Coach Justin Longmuir

[Bradesmaen]

Under Longmuir we improved goal scoring from 2019-22 by 1 goal a game. That's it. This is the crux of the issue I had with JL from the 2020 season despite being covid affected and the last two. There doesn't seem to be any drastic improvement coming either. We'll squeak out games here and there, but it'll be dour

 

[Pommie Docker]

Having calmed down a bit now and taking a more rational approach, I don't know if Jlo is the guy going forward but this year is a great test. We have some glaring holes and whether he can fix them and fix the team will say a lot.

 

[Sweetback]

Got it

I agree with the mentor side of things. And he is a relatively inexperienced senior coach, however, some are here and gone within 4 seasons. I agree he needs a mentor and personally do not think Bell is the football mind needed to help mentor a coach. It is an area of deficiency.

Who could we get that could be our version of a Balme? And what power would they have considering Bell holds the football role?

There’s a highly respected bloke named Graham Lowe who was GM at the doggies when they won the flag. Everywhere he goes success follows him.

Edit: I should add that Graham is working as a consultant now, which would be a way to get around Belly’s role.

 

[purplearmy]

JLO plays fake footy. Way too cautious, seemingly doesn’t trust his players and if we don’t win on the weekend the season is on life support. This isn’t the way a team that claims a grand final is a year or so away plays.

 

[heypenny]

Having calmed down a bit now and taking a more rational approach, I don't know if Jlo is the guy going forward but this year is a great test. We have some glaring holes and whether he can fix them and fix the team will say a lot.

Agree with this. I've been sceptical of Jlo as a coach however he has credits in the bank to give him more time. Last year we had a very good year (half a win from top 4) with a very young squad. Things haven't clicked in the first two matches but the hysteria from some supporters is next level.

This year will be a very good test. It's better knowing what our deficiencies are now. Let's see if they can be fixed. Jlo is contracted till 2024 which works well. I think he has time even if we finish around the 9th-12th mark. Setting up 2024 as the final year to make a decision on his future.

 

[Docker82]

Since Longmuir took over we’ve brought in:

2019:
Young - Could be one of the best kicks in the league
Frederick - Lightning fast, great athleticism, decent enough skills

2020:
Chapman - Again great kick and good athlete.
O’Driscoll - Decent enough kick generally but kicks wonder goals out of his a**. Seems a good runner too.
Walker - Seems an alright kick but has some real wheels.

2021:
Clark - Again very good kick and a set of wheels

Seems beyond bizarre we’re playing how we are given we’ve drafted the above players to do literally the opposite.

Those players drafted/traded in that are in and around the best 30 currently include Serong, Henry, Aish, Treacy, Brodie, Amiss, Erasmus, Johnson, Jackson, O’Meara. Outside of maybe Brodie and O’Meara I’m not seeing many players not suited to the style most fans want the team to play.

It’s truly bizarre the more you analyse tbh.

 

[theGav56]

That's all well and good. There's nil proven coaches though.
Clarkson was the last. The ones that got sacked last year were terrible.

The likely move would be someone like Hinkley. Someone with some runs on the board who may benefit from a fresh challenge

I'm not advocating it, but if you want a somewhat proven coach, that's the kind of move.

 

[Dockeroo]

Wouldnt be surprised if Beveridge is sacked by the dogs within a few weeks. Not sure if I would want him here though

 

[s_wd6]

Wouldnt be surprised if Beveridge is sacked by the dogs within a few weeks. Not sure if I would want him here though

Have a look at the quality in that dogs forward line compared to ours. Guess who’s scored more goals this year…wouldn’t be going anywhere near him. Dogs should sack him for sure.

 

[ROGS]

Since Longmuir took over we’ve brought in:

2019:
Young - Could be one of the best kicks in the league
Frederick - Lightning fast, great athleticism, decent enough skills

2020:
Chapman - Again great kick and good athlete.
O’Driscoll - Decent enough kick generally but kicks wonder goals out of his a**. Seems a good runner too.
Walker - Seems an alright kick but has some real wheels.

2021:
Clark - Again very good kick and a set of wheels

Seems beyond bizarre we’re playing how we are given we’ve drafted the above players to do literally the opposite.

Those players drafted/traded in that are in and around the best 30 currently include Serong, Henry, Aish, Treacy, Brodie, Amiss, Erasmus, Johnson, Jackson, O’Meara. Outside of maybe Brodie and O’Meara I’m not seeing many players not suited to the style most fans want the team to play.

It’s truly bizarre the more you analyse tbh.

Not sure Chappy is a great kick i would say adequate

Lack of depth in their kicking unfortunately is our mids Brodie, Andy and Caleb all three are good competitors at winning the ball but dont have the finishing skills of say a Petruca or even LDU on sat night

Henry cant kick more than 40 metres and Hughes coming off the wing is also not a great kick

Overall our kicking skills are not great (except for young and clark)

 

[Docker82]

Not sure Chappy is a great kick i would say adequate

Lack of depth in their kicking unfortunately is our mids Brodie, Andy and Caleb all three are good competitors at winning the ball but dont have the finishing skills of say a Petruca or even LDU on sat night

Henry cant kick more than 40 metres and Hughes coming off the wing is also not a great kick

Overall our kicking skills are not great (except for young and clark)

You could look at half of every team in the AFL and say their skills aren’t great tbh. We’ve got enough skilled players to more than hold our own.

Don’t think Petracca is a great kick tbh. His strength combined with his ability to break away from a contest is more what makes him one of the competitions best. Certainly don’t think of him as a good kick tbh.

 

[MadEyeEmmy]

I like Justin (yes you’ve all seen the gifs) and I want to believe

 

[theGav56]

Feel slightly nauseated at the current situation to be honest, but what we need is some aggressive coaching moves starting with team selection. Erasmus and Johnson, and a tall forward (Taberner) out for Sturt.

 

[royale with cheese]

The worst part of this start of the season is there are so few identifiable personnel fixes, it’s all on the coach. We went into this season expecting improvement from a young group and we’ve gone backwards.

At least in prior years you could blame injuries, players being too young, or players past their use by date. But no, it’s fundamentally our game style, which is both not winning games and as boring as watching paint dry.

Can’t think of a more disappointing start to the season.

 

[manpurple]

To me there are two main issues with the team at the moment. Slow ball movement and poor conversion of i50's to scores.

Watching us play, I would say that the first is 100% JL's game plan.
The second could be a combination of things. But, IMHO they all boil down to poor i50 delivery and poor forward craft. Once again the first is a product of game plan.

But forward craft is up for debate. I would suggest that Tab's, Treacy, Sturt, Amiss, Corbet, etc... is more than enough in the cattle department. Others are making better headway with less. I have to ask how does everyone rate the forward coaching?
Watching 3 freo forward talls in a pack mark effort only for it to predictably spill, leaves you with questions. Who's roving? Why are they 30m's away? How come the defence only committed 1 or 2 and left the third to rove? Do we not understand that big pack's spill the ball than mark it? I ask because it's common for us. Bad coaching to not address this stuff.

Watching us play, I have lost confidence in JL, the way we move the ball into the forward line and how we coach our forwards. JL makes a great defensive coach and if he doesn't change someone will benefit with him as a backline coach. But, speaking as a former defender, you can't defend your way to a win.

 

[theGav56]

The worst part of this start of the season is there are so few identifiable personnel fixes, it’s all on the coach. We went into this season expecting improvement from a young group and we’ve gone backwards.

Maybe that is the best part.

We have played a different style of game previously under Longmuir. If he has learnt that this current mode isn't working he can fix it.

I don't think the players as individuals would have gone backwards even though they are playing to expectations. Longmuir is the key.

 

[arsesmart]

The worst part of this start of the season is there are so few identifiable personnel fixes, it’s all on the coach. We went into this season expecting improvement from a young group and we’ve gone backwards.

At least in prior years you could blame injuries, players being too young, or players past their use by date. But no, it’s fundamentally our game style, which is both not winning games and as boring as watching paint dry.

Can’t think of a more disappointing start to the season.

Although we are 1 or 2 players on the goal line away from being where we were the same time last year (with a younger team).

 

[Quazar]

I've never really been a fan of J-Lo the person, and that's fairly well documented - but I try never to take things personally as a means of judgement, I mean...I know he can coach and I know he has good credentials, 16 wins from a possible 24 (in the end) last year tells that. Coaching in a real baptism of fire during 2020 as his first year with no crowds and hubs etc would have been very difficult and yet he used it to get to know players and galvanise them, as opposed to the sulky Eagles who threw tanties at every available turn. To be fair - he had his fair share of difficult circumstances to navigate, and his cool-headedness, stoicism, clear-mannered approach etc had helped steer him to 2022, which was a success for a young team on reflection, but sadly now to this point in time where his greatest test has come.

But this stubbornness to see outside the box of what he thinks works could be his undoing, if he doesn't re-assess. It's that simple.

Those last 2 games, should have been wins with a better approach, especially faster ball movement, awareness, bit of dash & dare and willingness to take the game on and attacking 2 teams, one that went in wounded (Saints) and secondly a young (but improved) North at home was more than winnable with the right mindset.

Then you factor in all eyes on the Jackson trade (which wasn't J-Lo's fault, but clearly he has to work with said players to meld them into the team..), the loss of players who did well in the system (Lobb, Logue, Acres..), even if they weren't world beaters. All of a sudden, things don't click and the heat is on.

It puts a heap of pressure on J-Lo, but I'm not happy - with the benefits of hindsight mind you - with the footballing department moreso, especially Bell and Garlick, all this talk of winning by 2025 on thereabouts makes me nervous, it's usually never a good thing to 'declare' you're ready to be "champions" by any year or point in time, if in the likely event it doesn't occur - you're setting yourself up for major backlash. Fans here, for this club are growing impatient. You asked of us to be patient; whilst the club embarrassingly fell off a cliff in late 2015 all through 2016 and a rebuild began, out of the blue. Maybe some saw it coming, but it was still pretty farcical given the club hadn't won a Premiership then, if we'd come off the back of 2 flags or something, most people wouldn't be feeling great consternation (you have to be careful with this word!!), maybe like Hawks fans with their 4 flags in 8 years (2008-2015) era.

But we don't even have that to hang a hat on, it's piss poor. I think the fact that window shut so quickly, so emphatically meant that getting to this point (or last year where we looked 'ready') was always going to be a bumpy journey and a tough assignment but all of a sudden it looked like, finally...our window was back open!!

From this perspective, I feel for J-Lo a bit, he was brought in when Ross was jettisoned from the club in the aftermath of another poor-ish season (2019) with one year left of his extended contract (so also costing the club), the storm in a d-cup (sorry!) over the "budding boobs" scandal, and the growing impatience of fans watching a stale brand of football with loss after loss chalking up in the important columns. The club tried, in my opinion to hasten up the 'rebuild' by adding Lobb and Hogan (we also drafted Sturt, and of course Schultz, Valente....gulp) at the end of 2018, which was necessary even though we have had moderate to disastrous results from that. After all 2019's frontal attack would have been lead by Tabs, McCarthy and Kersten (!) without those moves. Let that sink in for a mo...

But we also lost some quality along the way, some 'sacrificial pawns' to improve our forward half. Neale being the big headline. Ironically, with talk of him seeking a trade back at the end of 2021, he is probably exactly what we need in the middle right now!

In conclusion, the club was caught between a rock and a hard place and tried, with hindsight, in vein, to make us more potent in the forward half...because, well - as we all know, that's where we sucketh the mosteth!

But a lot of that was pre-J-Lo, and even now, the trade/draft scenarios seem to be repeating and causing upheavals. It feels like, whether unintentional, these moves hinder the balance of the team as Justin tries to figure out how best to fit in the likes of O' Meara and Jackson. Even Fyfe. As a consequence, the midfield's all at sea, we're struggling badly out the middle and all of a sudden we look vulnerable, lost and like we're treading water not really sure of our approach and mindset. By the time we're figuring it out, it's too late and we've set the wheels in motion for a loss.

It's just all a bit too familiar, and it's a wider psychology of Fremantle the football outfit, than just J-lo's flaws. Which are still playing there part. But failed trades, bad outcomes, loss of players...new players coming in, all that needs pushing to the side now, we have a decent list and J-Lo's challenge is to get maximum success out of it. He has to get a bit radical now and fix things. It's his greatest test as a coach to date, no free-passes ala 2020 now matey, you've got to get creative. And show not just us, but the footy world at large you have what it takes. Because all eyes are on you and the knives are getting sharper.

And that brings us to the Derby, no better time than taking down your arch-rival. Problem is, we're all nervy as hell now because the start has been so unexpected and poor. The challenge is on J-Lo, can you face the music and reach the high notes..?!?! We want to sing from your hymn sheet, but you're making it hard pal. Time to power up and get a win, half that losing margin column and go on from there....0-3, and it's game over. No coming back from there me thinks. I'm giving J-lo more time, something tells me he'll be looking in that mirror and making that change (sounds like a wacko Jacko song..), but he has no choice now, if he can't see it now...he never will. And his coaching career at Freo will come to a sad demise.

It starts with a win against the slime, and then from there...we need to get going. Has J-Lo got what it takes?!?! I absolutely don't know, but I'm backing him in (for now!) and giving him that benefit of the doubt until the results show otherwise. J-Lo, over to you now....

You're a tall man. Time to stand even taller

 

[mattis117]

To me there are two main issues with the team at the moment. Slow ball movement and poor conversion of i50's to scores.

Watching us play, I would say that the first is 100% JL's game plan.
The second could be a combination of things. But, IMHO they all boil down to poor i50 delivery and poor forward craft. Once again the first is a product of game plan.

But forward craft is up for debate. I would suggest that Tab's, Treacy, Sturt, Amiss, Corbet, etc... is more than enough in the cattle department. Others are making better headway with less. I have to ask how does everyone rate the forward coaching?
Watching 3 freo forward talls in a pack mark effort only for it to predictably spill, leaves you with questions. Who's roving? Why are they 30m's away? How come the defence only committed 1 or 2 and left the third to rove? Do we not understand that big pack's spill the ball than mark it? I ask because it's common for us. Bad coaching to not address this stuff.

Watching us play, I have lost confidence in JL, the way we move the ball into the forward line and how we coach our forwards. JL makes a great defensive coach and if he doesn't change someone will benefit with him as a backline coach. But, speaking as a former defender, you can't defend your way to a win.

Hard to take this seriously when you've missed the number 1 reason we've struggled the first two weeks - losing centre clearance and thus field position.

 

[theGav56]

To me there are two main issues with the team at the moment. Slow ball movement and poor conversion of i50's to scores.

Watching us play, I would say that the first is 100% JL's game plan.
The second could be a combination of things. But, IMHO they all boil down to poor i50 delivery and poor forward craft. Once again the first is a product of game plan.

But forward craft is up for debate. I would suggest that Tab's, Treacy, Sturt, Amiss, Corbet, etc... is more than enough in the cattle department. Others are making better headway with less. I have to ask how does everyone rate the forward coaching?
Watching 3 freo forward talls in a pack mark effort only for it to predictably spill, leaves you with questions. Who's roving? Why are they 30m's away? How come the defence only committed 1 or 2 and left the third to rove? Do we not understand that big pack's spill the ball than mark it? I ask because it's common for us. Bad coaching to not address this stuff.

Watching us play, I have lost confidence in JL, the way we move the ball into the forward line and how we coach our forwards. JL makes a great defensive coach and if he doesn't change someone will benefit with him as a backline coach. But, speaking as a former defender, you can't defend your way to a win.

I like your post.

In the end I think pointing to an assistant coach or players is a deflection. My assumption is that they follow the senior coach's instructions. That stretches from kicking long and high to the forwards, to defenders switching sideways, to where the ball is going to go in the forward line, to us having 1 midfield bull who can only play restricted gane time. These assistants and these players are team Longmuir.

To me it looks a bit like the forwards and forward coach have rehearsed for a different situation than what they are presented during a game (Lyon is a disruptive coach who actively works to take away what the opposition wants to happen).

After that we don't appear to have a cohesive response. Longmuir doesn't seem to have any instructions or plan for what to do next.

 

[Square Peg]

I like your post.

In the end I think pointing to an assistant coach or players is a deflection. My assumption is that they follow the senior coach's instructions. That stretches from kicking long and high to the forwards, to defenders switching sideways, to where the ball is going to go in the forward line, to us having 1 midfield bull who can only play restricted gane time. These assistants and these players are team Longmuir.

To me it looks a bit like the forwards and forward coach have rehearsed for a different situation than what they are presented during a game (Lyon is a disruptive coach who actively works to take away what the opposition wants to happen).

After that we don't appear to have a cohesive response. Longmuir doesn't seem to have any instructions or plan for what to do next.

It's true that ultimately the buck stops with the senior coach, but Graham's credentials for a future head coach job of his own are heading south if he can't fix the forward line.

How is it preferred to have three tall stationary forwards refusing to lead/dummy lead/separate/create space/block, all standing within 10 metres of one another waving their arms about.

What are they trying to achieve? I'm genuinely curious, there must be a strategy to it, what is it?

Is it because we think it's easier for the mids to just bomb it in long because we don't trust the mids foot skills to find a hit up target and we want deep entries not shallow ones? Is it because we wan't to create stoppages in dangerous spots and score from these with our superior rucks? Is it because we don't trust our tall forwards to do tall forwards things?

I'd love to know the thinking. These guys aren't dumb and Graham has had forward lines absolutely humming at the eagles. What's going on?

 

[royale with cheese]

Maybe that is the best part.

We have played a different style of game previously under Longmuir. If he has learnt that this current mode isn't working he can fix it.

I don't think the players as individuals would have gone backwards even though they are playing to expectations. Longmuir is the key.

Yes, it has a simple solution (improve the coaching or replace the coach) but also does not follow the normal cycle of footy. At least in 2007 and 2016 it was somewhat expected, we all knew that we would eventually decline given age and quality of the list at that time.

 

[Scham]

It's interesting that the buck stops with JLo now but when Ross was coaching the forwardline issues were ALL down to David Hale

David Hale

Age

40

Ht

201cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.6

3star

K

5.7

2star

HB

4.9

4star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.0

4star

G

0.9

4star

No current season stats available

D

6.6

2star

K

4.6

2star

HB

2.0

2star

M

3.6

4star

T

0.8

3star

G

0.4

3star

.

 

[Alfonz]

It's true that ultimately the buck stops with the senior coach, but Graham's credentials for a future head coach job of his own are heading south if he can't fix the forward line.

How is it preferred to have three tall stationary forwards refusing to lead/dummy lead/separate/create space/block, all standing within 10 metres of one another waving their arms about.

What are they trying to achieve? I'm genuinely curious, there must be a strategy to it, what is it?

Is it because we think it's easier for the mids to just bomb it in long because we don't trust the mids foot skills to find a hit up target and we want deep entries not shallow ones? Is it because we wan't to create stoppages in dangerous spots and score from these with our superior rucks? Is it because we don't trust our tall forwards to do tall forwards things?

I'd love to know the thinking. These guys aren't dumb and Graham has had forward lines absolutely humming at the eagles. What's going on?

Graham had good forwards at WC. I think people overestimate how much a forward coach can do with forwards that don't have natural forward craft. As much as they are drilled and coached, natural instinct still plays a large part in the forward line. Things happen in games that are unpredictable and random, and players need to react. I don't think it is something that can be taught and that's why you need to draft proper forwards, not shoehorn people into the roles.

Freddy, Schultz, Switta, Banfield are all guys who try hard, but they are often running to the wrong spot and are not natural forwards. Taberner has never learnt how to lead properly and is a poor decision maker. Jackson is a ruckman with very little KPF experience, and we are just relying on his athletic traits to do something in the F50. Darcy is obviously a ruckman first and foremost. That was basically our whole forward line for much of the game versus North, plus a learning Amiss.

Sturt and Treacy I think have forward smarts, but on the outer. Amiss clearly the most natural forward, but green and on the fringe in the selector's minds. Walters obviously has runs on the board, but only played about 1 quarter this year and will retire soon. For all the hubris directed at Fyfe, I do believe he is one of our most natural forwards, but his body is approaching the end.

 

[manpurple]

Hard to take this seriously when you've missed the number 1 reason we've struggled the first two weeks - losing centre clearance and thus field position.

I take your point whilst noting Collingwood lost this stat comprehensively last year and out performed us. But they play a different game style.

I would argue that even fixing this (ie performing as we did last year) will not take us to ultimate success, as others have moved beyond this. Clearances don't guarantee wins. Geelong 35 CL vs Carlton 32. GC 42 vs Ess 36. Make them easier granted. But the majority of the competition seems to regard rebound scores as the gold standard KPI for win prediction. Can't see these sorts of stats myself so who knows.