Mark Harvey’s sacking and replacement with Ross Lyon raised many an eyebrow about whether loyalty existed in football anymore.
As we enter the halfway point of the AFL season, it is becoming apparent the Dockers made the right decision.
Lyon, unhappy with his contractual situation at St Kilda, disillusioned with the power of Chris Pelchen to override him in his role of Head of Football, negotiated multi-million dollar contract with the Dockers without his management team knowing.
Harvey, who still had a year left to run on his coaching contract at the Dockers was sacked, and Fremantle completed one of the most radical coups in its history as Lyon was instated as coach.
Lyon has been subject to masses of criticism as to how the situation was handled by all angles, including Fremantle fans who believed Harvey’s sacking was unfair due to the crippling injury toll he had suffered in 2011, at one point only having 25 fit players to choose from.
The history of the Fremantle Football Club is littered with great individual players, an exciting game style, and horrendous inconsistency. The Dockers have made the finals three times in their 17-year history, in 2003, 2006 and 2010. They were the tipster’s nightmare, as likely to beat a top team in front of their home crowd at Subiaco Oval as they were to get beaten by the worst team in the competition away from home.
Lyon has changed all this. No longer is it about the individual brilliance of Sandilands or Pavlich, nor about winning by considerable margins one week and then losing by bigger margins away from home the next.
The Dockers now provide a rigid, effort based contest and their defensive game style may be tough to watch at times, but has kept them in the contest in almost every game it has played this season, aside from games against Hawthorn in Launceston and West Coast at Patterson’s stadium.
The highest margin that Lyon has ever been beaten by as a senior coach is 61 points, by Carlton in 2010. Mark Harvey’s is 117 points, by Adelaide in 2009. Lyon has only been beaten by 60 points or more on three occasions in five and a half years as a senior coach, Harvey has lost by over 60 points 14 times, and two of those were by over 100 points.
Lyon’s defensive style keeps his teams in the game for long periods, and although it leaves them susceptible to low percentage due to lack of scoring, his methods took him within a different bounce of the ball of being a premiership coach in both 2009 and 2010 while at St Kilda.
Lyon’s game style has been described by Kevin Bartlett as “unwatchable.” Former Carlton great Marc Maclure stated that Lyon “destroys the game” commenting that Lyon went to Fremantle not because he loved the club but because “they offered him a lot of money.”
Lyon will always be subject to harsh criticism while coach of Fremantle due to the circumstances under which he came to the position, however he is regarded as tactically one of the best coaches in the AFL, and is renowned for getting everything out of his players.
Lyon demanded elite standards of his players, and made his expectations for “great conditioning and great skinfolds” well known. His buzzword of “effort” became one of the most used nouns in the vocabulary of Dockers players. In his first pre-season in charge of Fremantle, Matthew Pavlich took 20 seconds off his best three kilometre time trial, no mean feat for a 30-year-old known as an exceptional runner.
Michael Johnson lost five kilograms, Ryan Crowley nine, and both players are having stellar years. Johnson is second in the AFL for marks (83) playing deep in defence while Crowley has done great jobs as Fremantle’s number one tagger, his ability to take Brett Deledio out of the game against Richmond at the MCG had a major influence on the result going the Dockers way.
Clancee Pearce, who was likely to be delisted if Mark Harvey remained at the helm, trained throughout the holiday period before pre-season to earn his chance under Lyon. His hard work is paying off, earning a breakout season with the Dockers, averaging 18.6 disposals per game.
The Dockers sit six and five, 11th on the AFL ladder, however the three teams above them, St Kilda, Carlton and Richmond, have all played 12 games this season.
Crucially, the Dockers have been able to win games away from home, something they were incapable of doing under Harvey. Harvey’s interstate record was atrocious, with 11 wins and 33 losses in the 44 games he coached away from Pattersons’ stadium. In the five away games Lyon has coached the Dockers sit three wins two losses, losing to Hawthorn in Launceston and Sydney narrowly by 13 points at the SCG.
The Dockers record under Harvey in Melbourne is even worse, with two wins from 20 games. In his four and a half year tenure as coach of the Dockers, Harvey never won a game at the MCG. In Lyon’s first appearance at the MCG as Fremantle coach, the Dockers beat Richmond by 12 points in a game no one gave them a chance in. They broke a run of 10 straight defeats at the venue.
Indeed, it has taken Lyon two trips as Fremantle coach to Melbourne to collect as many wins as Harvey had in 20 opportunities. Lyon took the Dockers to a memorable 13 point victory over St Kilda in Etihad Stadium in round three, which began to raise eyebrows in the football community that the Dockers had potentially come of age.
The players and coaching staff have mentioned several times that the Dockers wish to become an “anywhere, any team” club, and a three and two away record in 2012 suggests they are well on their way to doing so.
The AFL is a business environment, and although the way which Lyon came to Fremantle is viewed by much of the football public as disloyal, Lyon is far more likely to bring consistency and finals appearances to a club that has had few throughout its history.
Roger
Guest
A well written article ... but ... woulda, shoulda, coulda ... what if?? Of course it is all pure speculation ... but I think Harvey would have had that team in the top 8 CONSISTANTLY within these 2 seasons (2012-2013) ... and I think he could of got them to a flag within 3 ... 4 at the outside ... Ross will need to change almost the entire playing group to achieve the game style he wants ... kinda defeats the purpose realy ... Geez ... it took Mark 2 seasons to cull the playing list in order to get it looking anything like respectable across the board from the almost consistant disaster area that the the club has been in since it's inception ... his focus on teamwork and hardness at the ball won him the respect he deserved from the fans .and playing group alike .. a big plus was that he was a graduate of the school of Sheedy ... something not to be sniffed at!! (other exples being Hardwick, Bomber Tompson, James Hird) ... an influential player himself, very well respected by his own playing group, and a successful premiership player - he knew what it took to get the job done ... Micheal Barlow's 1st season in AFL has the smell and look of typical Sheedy outside-of-the-box selection - the sort of thing that Ross doesn't have in his precisely calculated world ... no ... Harvey had the goods to take them all the way!! When Harvey was appointed, I thought "Now if the bungling administration will leave well enough alone, this MAY just be the best decision the club has ever made" ... 2010 was year the club should have made the 8 but not realy progressed ... instead they stunned everyone - probably a year ahead of its time!!. The ONLY justification to replace Harvey with Lyon ... is if Lyon was capable of pulling of a Malcolm Blight-at-the-Crows (1997 & 1998) to take the club to a a flag this year or the next on an excellerated learning curve as both are more than capable of the long term result ... no ... Fremante have made another decision worthy of the tag : Fremantle shockers!! ... and this is a pity ... because even though I'm neither a member or a fanatical supporter ... I have a longing to see this club succeed ... Just ask Voss what sort of contribution Harvey has made to the increase in Brisbanes' performance this year ... Lyon might get them close ... eventually ... but judging by his past record, with a much different playing list, he shows that his technique is lacking at the stage of the season that realy counts.
NeeDeep
Roar Pro
Travelling beautifully - 6 & 6, with Collingwood at the MCG next week. Yes "Cats", you're right, 2 wins in Melbourne isn't all that bad a result, given Freo's history on the road. But you're probably the stupid one, if you're turning a blind eye to the fact that Freo has lost 4 of its last 5 games at Subiaco and you are backing the decision to give Harvey the flick, in favour of Lyon - at this point in time.
Michael/Brisbane
Guest
Taking over Voss? For real? I would love this.
Marked
Roar Rookie
Very well written and researched article. But I am in NeeDeeps camp. I reserve judgement at this stage. Lyons selection policy and knowledge of players on the list is questionable at this point. If not played, Silvangi will leave and bite us in the arse like Clement and others have.
NeeDeep
Roar Pro
Read the article and the comments made. I'm saying 11 games into a season is hardly time to start popping the corks on the champagne bottles and slapping each other on the back for a job well done. They were going like champions after Mark Harvey took over in late 2007 - 4 wins, 3 losses, with victories over Adelaide, West Coast & Essendon. The article seems to be saying what a great move to sack Mark Harvey and risk all the criticism over the way it was done and to pinch Lyon from St. Kilda. Im saying that the jury is still out on that one. I'm not saying they should be higher on the ladder, at all!
Cats,07/09/11
Guest
Your stupid if you think fremantle should be higher then they are, they are 11 games into a completely new gamestyle, and to have 6 wins, 2 in melbourne where they have a poor record, and a win against the reigning premiers proves that.
JamesBett
Guest
Thanks for support! i agree, i dont think Sydney supporters cared overly about there brand of play in 2005 during their premiership year, not to mention one of the most enthralling finals ever at the SCG against Geelong in the semis when Nick Davis went bananas.
JamesBett
Guest
Absolutely from a pure supporters perspective it is very hard to stomach the lack of loyalty shown by Fremantle by appointing Lyon in the place of Harvey, however in Harvey's 4 years as a senior coach he made the finals once, and Lyon in his 5 years as a senior coach, has missed the finals once, coaching 3 grand finals in 2009 and 2010, a preliminary final in 2008 and an elimination final in 2011
NeeDeep
Roar Pro
How many games have Freo played this year - 11??? Gee, your drawing a long bow on a mere handful of games. The road wins against St. Kilda & Richmond seem to be the basis for giving Ross a pass mark. Personally, I think both of those sides are on the fringe of the 8, at best. Given all the fall-out over the sacking of Harvey and the behind closed doors skull-duggery to get Lyon, I would have thought the Dockers fans may have expected a little more. Their other win on the road highlights the biggext flaw in Ross's game plan. A victory over Gold Coast up at Metricon, by just 7 points. With a very defnesive game plan, you can "hang in" against tough opponents and hope to pinch a game over the course of a 4 quarter Boa Constrictor "effort". Against a weaker opponent, you run the risk of them also staying in the game, becuase you haven't put them away. The Saints buried Gold Coast by 92 & 95 points this season and looked very good doing it. A far cry from the Saints under Lyon, they are now playing with much more attacking flair and enjoying their footy and even with a 6-6 record, which includes 2 losses by 4 points an danother of 8 points, I know which style of footy I would rather watch. They are taking the game on. Closing point - how would the above article read, if the Gold Coast had pinched that game up at Metricon? We'll see how Ross has gone at the end of the year (at least) before I would label the move a succesful step!
Brewski
Roar Rookie
Bit of a story in the West on sunday about Freo, membership up, corporates up, etc etc , but i have real reservations about Lyons game style, i like to be entertained, Freo's game style looks like rugby mauls to me, call me a traditionalist but i saw a replay of the 1980 GF the other day, and although their were many skill errors, the open play was so good to watch.
swannies05
Roar Pro
Great article. I must say before the season started I was very confident that the Dockers would be in the 8, and even pushing for Top Four. The media bashing that Ross Lyon has copped has been absurd. As you point out, his record in Melbourne is already equal to Harvey's and no one can say (Lyon's critics included) that Freo's defensive pressure hasn't greatly improved. The free running, attacking mindset of the playing group was always going to take time to adjust to Lyon's more defensive approach to the game. After beating the high flying Richmond at the 'G before the Bye, Freo have a huge chance to knock off the Bombers this week, and I personally will be tipping them and think they are great value at $1.90 for anyone brave enough to believe me. As for Mark Maclure, I usually have a lot for what he has to say but his comment that Lyon went for money and not a love for the club is ludicrous. How many coaches sign up for a love of the club? Do you think Malthouse loved Collingwood when he joined them, Sanderson loved Adelaide before he signed with them, Matthews loved Brisbane before he went there? Coaches are professionals, who go where the work is. Excluding GWS and Gold Coast for obvious reasons, 10/16 club coaches have played for different clubs to the ones they coached, does Maclure really think that the other 9 coaches not Lyon all loved the clubs they now coach before they went there? Fremantle supporters should be optimistic for what lies ahead for their club in the coming years. If they finally get Sandilands right next year and they keep their best midfielders fit for the majority of a season there might just be some purple and white streamers attached to that elusive cup come one day in September in the not too distant future. Ugly football can win premierships, just ask Paul Roos or Andrew Demtriou.
Keagan Ryan
Roar Guru
It's hard to say if Harvey would've done better or worse. The gamestyle he and Lyon enforce are radically different. The win against Richmond was promising but I think that came down more to Richmond losing than Freo winning. On the Harvey sacking, it pissed me off as a neutral supporter. Still don't like how he was treated but hopefully he gets another chance at being top dog somewhere else. (Taking over Voss) Nice read!