good observations.
Obviously first prize is to play the same 23 week in week out with occasional changes for specific match-ups. The pro-side to that is connection/unity. But the concomitant con-side is rigidity. And it is obviously also impossible - s**t happens.
So team flexibility is a key part of success - especially for a team that travels far and wide and often.
I would like to see a change in match-committee mentality. Replace the best 23 concept with a best 30. Treat players missing a week as genuinely being rested for their personal good and the good of the whole. I think we'd have a stronger team overall as a result.
That’s the bottom 6 or 7 of our best 29 though - the only 1 people are regularly naming best 22 is Switta. I think they stack up ok as players 23-30 on a top 8 list (add Voss, McDonald and Brodie to the list too. And maybe Simpson)
I agree rarely happens and is therefore unlikely. But we won a final in Geelong, which rarely happens, after doing something that rarely happens the week before.
There are a couple of factors which make it worth considering:
- the results of the last 4 games this year took us from likely finalists to also rans. Yes injuries were the root cause, but prior to the injuries we had given almost no opportunity for the replacements to see game time and were clearly unprepared.
- our veterans, especially Fyfe, were much better earlier in the season than later. Reversing that is huge, plus giving opportunity to the likes of Erasmus, Johnson and O'Driscoll to step up makes sense. Fyfe is likely gone next season, and we can maximise his final time better.
Fyfe had 3 Brownlow votes and turned back the clock in a vintage performance v the Western bulldogs this year at Optus.
They dropped him to sub the very next week against Richmond, presumably to “rest” him, and he came on for the final quarter, and didn’t hit that level of performance that he had achieved v the Bulldogs again for the remainder of the season.
Sometimes we can just be too clever. Have always felt if someone hits a rich vein of form don’t do anything to upset that.
You my friend are truly blessed with that (not quite) universal and glorious gift of hindsight.
Now, as for foresight...
That will get you stoned to death!
lnteresting response. I didn't suggest that if someone is playing at their peak you rest them. But if the Brains that run our club can't figure out how to get us deep into finals (which they stunningly didn't manage this season) then we need a brain transplant..
DeanoDocker
Premium Platinum
- Mar 15, 2023
- 15
- 56
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
He will be played I agree, but its not the end of the world - I though JOM had some really good stand up moments last year - kicked some goals when we needed them a few times and was reliable in those clutch times also with some delivery.
But I also agree, JOM, Walters and Fyfe is a difficult one - all three in and you feel its holding back the teams potential the way the game is played these days. But all three deserve the utmost respect and handling in their last run at it.
JL will need a HR degree the first 3 months with all the juggling he will be doing
- Feb 19, 2016
- 802
- 3,944
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
100% this. Most agreeing they aren't all best 22(23). Plus some of those names, like Draper and Ras will be on the improve too.
Oh I’m 100% with you there. I would describe last years 10th place finish as massive failure.
I guess my faith in the brains trust at freo is shaky, at best I would say. Thats based purely on what we have seen in 5 years of the JL era.
David Walls has provided the club a very strong list. There’s absolutely no way this squad should be outside the top 5 based on talent, age profile and games played, particularly of our top 10 or 12 guys who have mostly played at least 70 or 80 games each minimum.
On the plus side the national media is starting to ramp up the expectation and pressure too which is overdue and might result in some actual accountability if we fail again in 2025.
Kane Cornes for example has stated this list should be playing on prelim final weekend in 2025 or the season will have been a failure. Others like Lyon, Healy and co are also talking us up big time.
- Mar 26, 2018
- 713
- 887
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
30 is a lot. That's 7 guys either rested or sub every week. Basically, every one of the 30 would miss 1 in 4 games if you legitimately treat it as best 30.
Best 25 would be a more realistic concept.
On Pixel 8a using BigFooty.com mobile app
I’m certainly no genius or blessed but then again I wouldnt have thought you’d need to be, to leave a guy that was BOG in the 22 for the following week.
Anyway it’s a minor issue in the broader scheme of things but the earlier point - resting old guys for away games - gets bandied about a lot in the AFL by fans but I don’t recall it happening too often in reality.
Has a WA team ever played an older team member every second game for home games only? Certainly don’t remember it happening.
I suppose one could argue that Dusty Martin and Lance Franklin got that treatment a bit at the very end of their careers. Not sure it helped their teams that much though.
AFL Coaches don’t like making much change to 22s at AFL level week to week. There was a stat going around of the % of defeats if you made more than 4 or 5 changes to the 22 from the previous week and it really reinforced that fact that you are much more likely to lose if there’s too much disruption to the 22 from the previous week.
Coaches do indeed make changes to optimise the best 22 for critical games. Two irrefutable examples:I’m certainly no genius or blessed but then again I wouldnt have thought you’d need to be, to leave a guy that was BOG in the 22 for the following week.
Anyway it’s a minor issue in the broader scheme of things but the earlier point - resting old guys for away games - gets bandied about a lot in the AFL by fans but I don’t recall it happening too often in reality.
Has a WA team ever played an older team member every second game for home games only? Certainly don’t remember it happening.
I suppose one could argue that Dusty Martin and Lance Franklin got that treatment a bit at the very end of their careers. Not sure it helped their teams that much though.
AFL Coaches don’t like making much change to 22s at AFL level week to week. There was a stat going around of the % of defeats if you made more than 4 or 5 changes to the 22 from the previous week and it really reinforced that fact that you are much more likely to lose if there’s too much disruption to the 22 from the previous week.
- under Lyon we did not take our best side to Tasmania, so they could be cherry ripe for the next game. That's about as disruptive as you can get.
- Geelong focused on having Ottens in form and available for the second half of the season and finals. They gambled they could make finals without him, but not win finals without him.
The word 'managed' has crept into common usage as well, and indicates not selecting a player who otherwise could have played if the stakes demanded it.
I think Fyfe and Walters should both be managed. We have seen that they struggle to play an entire season, and I think there is greater value having them later, when we fell away this year.
Josh Draper fits the perfect interchange player.
I think he has plenty of versatility and can come onto the ground to a number of positions without disrupting other players .
Selection committees are locked into the old thinking that you don’t flirt with form and only make changes due to form and injuries.
It’s short term thinking, AFL is brutal sport and it’s smart to load manage players. Older and younger players struggle to get through a whole season. People talk about not playing injured players, I would added don’t play player that are not 100%.
This is a stretch of games where it would be stupid not to load managed our younger and older players.
6. Melbourne at the MCG - six day break
7. Adelaide at Home - six day break
8. St Kilda at Docklands - seven day break
9. Collingwood at home - six day break
10. Giants away - nine day break.
From rounds 5 to 7 we play three games in 12 days. Perfect opportunity to rest our younger and older players. Plus load manage the other players in reduced roles and time on ground.
Last edited:
DocT
Club Legend
- Sep 4, 2022
- 1,028
- 2,201
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
I wasn't meaning to imply that you rotate 7 every week. Just to shift the mentality for a B23 with all other players viewed as injured/depth/development to a B30 with the expectation that rotating these players thru the team as necessary does not imply that people are being dropped or rested as a dire necessity. It is a way of changing what many people believe to be an inflexibility on the part of the match committee.
