Preview St Kilda Saints vs. Fremantle Dockers, Round 1 2023

[go_the_dockers]

Quite a few of our losses last year came from the opposition bringing greater intensity from the get-go and we weren’t able to catch up with them. We’ve been training for faster starts in preseason but it will still be a problem for us if we can’t match their physicality from the first bounce

O'Meara plus a year of development for everyone else will help.

A fit Fyfe will be a bonus, hopefully they run him through the middle in bursts.

 

[Sweetback]

O'Meara plus a year of development for everyone else will help.

A fit Fyfe will be a bonus, hopefully they run him through the middle in bursts.

I’d rather Nat just stay forward, unless something diabolically bad happens (e.g. midfielders struck by lightening)

 

[Taylor]

Potential differences:

Fremantle Out: Logue, Mundy, Lobb, Walters, Colyer (maybe Banfield, Frederick, Walker)
Fremantle In: Jackson, O'Meara, Pearce, Treacy, Switkowski, Sturt, Henry, Chapman

 

[go_the_dockers]

I’d rather Nat just stay forward, unless something diabolically bad happens (e.g. midfielders struck by lightening)

I really like forward who can push into the midfield and change things up.

Be it Fredderick or Sturt pushing onto the wing, Switta or Fyfe pushing into the center square. If you only have 6 or 7 mids, then you can get stuck

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Hey mattis117 I've merged this with the other thread and stickied your post for now. For all of you that hate things being sticked as you have to scroll through it, it will just be temporary so Mattis' review gets the attention it deserves rather than being hidden on the first page.

Thanks for your awesome work!!!

 

[mattis117]

Hey mattis117 I've merged this with the other thread and stickied your post for now. For all of you that hate things being sticked as you have to scroll through it, it will just be temporary so Mattis' review gets the attention it deserves rather than being hidden on the first page.

Thanks for your awesome work!!!

I thought you would do this, nice one

 

[Freo Jail]

I would reward guys that have done a full preseason. I dont believe you can carry all of NOD, Freddy and Walters in the same team. One at most. Match sim is not the same as the real thing, they will all lack a bit of touch and match hardness. As harsh as it sounds play them all at Peel and reward the fit guys in Henry, Sturt, Treacy, Switta, Schultz etc.
JMO

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

I would reward guys that have done a full preseason. I dont believe you can carry all of NOD, Freddy and Walters in the same team. One at most. Match sim is not the same as the real thing, they will all lack a bit of touch and match hardness. As harsh as it sounds play them all at Peel and reward the fit guys in Henry, Sturt, Treacy, Switta, Schultz etc.
JMO

Ryan as well in those underdone. Two of Nod, Freddy, Ryan and Walters which is an easy Ryan and Freddy for me if both are ok to go.

The guys taking Nod and Walters spot have done everything right and deserve a go.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Hughes sounds inevitable and therefore I think we'll be sticking with the three wings, which just makes picking the forwardline even harder.

Ryan Pearce Walker
Clark Cox Young
Hughes Brayshaw Aish
Frederick Jackson Switkowski
Schultz Taberner Fyfe

Darcy Serong O'Meara

Brodie Chapman, Henry, Banfield/Sturt/Treacy

I always get these wrong but I'm pretty confident that is the team if Freddy and Ryan are good to go. I have no idea which of those last three would be the final pick

 

[Quazar]

Great write up mattis117, first blood on season 2023....here we go!!

I have no idea what to expect from Round 1, I see a lot of positivity here about us which I do like, but sometimes I get concerned we might veer into bravado off the back of a bloody good 2022, bar the Collingwood exit. Where we played like tripe on a melted bicycle.

Plus I remember seeing all the cool Flagmantle stuff and getting swept up in it. I guess we all want that one thing: a Premiership. At least to live to see 1, just 1!!

Not everyone will, those that have gone....that were sworn in Freo fans for their lives too, but they're longer with us to get that chance to see it become reality. Like Salim...like dear little Milly and countless others. I hope for their memories and for those to come, we have what it takes.....it's been a hard road to get to, if and when it finally does happen. We all want it so bad.

But I definitely believe the window is open - it could be open for a while, it's just a question of if it can be done in that opening. Despite the rampant tides of cold merciless logic and the storms of cynicism that come to sweep you away from your dreams, I believe it will one day become a reality, and that day is sooner rather than later.

Without hope, there is nothing. It's time: Freo by 34

 

[Bad Brain]

Who gets the tag? Serong?

 

[Mags98]

Who gets the tag? Serong?

brayshaw almost definitely

 

[Taylor]

I would tag Brayshaw because the outside work is far easier to "out effort" than winning the hard inside ball.

 

[Taylor]

Big names pushing for round one

Fremantle are hoping to bolster the line-up that defeated Port Adelaide in a pre-season game

www.fremantlefc.com.au

the likes of Luke Jackson

9

Luke Jackson

Age

22

Ht

199cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.3

2star

K

3.3

1star

HB

5.0

4star

M

1.5

2star

T

1.0

3star

G

0.3

3star

D

8.3

2star

K

3.3

1star

HB

5.0

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

1.0

2star

G

0.3

3star

D

8.3

3star

K

3.3

2star

HB

5.0

4star

M

1.5

2star

T

1.0

3star

G

0.3

3star

, Luke Ryan, Michael Frederick and Michael Walters

10

Michael Walters

Age

33

Ht

176cm

Wt

77kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.2

4star

K

11.0

4star

HB

6.2

4star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.9

4star

G

1.7

5star

D

20.9

5star

K

11.8

5star

HB

9.1

5star

M

3.6

4star

T

3.3

4star

G

1.0

4star

D

13.0

4star

K

9.4

4star

HB

3.6

3star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

0.8

4star

all expected to be available for selection in round one against St Kilda.

 

[King Huskii]

Welcome to the 2023 season of the Australian Football League, the long and tedious pre-season is finally over, however, St Kilda and Fremantle fans have the longest to wait for some much needed catharsis.

Match Details
1:40 PM WST at Marvel Stadium
Fremantle currently strong favourites with the bookies.

Last Time They Met
Round 17 2022, St Kilda hosted Freo at Marvel Stadium. Tensions were high with the St Kilda crowd, with their team on the cusp of the eight there was desperation for a quality performance that would signal a return to finals football. This game can be summarised as follows: BOOOOOOOO, BOOOOOOOOO, BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, gt absolutely fkd Matt Stevic, BOOOOOOOOO, you're a campaigner Stevic.
The eloquent crowd took let umpire Matt Stevic know they disagreed with some of his decisions, particularly a holding the ball call denied when Jordan Clark got a toe to the ball while being tackled, which was soon followed a correct HTB call against Brad Hill, followed by Dan Butler politely telling Umpire Stevic what he thought of his umpiring, leading to a momentum swing to Fremantle.

The game in all its glory is reviewed here:

A fairly sad game for the Sainters as their team was just awful in the second half and they needed to take out their frustrations on the umps:

Fyfe, Brayshaw, and Darcy were huge in a game where Freo was rocked by the late out of Alex Pearce. This was also the first appearance of Lobb's bleached blond hair, a memorable moment. Tom Highmore was particularly effective for Fremantle, with his precision skills directly leading to at least three goals for Fremantle.

The Teams
The saints could be without up to ten (!) of their first choice players, it's not ideal as Ross Lyon would say. But they'll want to become an anywhere, anytime team right?
A possible team:
B: Webster, Howard, Battle
HB: Sinclair, Wilkie, Wanganeen-Milera
C: Wood, Steele, Hill (rock?)
HF: Gresham, Membrey??, Phillipou
F: Owens, Caminiti, Higgins
FOL: Marshall, Crouch, Clark

I/C: Bytel, Butler, Cordy, Stocker

Potential but unlikely: Windhager, Ross, question marks on Membrey.

Fremantle on the other hand enter the game at near full strength, with a B22 never being harder to predict:
B: Walker, Pearce, Ryan
HB: Young, Cox, Clark
C: Henry, Brayshaw, Aish
HF: Frederick, Fyfe, Jackson
F: Sturt, Taberner, Schultz
Fol: Darcy, Serong, O'Meara

I/C: Brodie, Switkowski, Treacy, Chapman
Sub: Hughes/Johnson/Banfield

Unavailable: Nathan O'Driscoll (fitness), Walters (Achilles). Frederick of course remains under a quad strain injury cloud, but I'm predicting he gets up, if fit, he plays. If Walters is fit then Sturt will get pushed out.

Tactics and Strategy
This will likely be a game of Freo playing their natural game with St Kilda putting their efforts into taking that away from them, a strategy forced on them through player unavailability. With a makeshift forward line vs. arguably the best defense in the game, St Kilda will find scoring difficult. Fremantle will look to play aggressive at the centre bounce to score before the Saints have the opportunity to get men back. The secondary avenue to goal will be turnovers, and they'll look to slingshot through Young and Clark should the opportunity present. Forward half pressure will be crucial, and this was where ascendancy was gained for Freo last time they met, with skill errors from the Saints out of defense leading to multiple goals.
Windhager will tag Brayshaw if he plays, and Fyfe will be a tough match up, with Wilkie likely to get first go at stifling the champ.

The Result
Freo could not have fixtured St Kilda at a better time and while Round 1 can dish up strange things, it is difficult to see anything but a win for Fremantle eventuating. Fremantle by 45 points, Fyfe to kick four.

Fyfe for the round 1 golden boot award

 

[stax on the mull]

I've already read somewhere that Darcy will probably be more ruck bench than ruck forward for that exact reason of being too big as a collective. Would depend who else is on the ground, if course he will still spend some time forward.

I'm probably coming around to thinking that it won't be too top heavy in the forward 50 having 3 talls and Fyfe.

The rotations don't necessarily just have to be Darcy to the bench when Jackson rucks either...it could be Treacy or Taberner to the bench and Darcy drifting forward, or Fyfe going on ball as well. Probably looking at very short stints. I guess its how it uses up the number of allowed bench rotations during a game.

 

[Sweetback]

I really like forward who can push into the midfield and change things up.

Be it Fredderick or Sturt pushing onto the wing, Switta or Fyfe pushing into the center square. If you only have 6 or 7 mids, then you can get stuck

I don’t think we need Nat to, there’s enough midfield quality and depth to not have to think about him anywhere near the midfield. At the moment he’s our most dangerous forward and that’s firepower that we’re lacking.

 

[wakojako]

* Ross Lyon. Us by 50 million

Assuming 20 min quarters they will have to kick 12.5 million points every quarter or 2,083,333 goals. This is equivalent to 625,000 points a minute or 104,000 goals a minute.

 

[wakojako]

I would reward guys that have done a full preseason. I dont believe you can carry all of NOD, Freddy and Walters in the same team. One at most. Match sim is not the same as the real thing, they will all lack a bit of touch and match hardness. As harsh as it sounds play them all at Peel and reward the fit guys in Henry, Sturt, Treacy, Switta, Schultz etc.
JMO

Orrr we could play them and they can use the easiest part of our fixture to get fit. The first six rounds are the easiest of our fixture and it only gets harder from there. I agree not all of them should play but Freddy and Ryan are a must.

 

[mattis117]

Big names pushing for round one

Fremantle are hoping to bolster the line-up that defeated Port Adelaide in a pre-season game

www.fremantlefc.com.au

So good to be going into round one with no major injury concerns, we're basically full list.

I predict they won't pick Walters and will reward Sturt with a first up game.

 

[King Huskii]

So good to be going into round one with no major injury concerns, we're basically full list.

I predict they won't pick Walters and will reward Sturt with a first up game.

Long term we need games into Sturt plus a few others. No point rushing back Walters if not fully fit

Great write up by the way

In your opinion who do you think will be the best kicker into our forward 50 this season? I think JOM or Switta

This has been a weakness we are finally overcoming

 

[Mags98]

Long term we need games into Sturt plus a few others. No point rushing back Walters if not fully fit

Great write up by the way

In your opinion who do you think will be the best kicker into our forward 50 this season? I think JOM or Switta

This has been a weakness we are finally overcoming

getting henry on the end of transition instead of acres is a massive plus, i think serong has improved his kicking a lot and can nail some pearls

 

[mattis117]

Long term we need games into Sturt plus a few others. No point rushing back Walters if not fully fit

Great write up by the way

In your opinion who do you think will be the best kicker into our forward 50 this season? I think JOM or Switta

This has been a weakness we are finally overcoming

Henry
I think JOM will do really well, Switta too like you said. I reckon Matt Johnson will become the preferred ball deliverer over time.

 

[wakojako]

Henry
I think JOM will do really well, Switta too like you said. I reckon Matt Johnson will become the preferred ball deliverer over time.

We need Young to float up the field more.

 

[King Huskii]

getting henry on the end of transition instead of acres is a massive plus, i think serong has improved his kicking a lot and can nail some pearls

Good point regarding Henry