- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Ross Lyon has an outstanding win/loss record in home-and-away football and has won his fair share of finals, with both St Kilda and Fremantle. However his resumé is incomplete without a flag.
As coach of both the Saints and the Dockers he come close in the big one, and although Fremantle are still well in the hunt for the top four, that premiership seems elusive as ever, with the Swans clear favourites.
Last Saturday’s performance against St Kilda was terrible. In their previous game against the Saints, in the last round of last seasons, they were thrashed. This almost cost them dearly as Geelong just beat Brisbane.
History, however, will say that Lyon and the Dockers had the last laugh next week, when Fremantle beat the Cats in a qualifying final at Kardinia Park.
However, this year’s thrashing by the Saints is still six weeks from the finals. Port defeating the Demons puts them on the same number of wins as the Dockers, and Fremantle are in danger of missing the top four.
Last Saturday 18 of 2013’s grand final losing side played. They had won eight in a row, and as you get closer to the finals with your spot already assured, a loss can be a positive, but usually about Round 20 or 21, and not by ten goals.
Collingwood lost in the last round of 2010 after a significant winning streak and went on to win the flag, as did Hawthorn in Round 20 in 2008. Geelong lost in both Round 19 of 2009 and Round 21 of 2011, but the flag in both those years went to the Cats.
There is still time for Fremantle, and maybe the bye has come at the best time, but with Lyon very much a coach for the now, this may be one of the last years this Dockers squad could claim the flag.
Lyon left St Kilda having to undertake a massive rebuild and there’s a long way to go, but Saturday’s performance shows they are heading in the right direction.
The Saints players were weary after having to undertake that intense game plan and when broken down, as they were at times in Lyon’s last year there in 2011, they could be beaten easily. Could there be signs that the Dockers are also tired from applying this manic pressure? They have quite often struggled to score many goals since Lyon took over and that was evident again on Saturday.
This effort has put in jeopardy their chances to consolidate a top-four position, which results in the coveted double chance and also a home final – the ideal run to the grand final.
If this year doesn’t result in a Fremantle premiership – and they need to improve dramatically to usurp Sydney – can this group go again in the same manner in 2015 to create history?
Lyon has no intention of going anywhere in the short term, but rebuilds are not his forte, and unless he strikes in the next year, it would appear pretty tough for him to win the flag he was hired for in controversial circumstances in 2011.
Expect a savage response after the bye against Carlton, but then there’s Geelong and Hawthorn to come.
At the end of the season, the St Kilda debacle may be what cost them a top-four spot and a legitimate premiership chance. Considering Lyon’s history with the Saints, wouldn’t they love that?
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.