Autopsy Solid win against Freo

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Heeney2Franklin thread title pretty much sums up the game for me; a solid win.

Initially slow out of the blocks, then dominated the first qtr and from thereon in held a comfortable lead and were able to respond when challenged.
Some nice signs from Hayward, looked confident with his first shot at goal (no thoughts of round the corner) and did his usual up and back work efficiently as well and took Luke Ryan out of the game.
Last minute from Heeney with a fine mark and straight through the big sticks was a reminder of him at his best.

Interesting placement of Mills on the wing, pretty much throughout the game, with Gulden moving inside.
We may be trying out a few things, in particular getting a bit more dynamism in the middle.

Still trying to figure how after well over 300 games and at the age of 36 Buddy is marking the ball better than he ever has.

Logan continues to grow as a player. He'll get the best defender when Buddy retires, but I think he is up to the task. His movement is top notch.

And finally a shout out to Luke Parker. He just keeps on keeping on, another fine leader's performance tonight.

Team as a whole seemed up and about tonight.
Hopefully everyone one pulls up OK. Noticed a few players carrying their boots as they saluted the fans.
Surely can't be coincidental how many soft tissues injuries Freo and West Coast suffer.

Yep, a solid win. :thumbsu:
 

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4:40 to go roughly
Was sidetracked to this sub of Amartey I reckon as I was seeing a meltdown brewing at Adelaide Oval on the distant screen at the Alma.

Off-topic a tad, sorry mods, weirdly the Alma tonight was trying to have a "singles night" whilst the Power-Pies game was running in the background along with our one (not to mention, we could barely hear a thing on our screen). Also pretty sure noone was paying attention to old mate looking for a date during the closing stages.
 
Mccartin and Campbell have a bit of a verbal in the last?
Yes.

But it wasn’t the only time our back 6 had a go at each other.

Plenty of times a Freo forward was left unmarked & our blokes stood around waving arms, trying to tell each other it was their man.

Blakey manning up on nobody was often the root cause. He was evidently playing the zone-off interceptor role, but it didn’t always work.
 
Yes.

But it wasn’t the only time our back 6 had a go at each other.

Plenty of times a Freo forward was left unmarked & our blokes stood around waving arms, trying to tell each other it was their man.

Blakey manning up on nobody was often the root cause.

Blakey did lose his opponent who was supposed to be on Schutlz?

Cunningham was on Walters
 
Blakey did lose his opponent who was supposed to be on Schutlz?

Cunningham was on Walters
I’m not actually sure.

Rampe was on Amiss for most of the game, but other match-ups seemed to shift quite a bit.

I’m probably being a bit harsh on the defence - they did some very good work at times. But I’m not accustomed to seeing disorganisation and finger-pointing.
 

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Just want to say that I think the club might need to address with the players the post-win situation when in WA. Every time - without fail - most of the players don't come over to the fence or interact with the fans beyond a smile and a wave from afar.

Now it doesn't bother me at all. I've had enough mates play at the level to know some players simply aren't comfortable with fan attention and it's not ideal for them. I respect that.

But I stood near a kid calling out for Callum Mills to come over. Our skipper, who talks so much about the fans and the culture of the club. He gave a wave and couldn't have pivoted away faster. And a bunch of guys with a sign saying "Rowbottom's #1 fan" literally screaming and begging James Rowbottom to come see them, and he stood back and with a smile and a thumbs up, followed Mills back the other direction. To say nothing of the many who were likely seeing Buddy for the last time only to have him clap in their direction and then high tail it out of there.

Again, none of this bothers me, and I'm not one of the fans who feels entitled to recognition and appreciation from footballers just because they do their job. Others aren't the same and there were quite a few around me angry and disappointed.

This happens at every game in Perth, so I dunno. Not saying I know the solution but the club maybe wants to look into it as it feels like there's always a disconnect there.
 
Just want to say that I think the club might need to address with the players the post-win situation when in WA. Every time - without fail - most of the players don't come over to the fence or interact with the fans beyond a smile and a wave from afar.

Now it doesn't bother me at all. I've had enough mates play at the level to know some players simply aren't comfortable with fan attention and it's not ideal for them. I respect that.

But I stood near a kid calling out for Callum Mills to come over. Our skipper, who talks so much about the fans and the culture of the club. He gave a wave and couldn't have pivoted away faster. And a bunch of guys with a sign saying "Rowbottom's #1 fan" literally screaming and begging James Rowbottom to come see them, and he stood back and with a smile and a thumbs up, followed Mills back the other direction. To say nothing of the many who were likely seeing Buddy for the last time only to have him clap in their direction and then high tail it out of there.

Again, none of this bothers me, and I'm not one of the fans who feels entitled to recognition and appreciation from footballers just because they do their job. Others aren't the same and there were quite a few around me angry and disappointed.

This happens at every game in Perth, so I dunno. Not saying I know the solution but the club maybe wants to look into it as it feels like there's always a disconnect there.
A few Swans fans threw their phones onto the field after the game - Hayward and McI were happy to oblige by taking a selfie and handing the phone back to the fans.

I actually thought that was kinda cool.

But you’re right - some of the others clearly weren’t up for fan engagement beyond a cursory wave and thumbs up.
 
Just want to say that I think the club might need to address with the players the post-win situation when in WA. Every time - without fail - most of the players don't come over to the fence or interact with the fans beyond a smile and a wave from afar.

Now it doesn't bother me at all. I've had enough mates play at the level to know some players simply aren't comfortable with fan attention and it's not ideal for them. I respect that.

But I stood near a kid calling out for Callum Mills to come over. Our skipper, who talks so much about the fans and the culture of the club. He gave a wave and couldn't have pivoted away faster. And a bunch of guys with a sign saying "Rowbottom's #1 fan" literally screaming and begging James Rowbottom to come see them, and he stood back and with a smile and a thumbs up, followed Mills back the other direction. To say nothing of the many who were likely seeing Buddy for the last time only to have him clap in their direction and then high tail it out of there.

Again, none of this bothers me, and I'm not one of the fans who feels entitled to recognition and appreciation from footballers just because they do their job. Others aren't the same and there were quite a few around me angry and disappointed.

This happens at every game in Perth, so I dunno. Not saying I know the solution but the club maybe wants to look into it as it feels like there's always a disconnect there.
I don't blame Rowbottom too much (seen him in person and seems to hate the attention), but it's a shame for Mills. Part of playing in a team imo.
 
I don't blame Rowbottom too much (seen him in person and seems to hate the attention), but it's a shame for Mills. Part of playing in a team imo.
I don't blame any of them. Nor do I blame the fans who are disappointed by it. Like I said don't know that there's a solution to it. Was just an observation of how I think it can leave a bit of a sour taste in some fan's mouths at the end of what should be a great night for all.
 
I thought Hayward & Buddy were the two stand-out performers. The former just looked the cleanest and most assured player on the ground; the latter looked wildly erratic as the later-day Buddy often is, but it constantly made things happen.

I thought Blakey and Cunningham were absolutely shocking. The former just never seems to play Optus well and turns into a headless chook; the latter was a mile from his opponents far too often.

The midfield was okay. Forwards kicked straight. Our fitness sucks. Good win and a great night.
 
Yes.

But it wasn’t the only time our back 6 had a go at each other.

Plenty of times a Freo forward was left unmarked & our blokes stood around waving arms, trying to tell each other it was their man.

Blakey manning up on nobody was often the root cause. He was evidently playing the zone-off interceptor role, but it didn’t always work.
Schultz should never have been allowed to get 4 goals. Running Harry on Sonny was IMO a mistake. Fox on Sonny and Harry on Schultz a much better matchup. I think maybe Lloyd was on Switkowski? All in all their smalls got too much space.
 
The interesting thing about Buddy's game was that he started off with the mindset of enabling the other talls and in the process worked his way into the game and hit the scoreboard. He's done similar in the past to the same effect and it really needs to be the strategy moving forward. He actually manages to hit the scoreboard when he's not trying to because the team aren't overly buddy-centric and he ends up with better looks at the goal because when the ball does go to him it's because he's the best option. Rather than the first option people look for.

It's the blueprint for a functioning forward line imo.
 
So I've departed Victoria for a total of 6 games this year for a grand total of 5 wins and 1 draw. I think my travelling record is the envy of the league.

Solid performance with stand outs from Parker, J Mac and Buddy. Gulden was busy, Hayward, Logan and Heeney did some good things. Blakey had a bit of an average game. Spent the first half on Fredrickson who ran him off his legs. Tommy M looked awful at times. We really do need to bring in a quality back this off season.

Thoughts on the stadium. Weird sensation having to go up a floor to sit on the ground level. Seats good and have a cup holder. Food ok, the serving the public style doesn't work as well as the Vic style, go through the gate a grab whatever you can in the shortest space of time possible. Cheeseburger was the size a Maccas burger was 2 decades ago. In other words, about double the size of their current offering.

Freo folk were pretty quiet but are good at complaining about frees paid that are clear as day. My interesting experience was on the way to the ground having a freo supporter yell out Go Freo then follow top with, I hope you're not a muslim, you'd probably be carrying a bomb in that backpack. 1. WTF? 2. I'm the pastiest ****er known to man so not sure what made him think I might be a muslim and 3. WTF again.
 
Just want to say that I think the club might need to address with the players the post-win situation when in WA. Every time - without fail - most of the players don't come over to the fence or interact with the fans beyond a smile and a wave from afar.

Now it doesn't bother me at all. I've had enough mates play at the level to know some players simply aren't comfortable with fan attention and it's not ideal for them. I respect that.

But I stood near a kid calling out for Callum Mills to come over. Our skipper, who talks so much about the fans and the culture of the club. He gave a wave and couldn't have pivoted away faster. And a bunch of guys with a sign saying "Rowbottom's #1 fan" literally screaming and begging James Rowbottom to come see them, and he stood back and with a smile and a thumbs up, followed Mills back the other direction. To say nothing of the many who were likely seeing Buddy for the last time only to have him clap in their direction and then high tail it out of there.

Again, none of this bothers me, and I'm not one of the fans who feels entitled to recognition and appreciation from footballers just because they do their job. Others aren't the same and there were quite a few around me angry and disappointed.

This happens at every game in Perth, so I dunno. Not saying I know the solution but the club maybe wants to look into it as it feels like there's always a disconnect there.
I think it was a tad disappointing there was no open session this week. They had one in Melbourne a few weeks back and play 5+ games a year there. One game a year in perth, the club should do more to engage with the fans
 
Rowbottoms defence was great

Gulden had a quiet game for him, but still handy

Warner rusty
Our pressure was good for just about four quarters, led by Parker and Rowbum. Florent was clean when he got his hands on it. Hayward finally causing more damage. I wrote Bud off at week five but he is finishing with a wet sail. Good on him.
 

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Autopsy Solid win against Freo

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