Is the Freo game the one that counts?

I went into last night's game feeling the opposite of how Ross Lyon did.

That was the most confident I've been since early 2023 that we'd win a game of footy. Bevo is the best in the business at tapping into an emotion and getting a group to ride the wave. With the walls closing in last week, I have no doubt Bev went into 'us against them' mode and made that the theme.

We also still have an experienced core of senior, hardened players who were roasted in the media individually and as a collective. They were always going to be fierce at the contest last night and it was no surprise to see Naughton and Dale stamp some authority.

I'm obviously extremely pleased at the win, but for mine, the true test is this week. Go over to Perth and do it again now that some of the heat and emotion is out of the situation.

I think Bailey Dale is symbolic of where this group's at. He was dropped, copped it publicly and responded with his best game in 24 months. Amazing performance but that's now the bar from which you should be measured. And you need to do it as matter of course, not just when the media has given you a kicking.

I thought a Ross Lyon side was the perfect test for us last night and I think Freo are the perfect test next week. They're a solid if unspectacular side, fighting to be in a similar spot to us. They're the kinds of wins that finals' sides have.

If we go over to Perth and beat them, I think we can start to look at this group as having turned a bit of a corner. If we don't show up next week, when some of the emotion has gone out of it, there are big questions about what it takes to get this group up for the contest.

Pretty much.

Do that to Freo on the road. Or have a Sydney in 2015 moment and all the glimmers of hope get franked and there’ll be a few credits in the bank. Or a smaller debt.

It's an extremely important game, especially with games to follow against Hawthorn & Richmond.

Win next week and we should get to 6-3 and then go into the game against the Giants with some momentum.

We played them off the park last year and I see no reason why we can't do it again.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mantis

It's an extremely important game, especially with games to follow against Hawthorn & Richmond.

Win next week and we should get to 6-3 and then go into the game against the Giants with some momentum.

We played them off the park last year and I see no reason why we can't do it again.

---

Very critical for us and Freo have a bit of a unique game style that we will need to be prepared for.

Historically it?s a plus that we play them a week after the derby. Both WA sides are usually a bit flat after it.

Should be a fierce and competitive game. I haven’t quite worked out how good Freo are at this stage.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bornadog

Should be a fierce and competitive game. I haven’t quite worked out how good Freo are at this stage.

---

Fremantle's defense is A grade - their midfield at the source is extremely good.

Biggest problem is they cannot score.

It will be a low scoring affair.

Hopefully Naughton, Weightman, Lobb and Darcy can get ontop and hit the scoreboard.

Is the Freo game the one that counts?

Of course it is. Because half my family support them and I live and work within 3kms of their training facility.

So yes.

Huge game. If we win it, the needle has moved.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by azabob

Fremantle's defense is A grade - their midfield at the source is extremely good.

Biggest problem is they cannot score.

It will be a low scoring affair.

Hopefully Naughton, Weightman, Lobb and Darcy can get ontop and hit the scoreboard.

---

Their team defense is great, but I think their key backs are poor.

Pearce defends well but is horrendous with the footy, Luke Ryan is under-sized and they like to try and free him up, Josh Draper is very raw from what I've seen. If we can move the ball quickly in to Naughton/Darcy/Marra/Lobb, I think we can really stretch them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mjp

Is the Freo game the one that counts?

Of course it is. Because half my family support them and I live and work within 3kms of their training facility.

So yes.

---

you see them live more than we do. Have we the players, game plan that beat them

Interesting stat - since the end of 2021 we are 0-5 the week after a 50+ point win.

Inconsistency is still there this year but it feels like we are a different team this year compared to 2022-23. We are inconsistent this year more around adjusting to the expectations of the game plan changes as well as an influx of personnel changes that are taking time to bed down, whereas the last couple of years it was purely inconsistency of effort, with our pressure and intensity being on and off.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bornadog

you see them live more than we do. Have we the players, game plan that beat them

---

I think you are over-estimating how much AFL footy I've watched this year. I did go to watch them play the Crows and came away with two thoughts.

1 - Adelaide suck.
2 - Freo suck...but slightly less than Adelaide.

It was a low skill, terrible game. And it was Good Friday so my plan to have a beer afterwards was scuppered by the simple fact that everything was closed.

We need to win well when we're favourites.
I loved last night's game but we're still so inconsistent as a side even a win against Freo won't put the question marks to bed

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mofra

We need to win well when we're favourites.
I loved last night's game but we're still so inconsistent as a side even a win against Freo won't put the question marks to bed

---

We beat both GC & WC when we were favoured to win.

We need to start beating top 8 teams.. our record against the good teams over the past 2 years has been awful and to start giving ourselves some confidence we need some scalps.

Over our last 13 wins, the closest margin was 15 points.

We are 0-8 in matches decided by 14 or less during that same period.

Would be nice to not have to dominate a match to win games.

Watching them tonight, apart from Jackson, an old Fyfe and Serong they are very very slim list.
They actually look like WC the last 3 years.

Beware the wounded Docker. Like us last week, the Dockers will cop it in the media … especially the WA media. Longmuir’s head will be called for on a silver platter (even though he just signed a one year extension). They will come out hunting against us.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scraggers

Beware the wounded Docker. Like us last week, the Dockers will cop it in the media … especially the WA media. Longmuir’s head will be called for on a silver platter (even though he just signed a one year extension). They will come out hunting against us.

---

Yep on paper we should win easily but they will be hurting and come out firing. I was dreading a West Coast win. Three losses in a row they will be desperate

As soon as I saw the Derby result, I thought "Great, another team we play when they've been belted the week before and need to respond". Need to hit then hard and early and sap the life out of the game

So the Eagles were tanking right.

How are we feeling about the last fortnight after last night?

I think we know a lot more. This is a side that mostly works hard, the team defence feels better than last year and we have better plans for bringing the ball from back to front.

We also have some big flaws - it was alarming the way we were thrashed at the contest without Libba, some of the personnel in our back 6 can be exploited and the way we get the ball into our forwards is problematic by design.

This is an 'okay' side that's battling it out for the bottom places in the 8 (think we sit somewhere between 7-11), but has enough talent and maturity to see off the poor sides fairly easily.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lemmon

How are we feeling about the last fortnight after last night?

I think we know a lot more. This is a side that mostly works hard, the team defence feels better than last year and we have better plans for bringing the ball from back to front.

We also have some big flaws - it was alarming the way we were thrashed at the contest without Libba, some of the personnel in our back 6 can be exploited and the way we get the ball into our forwards is problematic by design.

This is an 'okay' side that's battling it out for the bottom places in the 8, but has enough talent and maturity to see off the poor sides fairly easily.

---

I don’t see finals this year.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lemmon

How are we feeling about the last fortnight after last night?

I think we know a lot more. This is a side that mostly works hard, the team defence feels better than last year and we have better plans for bringing the ball from back to front.

We also have some big flaws - it was alarming the way we were thrashed at the contest without Libba, some of the personnel in our back 6 can be exploited and the way we get the ball into our forwards is problematic by design.

This is an 'okay' side that's battling it out for the bottom places in the 8, but has enough talent and maturity to see off the poor sides fairly easily.

---

Shattered against Essendon, thought our effort against the Saints was very good and with a longer break I was hoping for a better effort against Fremantle. It's been a bit of a roller coaster.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ledge

Watching them tonight, apart from Jackson, an old Fyfe and Serong they are very very slim list.
They actually look like WC the last 3 years.

---

They have more than that! Hayden Young is a gun half back/mid, Ryan is an incredible intercept defender, Pearce is a great captain and KPD, Darcy is a solid ruck, Walters, Brayshaw, Jordan Clarke.... theres more.. They go ok.

It's a lot like the Essendon game. A team challengng us for a spot n the 8 that we come up short againts.

We beat the lesser sides well - NM, WCE, Hawks, Richmond, Suns, but come up short againt quality, hungry teams.

Its not good enough

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FrediKanoute

It's a lot like the Essendon game. A team challengng us for a spot n the 8 that we come up short againts.

We beat the lesser sides well - NM, WCE, Hawks, Richmond, Suns, but come up short againt quality, hungry teams.

Its not good enough

---

It reminded me more of the Geelong game. We were beaten in the middle, couldn't get the game on our terms, missed some key chances, but managed to keep ourselves in it for the vast majority with decent pressure and effort. We were beaten by better sides on both nights, but we held on pretty doggedly and could've put more pressure on if we capitalised on momentum.

The Essendon game was a lot more dire for me - we were smacked in the mouth and completely overwhelmed.

I thought too much emotional emphasis was placed on this game by posters when a trip to Perth is always difficult, and we're a team that is a long way off confidently doing the business over there.

Both teams worked really hard. Given the disparity in the clearance game I think we can be happy enough with our team resilience but you're always going to eat shit with Khamis being made accountable, JOD learning and Jones having a horrid first half.

Put that together with poor conversion in the third and we couldn't afford any slips in the last, which is fine for a team that is clinical, but we aren't a clinical team.

So I don't feel any differently than I did last week, outside of lamenting a loss rather than enjoying a win.

For me the Freo game wasn't a shock, but it was disappointing. Agree we're downhill skiiers again this year - able to crush witches hats but struggle against determined opposition of any quality. I also don't see us making finals.

For me the killer was the lethargic, timid play. If I'm really honest, if I want to see a good game of football, I'd rather watch the Swans (That's as far as I'd go, I'd never watch Geelong play by choice and I'm not quite there with GWS). They play with a bit of dash and momentum that's really fun to watch. The Freo game was a harsh reminder that I don't enjoy watching us play.

But also - it was a real reminder that with the exception of Bont and notably Darcy, the talent on our list can't make itself felt. Naughton, English, JUH (when he plays) all work really hard, but they really struggle to impact where it counts. It just feels like we're walking through treacle at all times. I hope that's the system re-set and it'll just click soon, but it's also what we're like most years.

Does anyone else feel like they can predict the result of one of our games within two or three plays from the first bounce? We're either on and electric, or off, and nothing seems to be able to change that between the sirens.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jeemak

I thought too much emotional emphasis was placed on this game by posters when a trip to Perth is always difficult, and we're a team that is a long way off confidently doing the business over there.

Both teams worked really hard. Given the disparity in the clearance game I think we can be happy enough with our team resilience but you're always going to eat shit with Khamis being made accountable, JOD learning and Jones having a horrid first half.

Put that together with poor conversion in the third and we couldn't afford any slips in the last, which is fine for a team that is clinical, but we aren't a clinical team.

So I don't feel any differently than I did last week, outside of lamenting a loss rather than enjoying a win.

---

Yes we performed exactly as expected.

I just wish we didn't trade our first rounder if this is how the club expected to perform. It's gonna look like a bad trade come end of season when we're mid table.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rocco Jones

Over our last 13 wins, the closest margin was 15 points.

We are 0-8 in matches decided by 14 or less during that same period.

Would be nice to not have to dominate a match to win games.

---

And so it continues. I know technically the margin blew out in the last 3 minutes, but this was another game in the balance and we failed to close it out (yet again). We need to get so much better nailing the moments in tight games.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bulldogsthru&thru

Yes we performed exactly as expected.

I just wish we didn't trade our first rounder if this is how the club expected to perform. It's gonna look like a bad trade come end of season when we're mid table.

---

That does look crazy in hindsight if we didn't think we were top 8.

I would suggest reading the tea leaves on Bailey Smith maybe forced our hand to chase a young mid.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Grantysghost

That does look crazy in hindsight if we didn't think we were top 8.

I would suggest reading the tea leaves on Bailey Smith maybe forced our hand to chase a young mid.

---

Then trade Smith last year!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bulldogtragic

Then trade Smith last year!

---

That was my stance

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Grantysghost

That was my stance

---

If and when he picks Geelong or Collingwood we are so screwed.