Review Rd 2 Review - Freo Lose to Saints by 10

[DragoDelph]

I’ve stayed out of the match thread, changes thread. Haven’t read a damn thing in this one so far. (Probably won’t). I’m normally balanced and well reasoned. Can see the positives after a loss etc.

However.

There are no positives from that game.
I have not witnessed as an insipid, putrid performance as that, even when we were Getting belted by 100+ points. At least the players tried, and were just crap.

There was movement forward of centre. No run or trust in the teammates. We’re they gassed or tired from last week in the heat? No ****ing excuse for that backwater, spittoon of a game.

The players we needed to step up, did absolutely nothing. Freddie, Walters, acres, banfield have to all be dropped.

Everyone calling for aish to be included.. you happy? The guy was underdone, he’s a great 23rd man and honest trier.

my buddy tucker has to get the boot. Godawful.

And the coaching. J.F.C.
AS SOON as Darcy went down, NOD should have been brought on. We were lacking run. Sending a one legged giant back out there was never going to help us. Changes should have been made at half time. Sure we were in front, but we didn’t deserve to be. The only thing that changed after the half, was the Saints kicked straight for a change.

Why they thought playing the three slow as treacle big boys would work, I have no idea. It didn’t work last year when it was tried. Plus then we have the afore-mentioned one pace disappearing acts in aish, tucker, acres and banfield. Added to the one paced midfield, and guess what? You get ****ing burnt!!

At this stage I’m not even sure I’ll be watching the Derby. Something needs to change. And who do we have to bring in? Young players, who will be inconsistent, and need support from the more mature leaders around the club in game. Well good ****ing luck with that, they couldn’t even find their way into a forward line.

Does anyone seriously think the outs we had yesterday would have made the slightest lick of difference? There was no intent, no desire for the contest and no clue how to play.

Go the Women!!! Show these ****ing overpaid pretenders how to football!!

 

[theGav56]

I don't disagree, and would like Chapman/O'Driscoll/Young on the wing, however the obsession with size only is shallow. Melbourne have two inside mids slightly taller than Brayshaw: Petracca 2cm and Oliver 4 cm. Angus is 2cm taller.

The rest are sub 185. Neale-Bullen, Sparrow, Viney.

Carlton are tall, powerful and fast. but no one's knocking Neale and Zorko because they're below 180.
Our mix is slightly off, because of injury and newness. When Fyfe is back and Johnson and Erasmus are up to speed it will help.

But I'd rather see players who can play a fast brand of football, who can make quick decisions and execute, rather than just be tall

The issues with size are of our own creation.

Down back we are too big and refuse to select Walker.

Up front we drop Treacy and play 3 rucks.

We have a list that should be more competitive.

 

[Mesc]

It won’t be the prettiest game but we will come out and pressure them. We will win by 3 goals.

I hope so

 

[arsesmart]

I’d like to know how much time Switkowski spent in the middle. He and Brayshaw were the only players with cleans hands. He drifted out of the game a bit but his first quarter was outstanding. couldn’t tell at the game but did St Kilda stick a tag on him?

I don't think any team would bother tagging Switkowski. He is just an average player. That's what they do ... drift in and out of games. The first few games had some good moments from him, but we are playing bottom 6 sides.

Experienced teams would laugh at the idea of Switta buzzing around while we also have Brayshaw and Serong in there. Sometimes that was the centre bounce lineup and it is comically small.

Well Switkowski's really just learning the ropes in the midfield and it looked like they had him running forward of the ball at every opportunity early on, that can be a hit or miss strategy. He also had relatively low time on ground (79%), so that might disrupt his flow a bit.

He possibly overdoes the handball (14 of 17 disposals). That could be a coach's instruction given the new emphasis on run and gun in the game plan or maybe just a feeling his way in the mid thing, but he's done it two weeks in a row now.

 

[kidstyler]

Without Mundy and/or Fyfe in the centre bounce we are utterly dominated. Only had a look in at the contest when we would get a heap of numbers around exposing us in transition if we won the ball. 1 of these guys is older than me and the other has had 20+ shoulder reconstructions.

Darcy looks about 20% fit - Shouldn't have came back on with the ankle injury

Walters is still upset RyLy didn't get the Carlton job

They haven't covered the skill lose of Cerra in the midfield

Way too many passengers with 0 impact at the contest. Real wake up call here for the playing group. Longmuir needs to swing the axe.

 

[Taylor]

We definitely felt the absence of Mundy and his 15 contested possessions, top three clearance game from the week before.

Caleb Serong

3

Caleb Serong

Age

23

Ht

180cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.0

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

6.0

4star

M

1.8

2star

T

3.6

5star

CL

2.6

4star

D

13.0

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

6.0

3star

M

1.8

2star

T

3.6

4star

CL

2.6

4star

D

13.0

4star

K

7.0

3star

HB

6.0

4star

M

1.8

2star

T

3.6

5star

CL

2.6

5star

has won five clearances this season. He won nine in the last game of last season.

Let's focus on where our problems are and not the symptoms. Caleb is a very good player not having a very good season thus far. We need him to lift.

 

[theGav56]

We definitely felt the absence of Mundy and his 15 contested possessions, top three clearance game from the week before.

Caleb Serong has won five clearances this season. He won nine in the last game of last season.

Let's focus on where our problems are and not the symptoms. Caleb is a very good player not having a very good season thus far. We need him to lift.

Are you saying Serong is the problem?

 

[Taylor]

Are you saying Serong is the problem?

I'm saying his output at the stoppages is heavily down on his capability and we are feeling it. We had a similar problem over the last couple of seasons where he would either let his man run riot without defensive pressure applied, or it would swing back the other way with him being too defensive and not winning enough of his own ball in the contests.

I think we are still finding that balance.

 

[Taylor]

He's the youngest and the smallest in there, he is also very effective by hand when he wins the clearance. Opposition clubs should look to bully him.

 

[s_wd6]

He's the youngest and the smallest in there, he is also very effective by hand when he wins the clearance. Opposition clubs should look to bully him.

Missed a fair chunk of the pre-season so going he snaps back into it in the next few weeks

 

[Taylor]

Missed a fair chunk of the pre-season so going he snaps back into it in the next few weeks

He is very competitive and holds himself to a high standard so I just hope we have the club culture where he can put his hand up at the midfield meeting and wear his licks after which the team trusts him to rise to the level.

 

[theGav56]

I'm saying his output at the stoppages is heavily down on his capability and we are feeling it. We had a similar problem over the last couple of seasons where he would either let his man run riot without defensive pressure applied, or it would swing back the other way with him being too defensive and not winning enough of his own ball in the contests.

I think we are still finding that balance.

I suspect his reduced production is a symptom not a cause. We have multiple points of failure and those failures begin before the first bounce.

 

[poshman]

He's the youngest and the smallest in there, he is also very effective by hand when he wins the clearance. Opposition clubs should look to bully him.

Ran around like he didn't have confidence after quarter time.

 

[Taylor]

I suspect his reduced production is a symptom not a cause. We have multiple points of failure and those failures begin before the first bounce.

I do agree that there are contests up the river from a clearance that impact them, but it's just the ruck. It's not like our outside classy users not getting into the game because we aren't winning the ball out of the middle to feed it to them.

Contested ball and clearances out of stoppage midfielders are nearly entirely on the player.

 

[gungho]

Was at that diatribe of a game yesterday and have taken a day to process it all before giving my thoughts:

It all starts with the coach. Justin you can talk all you want in preseason; preaching how the team will use speed from defence but come game day it very much looks like 3 years ago where the go-to is a player presenting up on a 15 meter lead, and very static movement of the ball. Let’s be honest your coaching on game day is conservative. O Driscoll to the middle and Chapman forward happened in the last 5 minutes of the game (and looked like a desperate afterthought).
We will not win a premiership anytime in the future if you don't take risks (both with selection and game style)

Midfield - Tucker is not an AFL midfielder(He is a good state league player) Brodie is not a midfielder. (He is a good state league player) Blakely is not an AFL midfielder (He is a good state league player). Walters is not an AFL midfielder (As everyone has mentioned, unfortunately the game is passed him). Switta is not an AFL midfielder (play him forward)
That leaves Brayshaw and Serong. Yes, these two are AFL midfielders but, because of their size, will get dominated as a duo when Fyfe and Mundy are out. We desperately need to fast track Noddy, Erasmus, Johnson (when fit) to see what they offer - apart from their size. Chapman should get tried in there too.

Backline - the best component of our team. Pearce had a down day yesterday but is a good player. Hughes offers little in attack but is a good lock down defender. Logue is not. I have watched Logue for 5 years now, and just don't see it with him. Young is good, Cox will develop, Ryan will be good for another few years. Clarke gives the run from defence. With the right game plan we have a good defence.

The Wings We need hunger, pace and skill. We are getting smashed on the wings. Freddy had a down day yesterday but was lost in the forward line. Try him here. Walker could be tried here. Chapman could be tried here. O Driscoll could be tried here. I don't think Henry has the size yet (or is competitive enough) to be played here. Erasmus could be tried here. Johnson (when fit) could be tried here. Clark could be tried here. (If Wilson goes back) Colyer is too small to be played here. Aish is not good enough to be played here.
The wings need to be experimented with until we find the right fit. The only thing I do know is that Tucker and Acres are should NOT be played here. They are not AFL standard and we will not move forward with a premiership with them.

The Forward line The combination that will work best is 2 key forwards, 1 resting ruck, 1 midsize forward and two good small forwards. As seen yesterday, bombing the ball forward with 1 marking target (Lobb, who is not even a key forward) will not win you a lot of games of football. Lobb is the resting ruckman - he is not a key forward. Banfield is not key or midsize forward (He is not to AFL standard). Colyer is not a small forward. Freddy might be a mid size lead up forward but I still believe his best position is on the wing.

This leaves us with.
Key forwards: Taberner, Amiss.
Mid size forwards: Sturt, Treacy,
Resting Ruck: Lobb, Meek, Benning?
Small Forwards: Switta, Shultz, Western.

If you take out the guys that are not to AFL standard, the depth in the forward line is seriously questionable. Yesterday we played without a single recognized key forward, and without a single recognized mid forward, and we wonder why we kicked 8 goals for the game? Questions must be asked of the recruiting department when Jye Amiss is the only high draft pick we have used in this area for the last 10 years.
Having said that, lets fast track Amiss to see what he offers, and lets play one of Treacy or Sturt as a mid size forward. Switta and Shultz are not world beaters but have speed and skill in the small forward role. The last thing we want to do, however, is play 1 resting ruck and 5 small forwards around him. (like we did yesterday).

Not up to AFL standard: Players that should not be considered for selection again: Banfield, Tucker (Has played 1 good game in 6 years), Acres, Colyer (Good state league player), Blakely, Crowden (Love him but just not good enough) Walters (Cooked), Aish, Logue, Brodie. That's 10 guys not good enough on the list!
Guys yet to be proven: Walker, Western, Amiss, Johnson, Erasmus, Benning, Sturt, Treacy, Worner, Henry (when he regains form in WAFL, builds size and gets hunger for the contest).

If want to be actually be taken seriously, and not known as a spec of irrelevance on the Afl landscape (Lets be honest, that's how the majority of the competition views us) there are many hard decisions to be made from coaches, players and management and they need to start now!

 

[Purpletown]

Ah, the joy of being a Freo supporter. The perpetual rebuild is back with a bang if this form continues against mediocre opposition.

Both games we have given away multiple goals to small forwards? Surely it's not that hard to cut that by half by being accountable?

 

[Taylor]

We were dominated out of the middle and only just lost. This can turn very quickly.

 

[Lach72]

We were dominated out of the middle and only just lost. This can turn very quickly.

More to do with the fact St Kilda are shite

 

[theGav56]

Was at that diatribe of a game yesterday and have taken a day to process it all before giving my thoughts:

It all starts with the coach. Justin you can talk all you want in preseason; preaching how the team will use speed from defence but come game day it very much looks like 3 years ago where the go-to is a player presenting up on a 15 meter lead, and very static movement of the ball. Let’s be honest your coaching on game day is conservative. O Driscoll to the middle and Chapman forward happened in the last 5 minutes of the game (and looked like a desperate afterthought).
We will not win a premiership anytime in the future if you don't take risks (both with selection and game style)

Midfield - Tucker is not an AFL midfielder(He is a good state league player) Brodie is not a midfielder. (He is a good state league player) Blakely is not an AFL midfielder (He is a good state league player). Walters is not an AFL midfielder (As everyone has mentioned, unfortunately the game is passed him). Switta is not an AFL midfielder (play him forward)
That leaves Brayshaw and Serong. Yes, these two are AFL midfielders but, because of their size, will get dominated as a duo when Fyfe and Mundy are out. We desperately need to fast track Noddy, Erasmus, Johnson (when fit) to see what they offer - apart from their size. Chapman should get tried in there too.

Backline - the best component of our team. Pearce had a down day yesterday but is a good player. Hughes offers little in attack but is a good lock down defender. Logue is not. I have watched Logue for 5 years now, and just don't see it with him. Young is good, Cox will develop, Ryan will be good for another few years. Clarke gives the run from defence. With the right game plan we have a good defence.

The Wings We need hunger, pace and skill. We are getting smashed on the wings. Freddy had a down day yesterday but was lost in the forward line. Try him here. Walker could be tried here. Chapman could be tried here. O Driscoll could be tried here. I don't think Henry has the size yet (or is competitive enough) to be played here. Erasmus could be tried here. Johnson (when fit) could be tried here. Clark could be tried here. (If Wilson goes back) Colyer is too small to be played here. Aish is not good enough to be played here.
The wings need to be experimented with until we find the right fit. The only thing I do know is that Tucker and Acres are should NOT be played here. They are not AFL standard and we will not move forward with a premiership with them.

The Forward line The combination that will work best is 2 key forwards, 1 resting ruck, 1 midsize forward and two good small forwards. As seen yesterday, bombing the ball forward with 1 marking target (Lobb, who is not even a key forward) will not win you a lot of games of football. Lobb is the resting ruckman - he is not a key forward. Banfield is not key or midsize forward (He is not to AFL standard). Colyer is not a small forward. Freddy might be a mid size lead up forward but I still believe his best position is on the wing.

This leaves us with.
Key forwards: Taberner, Amiss.
Mid size forwards: Sturt, Treacy,
Resting Ruck: Lobb, Meek, Benning?
Small Forwards: Switta, Shultz, Western.

If you take out the guys that are not to AFL standard, the depth in the forward line is seriously questionable. Yesterday we played without a single recognized key forward, and without a single recognized mid forward, and we wonder why we kicked 8 goals for the game? Questions must be asked of the recruiting department when Jye Amiss is the only high draft pick we have used in this area for the last 10 years.
Having said that, lets fast track Amiss to see what he offers, and lets play one of Treacy or Sturt as a mid size forward. Switta and Shultz are not world beaters but have speed and skill in the small forward role. The last thing we want to do, however, is play 1 resting ruck and 5 small forwards around him. (like we did yesterday).

Not up to AFL standard: Players that should not be considered for selection again: Banfield, Tucker (Has played 1 good game in 6 years), Acres, Colyer (Good state league player), Blakely, Crowden (Love him but just not good enough) Walters (Cooked), Aish, Logue, Brodie. That's 10 guys not good enough on the list!
Guys yet to be proven: Walker, Western, Amiss, Johnson, Erasmus, Benning, Sturt, Treacy, Worner, Henry (when he regains form in WAFL, builds size and gets hunger for the contest).

If want to be actually be taken seriously, and not known as a spec of irrelevance on the Afl landscape (Lets be honest, that's how the majority of the competition views us) there are many hard decisions to be made from coaches, players and management and they need to start now!

Send your cv to the club. They need your help.

I think Treacy can play as a KPF but prefer his role to be midsize forward. Taberner, Lobb and Treacy for example.

We need a forward/mid, not just a forward-ruck. Erasmus, Treacy or Sturt perhaps. 15 minutes worth might be enough.

 

[Square Peg]

Both games we have given away multiple goals to small forwards? Surely it's not that hard to cut that by half by being accountable?

Yeah put some body on them FFS.
Who's Collingwoods main small defender when Maynard is out - is it Quaynor?
Whoever it is - watch his game. Rachele kicks 5 goals on us, 1 on the Pies. Higgins 4 on us, 0 on the pies.

 

[Taylor]

More to do with the fact St Kilda are shite

That undersells the desperation shown by the defenders. If every player on the field was putting in that level then we would have been all over them.

It would have been disheartening to look up after winning a loose ball to a mark only to see no movement forward.

 

[EastcoastDocker]

We were dominated out of the middle and only just lost. This can turn very quickly.

to a very average St Kilda side at home...

As a freo fan you kind of get use to loses, I would rate that one of the worst I've seen. It was just completely uninspiring and lifeless from the coaches box to the players, particularly considering we were 1-0 with the next 3 games at home and a real chance to setup a first finals appearance since 2015.

 

[gungho]

Brodie is just what we should expect from a big bodied stoppage midfielder. He wins the ball, he tackles, he pressures, he spreads and he needs outside class to move the ball to.

He's quicker than I expected seeing him up close too, but we need to surround players like him with complementary players.

Not blaming our failings with the ball in hand across the team on one of the only players winning the ball out of the middle when we couldn't.

Yes, he is a good extractor of the ball. The problem is though that these days being a good AFL midfielder is not just about winning the contest and feeding it to someone else. It's why Connor Blakely doesn't get a game. Brodie's kicking? Questionable. His decision making? Very conservative, usually will favour the risk-free 15 metre lead up kicks to a target. His handball? Good in close but struggles to pinpoint an outside runner. His speed? He's fast enough. His fitness? Not to the level it needs to be.
In my opinion, he doesn't have the tools in the kitbag to be an AFL midfielder.

 

[Purple_Turtle]

Not sure about only just lost. The x-scores from the weekend vs the actual results:



Margin should have been bigger based on the shots we were taking versus the Saints.

 

[Yeti]

I remember cracking the shits because we drafted Chapman and getting howled down about it. Not because of how Chapman was projected to be as a player but because we continually refuse to put our high draft picks into forwards.

The only way we can beat other teams is to to score more than them yet we refuse to invest draft capital into that area of the ground.

It's so frustrating.