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It’s easy to write Fremantle and Ross Lyon off, but it doesn’t make it right.
Lyon continues to come up short in the quest for a premiership as a senior coach. In seven of his nine seasons at the helm, he’s driven a side to a top six finish. He’s been a toe poke away, but often he seems a country mile.
There are two main questions surrounding Lyon. Can his game style kick enough goals to win three finals? And if it can’t, can he identify that, understand what needs to be done, and change it enough to continue to put his teams in contention?
The common conception is that Lyon’s sides can’t kick enough goals to win finals, and the evidence does appear to be stacking up. But would his sides kick more if he had Jarryd Roughead, Jack Gunston and Luke Breust? Would they kick more if he had Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and Mark LeCras? What about Taylor Walker, Eddie Betts and Josh Jenkins?
The Dockers’ best forward is Michael Walters, by a distance. Matthew Pavlich has obviously been in the twilight of his career during the Lyon reign, and might be seen no more. Hayden Ballantyne disappoints as often as he delivers. Chris Mayne has made a career of not doing enough.
They might land Cameron McCarthy from Greater Western Sydney, but it’s going to cost them to do so. Perhaps Harley Bennell. Lyon theorised about pushing Nat Fyfe forward next season, and no doubt he’d kick 50 goals if he did so.
Would releasing the breaks of Freo’s defensive system ensure more scoring? It’s hard to think a playing unit that has been so well drilled would completely break down defensively with a stronger focus on attack.
Does Lyon have to look to the Bulldogs sides under Rodney Eade, that didn’t have a dominant tall forward, but were ever dangerous with a series of small and medium forwards? Of course, the critics will say, that never delivered a grand final, let alone a flag.
Is Lyon capable of changing his game style, or will he dogmatically persist with it, believing that it only needs honing, tweaking, perfecting?
He doesn’t strike immediately as a man that will change, and his comments after the weekend’s loss to Hawthorn back that up.
Fremantle will still have one of the best top-end midfields in the competition next year. Fyfe, Lachie Neale, David Mundy and Stephen Hill are as good as any four, and beautifully complement each other too. Aaron Sandilands will continue to feed them.
Luke McPharlin will be missed, but Alex Pearce will slot in. Michael Johnson will return and hopefully play a full season. No player will work harder over pre-season than Tom Sheridan, given the fire that will be burning in his stomach after his dropped mark on Friday night.
The playing group will still be hungry. Ravenously so. The coaching panel will be freshened up, focussed, and driven.
Ross Lyon will ensure enough discipline to have his team contending again. But can he deliver enough creativity forward of centre, either through manipulating personnel or revolutionising his system?
Can the Dockers land the player that is the piece their puzzle is missing? Can Ross Lyon further develop the talent that is already there?
These are the questions that need answering. Gut feeling says that both coach and club are not done yet.