Hawthorn clash do or die for down-and-out Dockers

Oops - sorry Freo are 2-1-2 from last 5 at SCG

Those comparisons, Peter, I just remembered, were ranking our best, Fyfe, against your best, Hannebery; our 2nd best, Mundy, against your 2nd best, Kennedy, etc... Not type against type. You might reverse Hannebery and Kennedy and Fyfe and Mundy still win!.

I think I have outlined before the things I like about Dawson. Last week, Geelong's delivery was magnificent and Hawkins was holding everything. Dawson was clever enough to work him upfield so Hawkins was getting possession on the wrong side of the 50...even near the centre. TommyH can kick goals from anywhere so Dawson took him out of his range. Only one goal. But it is his judgement of when to spoil to a crumbing player and when to destroy to the boundary for a Sandi tap to advantage that impresses me. He reads things so well. So many people think he is dumb but he organizes the defence and is so clever with his own game for someone with such limited skills.

I'm sorry Don but Zac Dawson is useless. I think you have all the others correct, except perhaps Mundy vs Kennedy.

There's some howlers in this article :/

Freo have lost 2 and drawn 1 in their last three at the G

This was in response to a list I gave of who we had out when Brian said to you that you couldn't blame Freo's problems all on Sunny. He said to you; “…but you’ve still had most of your best players available each week”.

They're not great match ups though - most of the players you nominate don't play in remotely the same positions. Walters for Mitchell? Please. Sonny is by far the more talented but has only played 45 games. Mitchell has made the most of his talents but is not capable of the sublime. Very few players are - in our team, it is Walters and Fyfe with Ballas pitching in for the freaky good occasionally (young Duffy is known to do the same). And never understimate the Gu, or feel you're being very generous. You're not. He doesn't play anything like the role Rioli plays But I am so pleased that in his column in The Age last week that Bob Murphy listed him, as one of the hardest players to play against, and most underestimated. You should check it out; there were a few Hawks in his list but no Rioli. (Rioli you might get a quarter and a bit out of, when he's not injured, but the Gu will run the length of the ground for 4 quarters, is a beautiful release kick and has had his first injury in 3 years. The only player I can think of for speed and endurance who is vaguely similar is Varcoe and he's not very good) Hill? Meh. Outside. Look at his brother's hard ball get statistics. He can play inside and out. No comparison. Roughhead and Gunston play at the other end of the fleld. Not sure the relevance. But we have 2 All Australians there - at least Roughy made it last year. De Boer and Isaac Smith? Smith is the better player but they don't play similar roles. De Boer is our hard nut. He'd eat Smith for a breakfast snack. Whitecross v Morabito? Surely you joke. I think you'll see next year why Mora is considered an athletic freak and a future eltie player Not player stagnation either. You are right that the Hawks have had their depth tested and have done well. I've admitted that Freo doesn't have the same depth and that its injuries have consequently hit hard. That doesn't mean that players have stagnated, we just haven't managed consistently to get the same players on the field this year. No matter, we're looking pretty good now McPharlin aside. And finally, I couldn't care less if the Melbourne-centric media had us as flag favourites. They have little idea about Freo anyway; as is demonotrated in every broadcast when the blonde headed bloke must be Mundy because they have no idea who Duffield and Mayne actually are.

If Hawks fans are claiming injury already.....then Freo won't want to lose :-)

I chucked Crowley in because Sydney had run out of midfielders. Yeah, he'd go onto Jack or Hannebery, SS think Hannebery has the wood on Crowley because he kicked 4 goals on him last year. That was in a 15 minute spurt and Crowls just squeezed him after that. If I had to pick between Kennedy or Mundy for my own schoolyard side, I'd always take Mundy. His kicking is elite...even his after siren misses look tidy. Kennedy spills too much just after he has gathered it. Spill as in disposes haphazardly. Counts as a stat which impresses you guys. Bird is good but on the same tier as Sutcliffe, Ibbotson, Spurr. If you are going to count Goodes, we count Johnson and Duffield and Mayne who all have that licence not to mention Ballas. Only chucked in Malceski to annoy you Syneysiders. He doesn't play there. As I suggest to Brian, Hawks are already claiming injury...seems like they have been partially scalped already up forward. Unlike last week, when we gave Geelong a #1 haircut, we'll take the whole scalp on Saturday.

I'll jump in and support you Mark, since most of what Balt and Don do is fob off rather than fairly anaylze from both sides. Don, the way in which you compare the midfield is interesting but I think you are off the mark with Mundy and Kennedy this season. Kennedy might be having a better year this year than Mundy. I think you are right on the others, except to say that Hannebery and Fyfe are different types. McGlynn is playing out of his skin at the moment and I haven't seen an opposition pay him enough attention in recent weeks. Pearce and McVeigh are on par. You left out Craig Bird who is a crucial part of our midfield at the moment and playing well. Goodes is chipping in in the middle and Buddy is also starting in the square every now and then. Makes for some interesting conversations. Wouldn't Crowley tag Jack or Hannebery like he has in the past? I wouldn't match him up on Malceski. So some gaps in your argument. Balt, yep, no doubt the Swans lost that final nearly a year ago......DIfferent sides for both teams on the paddock next time around. The draw is the draw, the Swans don't control it. For some reason the AFL still thinks the Eagles rivalry is alive and kicking and so the Swans travel to Patersons for that one. Hopefully that will change because I would like to see the Swans play Freo there one day. At the end of the day (as Ross loves to say) you can only play and beat the teams you are dished up and the Swans did that for 12 in a row. This year, both the Swans and Freo have had their bad loss, one to GWS and one to St Kilda. They have lost others they should have, both to North, the Swans to Collingwood and Freo to Port. They have both had their big wins, Freo beat Geelong at home, Swans beat the Hawks at home. The Swans probably have a few other big wins to their name, which Freo still have to chalk up. Last week was one of those chances, this week is by far and away the other. I think that is fair isn't it? Ross said it today, he isn't concerned about the mental stuff coming into finals, he just wants a big scalp. Well I would expect this big scalp of the Hawks will give them the mental edge that they need. Now just on that Gold Coast comment.....they were flying when the Swans played them. I wouldn't expect either side to be scared of each other. This Freo, as opposed to the won of 2006, has not played at ANZ, let alone in a final. I'd say it would be a very interesting battle and one that if Freo could win it, then that would put them in good stead for a GF birth. Big task though. Can't wait to see what happens and really hope we meet in that first week in Sep.

BTW, who do you think was tagged by Hawthorn when Fyfe and Barlow missed or who had to play on Roughead when Dawson missed. (You know, Dawson has only had more than 2 goals kicked on him once this year...by Nick Reiwoldt). You can't claim tactical impact of injury without acknowledging ours. That would have changed that game and we'd be 3rd now and you'd be 4th. You say all teams have their problems but your original line of argument was; “…but you’ve still had most of your best players available each week”. Nup. The most significant absentees apart from, maybe, Brisbane.

The last few days has been trumpeting exactly that about Malceski as now elite an worth a million. You haven't watched his comeback, have you? Look at some replays. You'll be impressed. Mitchell was...once. He is not ahead of McPharlin, the competition's best key defender. He has missed more than 10. Johnson has missed 6 or 7. Gunston 2, Roughhead 1. Hills cancel out. Rioli is in the same boat as Morabito. Brilliant but not on the track. At least Mora sees out a game. The game has passes Sewell by. Will be de-listed if he doesn't retire. Critics has Ibbotson on AA pace last year before injury. Isaac Smith..we'll stand him against Fyfe. He has hardly missed. Whitecross will be generously cancelled out by Gumbleton although I could use Max Duffy or Tanner Smith who are both better. Where would Whitecross get a game in their best 25? Using your logic, he has missed 2 years. Brian Lake is worth nothing anymore but Griffin is as good, now. You haven't accounted for missed games by Pavlich, Ballantyne, Barlow, Dawson...many by De Boer.Gibson is cancelled out by Johnson, Ibbotson, De Boer and Clancee Pearce who have between 15 and 20 games compared to Gunston and Roughead 3 Pretty compelling, isn't it? Most of your list is short term and our long termers have been out for longer.

He's been injured for 3 years you really gonna trott him out as a top 5 player. Very few get injured like that and go on to dominate as you suggest. If you know go player for player Walters - We missed Mitchell for 10 games who I'd have way ahead of Walters McPharlin & Johnson - Roughead and Gunston per your assertions Hill - We've missed B Hill Mzungu - Rioli and I'm being extremely generous to Mzungu here Ibbotson - mmm Sewell De Boer - Isaac Smith Gumbleton & Morabito - Brendon Whitecross C Pearce - I like him maybe Brian Lake who we've missed Then there's the 10 games we missed Gibson plus those without Hodge. Our relatively narrow losses to Sydney & Port were games where Burgoyne & Lewis were tagged by coaches who didn't have to worry about Mitchell, Rioli & Hodge because none played. All teams have had problems the fact is pre-season you guys were flag favourites but there is still a lack of another forward not sure what's wrong with Zac Clarke when Sandi plays. I think JPod could have been useful right now. But you've gone from 1st to 4th in this race and mostly through player stagnation not injuries or bad luck.

With another pre-season, Morabito could play any of those key positions. Do you think we could get away with some cloning?

The author of this article has him in defence...the new Dustin Fletcher?

He's just played out of position. He's no forward and is much happier in the ruck. But he will remain second fiddle to Sandi as far as that's concerned

Glen Jakovich predicted 2 years ago that he'd be a premier ruckman in the comp in a few years. His improvement this year has been great. His ruck work in the last quarter last week allowed Lyon to leave Sandilands on Harry Taylor and that turned the game around. Zac is a great pack mark, great kick, very fast but not immediate in his reactions. It just gets accentuated by someone like Harry Taylor. Can't believe Harry starred for 2 years at East Fremantle and Freo didn't grab him. We should Schwab someone!

Still in his personal development course. I've heard its 50/50 whether he will be back. I hope for the best for the kid

Brian, you said "...but you’ve still had most of your best players available each week". We haven't. I gave you a compelling list. I include these two boys because they would have had regular spots and would have impacted on games. I HOPE with Gumby, and KNOW with Mora, that this will happen next year. Yes, if Gumbleton was fit for every game, he'd be at least a 40 goal forward. He's very talented but just injured. His time at Essendon, when on the field, was impressive enough. Fitness along with experience is all he needs. You are the one who suggests that clubs doing well despite the absence of injured players are impressive. As for Morabito, surely you saw his talent in his first season. His 30-40 minutes stints off the bench since working back showed far more than competence...we saw something awesome. The full game found out his fitness. He went back to WAFL and was best afield. Have you heard Ross Lyon talk about his prospects? Very excited. If he wasn't injured he would have been a top 5 player at Freo all year. Key position back or forward, monster midfielder with strength and touch in the packs and speed with vision on the outside...and a boot like a mule. He will out-Goodes, Goodes. It's interesting that they were the only two you had an issue with. '...but you’ve still had most of your best players available each week..." oh no we haven't!