Round 3: Changes Vs St Kilda

[Snuffaluphagus]

Man, I am banging my head against a wall on this thread.

Moving AB out of the midfield (or team!!!?!!?) because of one bad game. What are you lot expecting from a 2nd year player. The whole team got pantsed but everyone immediately moves to the lets try some new and different because its shiny strategy.

I might actually do some work this week and come back after we beat the Saints

 

[FreoRicci]

Man, I am banging my head against a wall on this thread.

Moving AB out of the midfield (or team!!!?!!?) because of one bad game. What are you lot expecting from a 2nd year player. The whole team got pantsed but everyone immediately moves to the lets try some new and different because its shiny strategy.

I might actually do some work this week and come back after we beat the Saints

The midfield was a huge glaring problem. Fyfe needs the experience to stand up. Mundy didn’t, at all. Blakely would be a huge help. That’s what we need in the middle. Experience, and there’s a huge lack of. Tucker played his second game as an inside mid.
Banfield has to be in there. He’s too useful to have to just plonk in the HF flank role. Fyfe needs protection, and Banfield does that.
I feel Mundy should move in the forward as a 70/30 forward mid. We desperately needed someone who could bring the heat today, and none of Mundy, Tucker stood up. Banfield should swap with Mundy regularly

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

The midfield was a huge glaring problem. Fyfe needs the experience to stand up. Mundy didn’t, at all. Blakely would be a huge help. That’s what we need in the middle. Experience, and there’s a huge lack of. Tucker played his second game as an inside mid.
Banfield has to be in there. He’s too useful to have to just plonk in the HF flank role. Fyfe needs protection, and Banfield does that.
I feel Mundy should move in the forward as a 70/30 forward mid. We desperately needed someone who could bring the heat today, and none of Mundy, Tucker stood up. Banfield should swap with Mundy regularly

The midfield was atrocious, I have no doubts about that. It also would have been worse had AB not layed 10 tackles in and around the ball.

I'm not disputing how bad we played as a team this game, or the fact it was primarily the midfields fault but the calls to drop or move AB out of the middle are ridiculous for a lot of very obvious reasons

 

[yakka man]

This talk of Lobb being soft is a bit rich:

 

[Vintage]

No changes

 

[Galapagoose]

Does Mundy have pace? No. But Cerra is silky, is calm and has the goods, like Mundy.
Speed is overrated. It’s the outside runners that need to do better. Mundy’s deceptively quick in the first 5-10 m with his weave and getting through traffic. Cerra has that

Cerra is playing outside!!

I was just hoping he was going to take that second year step like lots of the greats of the game. Check out Fyfe, Oliver, Cripps, Bont, Pendlebury etc second year stats. ATM it's two poor games from Cerra and a few more from potentially separating himself from his high draft pick potential.

Don't get me wrong I still believe he has huge potential after he puts on 5kgs and builds his tank. But I was hoping he was going to be one of those diamonds.

 

[Carson Dial]

F**k me there are some campaigners on here after we have a game that was down to the wire. To all those who are writing us off after two rounds I say, this is the second AFL game they’ve played together, give them a break it’s round 2 not 22.

 

[Superkoops]

Schultz is not a pressure small forward, if Switta is fit he must play
Hughes is Jeckyll and Hyde ,Good, bad,Good bad.. Today more bad than good.
Nyhuis deserves a go.
Darcy isn't fit but who replaces him, Jones or does Lobb ruck.

Lobb to main ruck. He played well in JLT #1. However that costly fumbly handball Lobb did when we were out for a goal just had to be hit but wasn’t and instead of going up 23 pts we end up only 11 pts up.

I like the combination of Darcy and Lobb but Darcy isn’t 100%. Witts is a quality ruckman absolutely dominated against our two.Darcy struggled today. Gasping for air and whincing in pain at times. Pinch hit with Tabs in ruck to support Lobb.

I’m a massive fan of Alex Pearce but that was prob his worst game I’ve seen him play. Banfield needs a spell and Schultz to join him. The GCS were able to run out of defence with no issue whatsoever.

Out: Banfield, Darcy, Schultz
In: Swita, Matera, Duman

 

[bushchook]

F**k me there are some campaigners on here after we have a game that was down to the wire. To all those who are writing us off after two rounds I say, this is the second AFL game they’ve played together, give them a break it’s round 2 not 22.

Who? Literally every team could use that excuse literally every year.

We should have lost by a lot more than we did. It was only the suns poor kicking that kept us in it after half time.

 

[FreoRicci]

Cerra is playing outside!!

I was just hoping he was going to take that second year step like lots of the greats of the game. Check out Fyfe, Oliver, Cripps, Bont, Pendlebury etc second year stats. ATM it's two poor games from Cerra and a few more from potentially separating himself from his high draft pick potential.

Don't get me wrong I still believe he has huge potential after he puts on 5kgs and builds his tank. But I was hoping he was going to be one of those diamonds.

He’s playing half back! Pendlebury, Fyfe will all forward of the ball. Cerra is playing on a 4th forward across half back. He can’t help it. God he has not played one game in his position. Brayshaw on the other hand, hasn’t been in that role. Huge siffenece. I’d prefer we play Cerra in the middle and give Brayshaw time to grow either in HF or Peel. But no, Ross persists

 

[Midnite65]

All those calling for Darcy to go out, unless he is injured it won't happen.....he is our number 1 ruck if Sandi is not there. Lobb was recruited to be a forward/2nd ruck and not a 1st ruck.FF

 

[FreoRicci]

All those calling for Darcy to go out, unless he is injured it won't happen.....he is our number 1 ruck if Sandi is not there. Lobb was recruited to be a forward/2nd ruck and not a 1st ruck.FF

But Darcy is clearly underdone. Either rest him, get him up to speed. Or play Jones who will compete. Lobb in the ruck helped turned our favour anyways

 

[Unique Name]

Height wasn't an issue from my viewing. Just a midfield that got massively outworked. GC midfield spread harder and faster for 4 qtrs.


Out: Schultz, Banfield
In: Switta, Logue

Get Cerra out the backline and move him into the mid rotations.

Logue - Hamling - Ryan
Wilson - APearce - Hughes
Langdon - Mundy - BHill
Walters - Hogan - McCarthy
Switta - Taberner - Lobb

Darcy - Fyfe - Tucker

Cerra - Brayshaw - Conca - Coyler

 

[Freomaniac]

Sean Darcy to be dropped? Strange to Say that. yeah he only had 6 disposals but had 37 hit outs. Serious question, who do we replace him with if he gets dropped? Sandi is injured. Meek? Scott Jones?

Some posters want Langdon and Conca dropped, both had solid games. Banfield is more likely to be dropped.

 

[bushchook]

Sean Darcy to be dropped? Strange to Say that. yeah he only had 6 disposals but had 37 hit outs. Serious question, who do we replace him with if he gets dropped? Sandi is injured. Meek? Scott Jones?

You'd replace him with Lobb. Darcy doesn't look fit.

 

[freo1997]

Sean Darcy to be dropped? Strange to Say that. yeah he only had 6 disposals but had 37 hit outs. Serious question, who do we replace him with if he gets dropped? Sandi is injured. Meek? Scott Jones?

Some posters want Langdon and Conca dropped, both had solid games. Banfield is more likely to be dropped.

I reckon with Saints lack of quality ruckman, we could go with Lobb rucking and Tabs as back up. I wouldn’t be against Jones coming in but I don’t see it happening.

I’d like to touch on Banfield. I find him somewhat robotic and pretty useless below his knees. Can’t seem to scoop up the ball with one hand...needs to extend both arms/hands to sort of trap the ball. To me he shows a lot of heart, but lacks natural football ability and intuition we see in eg;Brad hill, hogan..I don’t think we persist.

Langdons downside is when he kicks and hopes..his kicks have no penetration. When you kick a 50/50 ball and don’t see what’s up field prior...it’s best to kick that 50/60 meters as opposed to 25 meters. If it’s turned over at least there’s a bit more time to set up. He seems to do a lot of kick and hope throughout games. Keep an eye on it!

I thought Conca was serviceable and Colyer probably played one of his career best games.

Lobb’s best work so far has been his part time rucking. His contested marking has been nowhere to be seen so far and hasn’t shown much physicality. I’d expect him to have a better one next week.

 

[freo1997]

You'd replace him with Lobb. Darcy doesn't look fit.

Hopefully lobby is on board with that! But I agree..isn’t showing enough from the fwd line so far.

 

[theGav56]

tbf the last time I posted in this forum I was threadbanned for being an opposition supporter so

Welcome back. Being an opposition supporter is a curable affliction by the way, although I doubt we are attracting fans just at the moment.

 

[go_the_dockers]

All those calling for Darcy to go out, unless he is injured it won't happen.....he is our number 1 ruck if Sandi is not there. Lobb was recruited to be a forward/2nd ruck and not a 1st ruck.FF

One of the four talls forwards or Darcy should go out, and Darcy got spanked on the weekend.

He looked injured or very sore

 

[Taylor]

Darcy looked like he got manhandled by a monster ruck, who has done it to other bigger men too, but I didn't see Witts getting around the ground without Darcy that would have me think that corky from last week had hobbled Sean too much.

 

[tonygeeks]

Duman time , funny how the whole team stunk in the JLT but he's the only one to have had a line drawn through his name and he has actually played 2 of the top 10 games by a Freo youngster in the last couple of years

Guess it's the lack of muscles as to why he doesn't get the same leeway as the other young guys in the team

He had close to a best on in the real stuff 3 games ago against a team headed to the granny


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[malpaso]

But Darcy is clearly underdone. Either rest him, get him up to speed. Or play Jones who will compete. Lobb in the ruck helped turned our favour anyways

Witts is a more than capable #1 ruck don't forget and Darcy has a lot to work on the defensive side of his game.

 

[malpaso]

The Saints play a young Ruck/Forward in Marshall, hopefully Darcy is fit.

 

[clivenator26]

Our fans are the worst. Disappointing result but there won’t be mass changes.

 

[wayToGo_]

We should really wait a day before opening the changes thread after a loss. So much emotional reactionary posting.

Darcy is a 20yo ruck who struggled yesterday. He wasn't alone, the whole team looked spent in the first 5 minutes of the game. Looking at the close ups of their faces you'd swear it was 99% humidity - they were sweating bullets. Everyone was flat footed. It was a replica of West Coast in Round 1 in Brisbane. Credit to GC, they completely out worked us.

I know it's a BigFooty tradition to pick a handful of scapegoats early in the season after a loss and then pile on. The selections are normally justified by taking one or two incidents where said scapegoat didn't hit a target by foot or the player opposing them beat them in a 1v1 - and then conveniently ignoring the many misses/lost contests (or went missing completely) by the far more experienced and senior players who we can't drop because they are B22 locks. When David Mundy has a DE% of 46.7% I think that's probably a sign we need to delve deeper about why our ball movement was so poor across the team yesterday.

Good ball movement (overall) is rarely about the kickers, it is far more often about the receivers. Yesterday the team was mostly a disorganised and undisciplined rabble that structured poorly, rarely ran hard defensively, and apart from a couple of short passages, did not spread anywhere close to as efficiently as we did last week. Despite having 4 tall forwards, the number of times the target inside 50 ended up being Walters or Banfield was ridiculous. And it was the same all over the field - as our team folded into the back half to try and stem the bleeding (luckily GC were inaccurate).

I'm not sure if our players weren't mentally prepared or our fitness isn't up to scratch but you're pushing **** up hill when the players aren't conditioned ready for a game. Because of that Ross and the coaches became too defensive, just to try and eke out a win (which we almost did). I personally think it was the wrong move and would have rather rolled the die without flooding back (and holding better structure over the ground) but given how few 1v1 contests we won I'm doubtful it would have changed the outcome (more likely we would have lost by more).

It's a 3 point loss away with a team that looked cooked almost from the opening bounce. Plenty to learn from the review, minimal player changes (it was a whole of team issue), in response I just want to see us at the first bounce next week, looking like we are going rip St Kilda a new one. Intensity+ from the first minute please.