No Oppo Supporters The Melt Thread

[_007_]

Assistant coaches that I'd at least hear out for a coaching role;

John Barker
Robert Harvey
Leigh Tudor
Nathan Bassett
Stuart Dew
Justin Longmuir


Ex seniors coaches (preferably not though);
Sanderson
Ratten
McCartney

I'm still on the see what Lyon can do for the period of his contract wagon atm.

 

[Tinoiom]

Assistant coaches that I'd at least hear out for a coaching role;

John Barker
Robert Harvey
Leigh Tudor
Nathan Bassett
Stuart Dew
Justin Longmuir


Ex seniors coaches (preferably not though);
Sanderson
Ratten
McCartney

I'm still on the see what Lyon can do for the period of his contract wagon atm.

No way can/should Freo wait that long.

This season is what he gets. No discernible improvement, it is time to say thanks for the memories.

 

[danstar]

Ross lyon should be sacked this week

 

[Jezzitizle]

At the game I was thinking we looked like a side with plenty of improvement in it. We were rubbish crumbling in our forward half, really missed Ballas putting the defence under pressure.

We were also average at getting quality clearances, Geelong seemed to have less but found free players more regularly and quickly.

I think it will take 5 or 6 weeks by which time our season will be shot, but I think we will be a better team at the end of the year than the beginning.

 

[meima]

Team that win ruck contest but lost the match
Carlton
Collingwood
Sydney
GC ( not a lot there for lost by small margin)
Hawthorn
GWS
North Melbourne
Fremantle.

 

[wafti123]

I think that Ross has until the first half of next year to show clear improvement. If nothing happens by then, the search will be on.

 

[Steinfreo]

I think that Ross has until the first half of next year to show clear improvement. If nothing happens by then, the search will be on.

The question is do we even want him for our next tilt? I'm not sure.

 

[mad4freo]

THIS IS NOT A RANT BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO PUT AS IT DOESN'T FIT ANY CURRENT THREADS!
Team 1 (Rnd 1 Team v Geelong)
Spurr - Hamling - Dawson
Ibbo - Johnson Suban
Hill - Blakely - Hill
Pearce - McCarthy - Langdon
Walters - Kersten - Weller
Sandi - Fyfe - Mundy
Griffin - Tucker - Neale - Sutcliffe

Team 2 (Target Team)
Spurr - A Pearce - Collins
Crozier - Hamling - Ryan
B.Hill - S.Hill - Weller
Bennell - McCarthy - Blakely
Ballas - Taberner - Walters
Sandi - Fyfe - Mundy
Neale - Langdon - Griffin - Tucker

Dawson - Pearce
Johnson - Collins
Ibbo - Ryan
Sutcliffe - Crozier
Pearce - Bennell
Kersten - Taberner
Suban - Ballas

I think the four bold changes have to be made when these guys are fit. I know its harsh on Johnson as he has been a great servant for many years but Collins is a great young player and he deserves that spot to develop (i think he would love playing on second or third tall's as opposed to playing on the number one fwd like he had to last season), If we are honest we all know Johnson wont be their for our next run at a premiership. The other three changes probably arent massive upgrades but i think they will improve us through positional changes.

I think its now in the best interest of the club to unleash Weller on a wing, he should have a big enough fitness base after three pre-seasons and he isn't a good enough defender to be carried back there. Crozier on the other hand even though atm he isn't very good at defending his marking ability is a real plus back there and if he consistently gets a game back there he could improve defensively (he also trained through the entire pre-season back there). At the end of the day Weller wont be playing half back for his whole career and when he hit's his prime years he will be playing on the wing or through the middle and that's the position he should be developed at, he isn't a draftee anymore he is in his third year and has now played around 30 games and his next 30 will be very important for how he turns out as a player.

Luke Ryan is interesting as his profile really stood out to me once we had drafted him, a medium sized defender who can kick and defend!! I remember the days when we were known as the club who gave early opportunities to mature age players. 2010 Barlow got his opportunity early and took it, 2011 Mzungu got his opportunity early and took it, 2012 it was Spurr's turn and look at how he turned out. Ryan should be looked at in the same way we viewed those blokes and after he gains the required match fitness and WAFL form he should be put straight into the team and stay there. If you look at Geelong last night Stewart was playing his first game for them and he played admirably and will only improve with more games, Ryan could be the same.

If this team ever did get onto the park we would have a young, quick, skillful team and a blank canvas for Ross to Rebuild upon. At the end of the day Pearce/Ballas/Bennell/Ryan need to come back from injury and get some continuity in their work load and Fyfe, Sandi, McCarthy are in a similar boat so i am looking to see Team number 1 slowly morph into Team number 2 as the season progresses and when we get closer towards team two then i think we will see massive improvement in individuals and the team as a whole. If we can get some upset wins in the back half of the year have a good trade/draft period and go into the off-season with some positivity look for us to challenge for the eight next season, the four the year after that and the flag the year after that, similarly to 2011, 2012 and 2013.

I know lots of people probably thought we could challenge this year but last night was a reality check for us fans (i think the people and players inside the club expected the loss more so than us) but at least now we can watch with no expectations and hopefully as i said before get a few upsets towards the back end of the season.

 

[Nightrain]

I've been reading a lot of comments about our skill or lack thereof. Frankly I dont believe our players are less skilled than others in the competition given the amount of training we undertake and just the process to make it to an AFL list. This lack of perceived skill has been present for the entire 11 years I've been a member - how can this be with all the changes at the club during all these years? I'm convinced skill is directly related to confidence. I'm convinced that the current crop of players lack confidence because deep down they can't stand Ross and we would be 100% better under a younger more approachable coach. I believe our current team is more than capable and would excel under a modern coach. Just like how Simpson gave the same WCE team a breath of fresh air after Worsfold and experienced great success.

I will be the first to thank Ross when he leaves our club, the 2013 GF was one of the best sporting experiences I've ever had. But if he really wants to do whats best for the club and not to preserve his pride, he needs to accept that his time as an AFL coach has passed. Its time to bring forward the process of handing the reins to someone else and he won't suffer financially as he will be paid out. 6 years is long enough and its time for the club to bring this relationship to its inevitable end.

I have been thinking similar in regards to skill. I have a mate who reckons Ross kills any instinct our players have and with it goes the confidence. I don't buy that the players can't stand him but maybe they are scared of playing their natural game for fear of stuffing up. It's hard to believe that our playing group, bar a few exceptions, are so average in skill. I look at some of the first/second year players for other clubs (McGrath, SPP, Brayshaw, Oliver, Alir Alir etc) who play with so much confidence and wonder if they would play the same in purple.

All that said, I remember having this same lost feeling after a home loss to Carlton early in 2012 and wanting us to either trade Sandy or get rid of Mark Stone as we were losing the centre clearances and the game plan wasn't working. This was when we went on that long run of losses and the general vibe was that Freo made a stuff up by hiring Lyon. We came good later that year and played the best game I have seen from a Fremantle team in it's entire history, the elimination final against Geelong. We looked like a skilful team that night and guys like Clancee Pearce could do no wrong.

So I will sit on the fence for now, and give the coaching staff a chance to turn it around as they have done before. But FM some skill work at training wouldn't hurt. Brad Hill should lead a few sessions of how to avoid a tackle and weave through a press.

 

[Wizard]

The D Pearce hate is bordering on pathetic.
Beyond the odd error by foot yesterday he played fine, he's not S Hill but he's certainly a worthy contributor.

 

[Nickos66]

Replacing 2-3 personnel isn't going to save us, based on yesterday's game.

Having Bennell, Ballas & A. Pearce instead of Suban, Kersten & Dawson won't flick a magic switch for us.

The gameplan appears to be lost on the players, the constant slowing down at half back and picking "the right option" only for it to be contested and head back the other way will still happen with a few changes. The players we have, have natural flair and should be allowed the opportunity to play to their strengths, take the game on. We're not going to accomplish anything in 4 years if we think we can implement Hawthorn's 3peat gameplan, we don't have the skills of the heads to implement it.
We are not Hawthorn.

 

[meima]

The D Pearce hate is bordering on pathetic.
Beyond the odd error by foot yesterday he played fine, he's not S Hill but he's certainly a worthy contributor.

Instead of hate , maybe criticism is a better word , not sure what you will get out of him long term , why not let other develop a bit earlier if freo is 0-4.

 

[Wizard]

Instead of hate , maybe criticism is a better word , not sure what you will get out of him long term , why not let other develop a bit earlier if freo is 0-4.

There still has to be an expectation of hard work & building a strong culture within the club. Clearly DP contributes to these areas more than a 19 year old he on the track may not be pulling his weight, or is drinking every weekend or can't follow dietary guidelines etc.
It's never as simple as just playing a young guy for the sake of it.

 

[meima]

We're not going to accomplish anything in 4 years if we think we can implement Hawthorn's 3peat gameplan, we don't have the skills of the heads to implement it.
We are not Hawthorn.

Not harm to improve your skill at training through, freo is neither here or there . I don't see anything from the game plan that freo copy from hawthorn at all.

 

[MadDocker]

It's never as simple as just playing a young guy for the sake of it.

Team isn't going anywhere this year. The longer we drag out the rebuild by sticking with the 30 year olds, the more pain we'll endure. Get the youngsters in and see what they can do playing together. Flick them at the end of the year if they aren't up to it.

 

[meima]

Team isn't going anywhere this year. The longer we drag out the rebuild by sticking with the 30 year olds, the more pain we'll endure. Get the youngsters in and see what they can do playing together. Flick them at the end of the year if they aren't up to it.

Can also relegated them to rookie if they don't keep themselves fit and get less paid ,if they show something but been lazy.

 

[gaskin]

Team isn't going anywhere this year. The longer we drag out the rebuild by sticking with the 30 year olds, the more pain we'll endure. Get the youngsters in and see what they can do playing together. Flick them at the end of the year if they aren't up to it.

I don't know how you can come to this assumption based on one game.

 

[MadDocker]

I don't know how you can come to this assumption based on one game.

Maybe we watched different games? If you think the team that played yesterday is a chance at taking home a flag this year, I'm not sure what to say. We are miles off. Get things ready for next year and beyond. Don't waste time trying to scrape into the 8, we won't make it anyway.

 

[gaskin]

Maybe we watched different games? If you think the team that played yesterday is a chance at taking home a flag this year, I'm not sure what to say. We are miles off. Get things ready for next year and beyond. Don't waste time trying to scrape into the 8, we won't make it anyway.

Nobody has said anything about a flag, but you can't after 1 game say the team is going nowhere. It is all well and good saying get rid of the 30 year olds but by taking that experience out of the team the younger guys have nobody to learn from and that could be even more detrimental to their development than if they are playing WAFL. Not to mention you run the risk of multiple 100+ point losses which would not be good for their confidence.

 

[igon value]

We were the third most experienced and oldest team of round 1, after West Coast and Hawthorn.

It doesn't look much like a rebuild. It only looks like one in terms of performance.

 

[meima]

Nobody has said anything about a flag, but you can't after 1 game say the team is going nowhere. It is all well and good saying get rid of the 30 year olds but by taking that experience out of the team the younger guys have nobody to learn from and that could be even more detrimental to their development than if they are playing WAFL. Not to mention you run the risk of multiple 100+ point losses which would not be good for their confidence.

Isn't this been saying for two years already? Are freo winning ? So much criticism about deboer , Barlow type yet d.pearce and Johnson type is bullet proof. If sending new player and freo lost by 100 point week in week out you bring d.pearce back . no just talk on paper no action.

 

[MadDocker]

Nobody has said anything about a flag, but you can't after 1 game say the team is going nowhere. It is all well and good saying get rid of the 30 year olds but by taking that experience out of the team the younger guys have nobody to learn from and that could be even more detrimental to their development than if they are playing WAFL. Not to mention you run the risk of multiple 100+ point losses which would not be good for their confidence.

If we're not aiming for the flag, what the hell are we doing? Something needs to happen or we'll be talking about the same stuff in 2019.

 

[meima]

If we're not aiming for the flag, what the hell are we doing? Something needs to happen or we'll be talking about the same stuff in 2019.

Exactly don't want when 2019 Melbourne in top 4 , yet freo still talking about their bad culture years ago.

 

[wafti123]

The question is do we even want him for our next tilt? I'm not sure.

I would like to think so. There are parts of my own job that I need to work on as well. If we work on our limitations we improve. I see Ross as more intelligent than your average coach. The performance of a team not used to playing with each other takes time. If things dont look up into next year after allowing for another draft round, then things will happen.

If nothing else, his press conferences are quite entertaining.

 

[tonygeeks]

Ross preaches on an on about effort and intensity yet we have 45 tackles, 9thmond known for being soft, albeit playing only the Blues U19's still had 88 tackles. Effort, intensity and tackling is not about skills but desire and attitude for hard work. That kick in effort of Johnson's off one step was absolutely deplorable and illustrated his intensity for the contest.

Carlton are not great but have accepted their fate at least , I was very disappointed with our team selection . Deep down Lyon will not allow that he can't turn it around quickly and garner more genius cred so he won't fully commit to a rebuild . He might even scrape us into the 8 but it will leave us with a list full of unresolved issues


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