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AFLW 2024 - Round 6 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
Training Preseason 2024
- Thread starter DragoDelph
- Start date
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Travel needs to be our strength, not our weakness.
We should be the best at it. Our routines, our adaptation to time difference, our knowledge of other grounds, our response to hostile crowds, our Intel on opposition. These need to be first rate.
And when teams travel to play us it should be a major disadvantage for them. They deal with the travel, deal with time difference, our hostile crowd, and Hells Bells.
All things being equal, that is enough to expect sustained finals appearances.
We should be the best at it. Our routines, our adaptation to time difference, our knowledge of other grounds, our response to hostile crowds, our Intel on opposition. These need to be first rate.
And when teams travel to play us it should be a major disadvantage for them. They deal with the travel, deal with time difference, our hostile crowd, and Hells Bells.
All things being equal, that is enough to expect sustained finals appearances.
We need to start like this - by the end of the first quarter we were well on top:
Dardy's best game for the club
It’s already got me a slightly rigid at the thought of it.
Lachie Schultz debut. His family looked so happy in the crowd with their purple scarves
- Jun 30, 2011
- 6,865
- 14,127
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
We are ready to pop, time and gone time in fact. List is stacked.
If Longmuir can't get us to finals this year his tenure should not just be under a cloud: If he fails forget sacking, he should be unmasked in the ring and killed.
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All of these guys were in the best 22 in 2019: Ballas, Lobb, Mundy, Tucker, Logue, Hill, Cerra, Matera, Conca, McCarthy, Hogan, Blakely, Langdon, Schultz. (Also, Banfield, Tabs and Hughes were playing then and might struggle this year). That's not a restump. That's a complete rebuild.
Disagree.
Have holes in the list.
Wings - so inexperienced. Will be a work in progress and possibly exposed against the top teams.
Key Defensive Position- Have no faith whatsoever in Pearce. Cox just went down with a leg injury. Who's next? McDonald?
But most important of all
Small forwards- absolutely no one ready to step into Schulz's spot and kick 30-40 goals. Switkowski can't, it's not his position. Emmett is still in his second year. Delean hasn't debuted. Walters is the only specialist in the spot, and he's 33. Sturt, Frederick, Banfield are medium forwards.
Expectations are low. The teams in the top 8 or thereabouts have better lists and/or spread.
Expecting Adelaide to rise, Essendon to improve, Bulldogs to get back in. Sydney to hang around.
Save a couple of names, that list makes me want to scratch my eyes out. The restump period 2016-2018 was the stuff of nightmares.
freo84
Norm Smith Medallist
I dont expect anything from Essendon. In fact i see them dropping off. I just don't see it with them.
Purple Jesus
not jess
Fingernail deep analysis as per.
Alex Pearce has played 20+ games two years in a row and people still act like he's Morabito. Take away impact injuries and he's no more injury prone than most AFL players. A botched surgical procedure or two meaning he took two years to get through one injury didn't help either.
Unlucky impact injuries can happen to anyone. Look at Michael Barlow - he'd never been injured in his life!
With McDonald on the list an injury to one of our KPDs isn't an excuse. Hamling isn't a major loss - if anything it's a good thing we were forced to replace him before we became a much better side.
I'm not that much more concerned about Pearce than guys like Serong, Brayshaw and Jackson tbh.
Unlucky impact injuries can happen to anyone. Look at Michael Barlow - he'd never been injured in his life!
With McDonald on the list an injury to one of our KPDs isn't an excuse. Hamling isn't a major loss - if anything it's a good thing we were forced to replace him before we became a much better side.
I'm not that much more concerned about Pearce than guys like Serong, Brayshaw and Jackson tbh.
- Dec 6, 2020
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Disagree.
Wings: whoever gets to start of Sharp, NOD, Chapman, Johnson or Stanley will be an improvement on Henry, Hughes and Aish (who played majority of games there last year) this is going to make us look significantly better.
KPDs: Pearce, Cox, McDonald can all play at AFL level, Draper, Davies and Murphy all developing but Draper has been lining up on Amiss and Treacy in Preseason and would fill the breach if required.
Small Forward: we played too many last year, Frederick is a small and with Walters is very capable of kicking 30+ this year. If we go small, Switta plays more forward minutes, with Delean and Simpson developing, if we go for a medium Emmett, JOM, Erasmus, Banfield all fighting for a starting 22 spot, whoever wins will be ready.
Bombers essentially replaced what they lost. Won’t move up imo.
Crows lost a defender in Doedee. Sure they are young but if tex declines they could be in trouble.
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Schultz is the only major negative I see from last year. Agree we played two many forwards last year but Schultz is genuinely one of the top 5-10 small forwards in the comp. He'll be hard to replace. Again though he's one player and this isn't basketball.
I don't care about the loss of Henry at all at this stage. Maybe that'll change if he gets better (which he probably will) but him running around getting 20+ cheap possessions and chipping it 20-30m most disposals wasn't hurting any opposition teams. Doesn't have the speed to hurt opposition teams either. Our current wingers might not be an upgrade in 2024 but I don't think Henry is any more than just an okay player.
Hamling is a 30 year old depth KPD. As we showed by picking up McDonald he's easily replaced. People are too worried about depth. Depth is easily replaced - best 22 players are not always.
We won't live or die by Schultz going. He's a small forward, and they are generally ineffective if the rest of your team isn't performing. He wins medals against West Coast because the team dominates and it gives him opportunities which he takes well.
If we don't improve the rest of our game, Schultz being there or not won't make any difference. He doesn't separate games. So it's absolutely laughable to use him as a reason why we won't improve.
Henry was definitely just serviceable last year. I think he'll get a lot better than that, but we won't miss it because he never did it here.
I'm far more concerned with Darcy and Cox with limited preseasons.
If we don't improve the rest of our game, Schultz being there or not won't make any difference. He doesn't separate games. So it's absolutely laughable to use him as a reason why we won't improve.
Henry was definitely just serviceable last year. I think he'll get a lot better than that, but we won't miss it because he never did it here.
I'm far more concerned with Darcy and Cox with limited preseasons.
It's not just Tex. Sloane (albeit a role player now), Smith and Laird have been stalwarts and are now the wrong side of 30.
KPD is an issue with Murray ACL. They might be asking a lot of Curtin in his first year.
Having said that, they did play some great football last year. I was more impressed with some of their losses (away to Pies, Demons, Lions) than their wins. More scoring shots and inside 50's in each game and played like a genuine top 4 side. So I can understand why people would have them as top 4 chances under the assumption the old guys above don't drop off too much and the younger guys improve.
I think the Crows getting better requires more heavy lifting from young guys. Rachelle and Rankine the obvious two in terms of talent. I don't think Sloane or Smith are big misses anymore, but Laird definitely would be.
1 of Fogarty and Thilthorpe just have to take the next step though. If both do geez they are going to be good for a long time. They'll be like the Eagles, crazy good forward line keeps you in most games even if the rest of the team doesn't turn up.
1 of Fogarty and Thilthorpe just have to take the next step though. If both do geez they are going to be good for a long time. They'll be like the Eagles, crazy good forward line keeps you in most games even if the rest of the team doesn't turn up.
Unfortunately this is why it's going to sting next year, he went to Collingwood so he's actually gonna play well in a good team, possibly better than here
Doesn't change how his loss affects us but it's gonna feel worse
Definitely. If they win 16 games, including some comfortable ones, he'll probably kick 45 goals and you can imagine the media and other fans then...
I do think FreoRicci has a point about our wingers.
We have one of the weakest wing divisions in the league. We are selecting from rejects and kids in those positions in reality.
You can’t compare to the top sides who have genuine guns in those positions
J Daicos and sidebottom
Mcluggage
Langdon and Angus Brayshaw
Sam Walsh and Acres
Finn Callaghan and Josh Kelly.
It’s fair to say our options pale in comparison to those guys. That doesn’t mean we can’t compete but there will be a big expectation on some very flaky and unproven players to play wing for freo in 2024.
If guys like Aish, sharp Stanley and Nod only stay the same or marginally improve on their 2023 output, we will be in a bit of strife. Huge pressure on that group to step up dramatically
We have one of the weakest wing divisions in the league. We are selecting from rejects and kids in those positions in reality.
You can’t compare to the top sides who have genuine guns in those positions
J Daicos and sidebottom
Mcluggage
Langdon and Angus Brayshaw
Sam Walsh and Acres
Finn Callaghan and Josh Kelly.
It’s fair to say our options pale in comparison to those guys. That doesn’t mean we can’t compete but there will be a big expectation on some very flaky and unproven players to play wing for freo in 2024.
If guys like Aish, sharp Stanley and Nod only stay the same or marginally improve on their 2023 output, we will be in a bit of strife. Huge pressure on that group to step up dramatically
d
langdon had a pretty crap year, brayshaw isnt exactly the prototype winger, walsh is more a mid, callaghan is a second year player himself
but weve shown over the years its not hard to get wingers impacting at AFL level pretty quickly, did it with langdon with shocking disposal, acres when he was basically discarded at the saints, aish comes in and does a job, henry after some time impacts as well
not exactly a difficult position tbh
daicos and sidebottom really the only top draw actualy wingers there tbf + kelly i suppose
langdon had a pretty crap year, brayshaw isnt exactly the prototype winger, walsh is more a mid, callaghan is a second year player himself
but weve shown over the years its not hard to get wingers impacting at AFL level pretty quickly, did it with langdon with shocking disposal, acres when he was basically discarded at the saints, aish comes in and does a job, henry after some time impacts as well
not exactly a difficult position tbh
- Jun 30, 2011
- 6,865
- 14,127
- AFL Club
- Fremantle
They went through their whole rebuild without expending a single high pick on an inside mid so far as I can recall.
Their greater inside midfield seems one paced, oldish and 'good' rather than stand out. Laird, Dawson, Keays, Crouch, Sloan. I means it's not exactly Patracca, Oliver, Viney, Brayshaw is it? (Or, dare I say it: Serong, Brayshaw, Johnson, Jackson, Young, Erasmus, O'merea and Fyfe).
Sure you can win a GF with that lineup on the day, but how are you going to win enough games to make a GF (I.E. top 4) with a non bottom six season draw each year?
I agree, but this year is better than last I reckon.
Sharp is an upgrade on Henry. Running power, kicking depth, and size are all better.
Aish and Johnson were regularly in the wings and are available, plus O'Driscoll seems fit. Despite that, Chapman may be given the job.
Worth remembering that Acres isn't on the list because he wasn't valued.
I'm not sure Longmuir values the position. Sharp was available the year before but we valued O'Meara higher. We extended Brodie and threw chips at Acres.
I see mucky list management in all of that, but it also reflects what a coach prioritizes.
Mucky list management is generous.
Extend Brodie and sign JOM? Then let Acres go... Acres wasn't on huge money and would have stayed for a middling wage. He would have allowed development on the other wing. Bonkers as there was no downside in keeping Acres.
Brodie has been extended as injury insurance and possibly to help Peel win a flag.
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