Fremantle are broken. Their game plan, their bodies and their spirit are all gone!
Now, they have zero wins from five games. They sit on the bottom of the AFL ladder.
Carlton have won their first game of the season. Their first under new coach Brendon Bolton. It’s not so much about their win, but how it came to be.
On Fremantle’s home ground at Domain Stadium, the Dockers were short-priced favourites.
Brownlow Medalist, Nathan Fyfe didn’t finish the game. His leg heavily iced, he hobbled onto the ground using crutches after the final siren.
Captain David Mundy didn’t play today and ruckman Aaron Sandilands is out for weeks with that serious rib/lung injury sustained during the western derby. Hayden Ballantyne went off the ground several times early with a leg tweak and a head clash.
He was strapped up, wrapped up and sent back on. He struggled to make an impact. He was playing hurt. There’s no excuse for the rest of the team.
It was a four point loss (72-68), and it shouldn’t have been that close. Fremantle were under the pump all day. The hand and foot skills, unforced errors, inaccuracy in front of goal, from both sides, were absolutely appalling.
They both played like two teams who were yet to get a win. Barring a draw, one of them would come away with the four points.
No one expected it to be Carlton!
What’s next? Well, the Dockers have the in-form, high-scoring Adelaide Crows next week, at Adelaide Oval. Fyfe won’t play.
Will the rest of the team? They certainly didn’t today.
It’s official! After five rounds, Fremantle’s 2016 season is over!
Don Freo
Guest
Trade Ballas and not rank Mora? Non-Freo folk are funny with their...ahem...earnestness.
swift foetus
Guest
docking
Don Freo
Guest
Casboult is way worse than Mayne. They are both great marks, both kick the same...although Mayne has shown he can kick but Mayne runs, and tackles and feeds the ball out. Casboult...really!!!
Michelle Vogel
Roar Pro
We can agree to disagree, Wilson :) I stand firm on Pavlich. He should have retired last year. His marking has diminished. He can't hold on to the ball and pushes it down to the ground instead of going for the strong grab. He can't kick the distance he used to...he passes off. If he goes for the goal, he splays it - often. He used to be SO accurate. Age has crept up, Wilson. The body, and mind, just can't do the things they used to do. That extra year makes a massive difference. Freo would be better off bringing in a few young guys now to give them the experience needed to be the next Pavlich. The season is all but done. Experiment. Blood some young ones. See what happens. At this rate, Pavlich will be up in the forward line on his walker if he has to "stay" until Taberner kicks consistently or they find a younger replacement. When your time's up, it's up. I think he's past his use-by-date. Just my opinion ;)
Don Freo
Guest
13th, Dawson has been stoic and Barlow played a terrific game on Sunday. Tabs and Clarke need game time.. although I fear those bandages on Clarke's knees might say he might never regain his mobilty. 7 of our best players to regain fitness and return will present a very different result. A tweak to a game approach with the team leaders out and unable to drive it is an issue. With the stars to drive and lead, it will turn. In the meantime, the kids get experience and all will be restored. Its just a matter of how long before 3 or 4 of the injured 7 are back. Maybe people will notice Mundy by his absence.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
I'm sure there are plenty of feelings you feel you need to (show you) have (although if you go back and have another go I think you may have misread what I said there), but that's the point you seem keen to get away from. This exchange started with the observation of your behaviour where you spend a fair bit of time and energy running down the Dockers on here, and just a hypothesis as to what leads you to do so. First you tried the old "I just do it for shidz and giggles" defence and you've then proceeded to spend this whole exchange flailing about trying to fling mud with zero substance, creating straw-men, self-refereeing, conjuring up imaginary but unsurprisingly sympathetic juries, amongst other smoke-screens. All of which seem to add weight to the original hypothesis.
Wilson
Roar Guru
Michelle have to disagree with you on Pavlich. Yes he missed that goal but everyone has a bad moment or in a way a bad game. but he is still the rock in there forward line and untill they get another Tall Full forward or Taberner start to kick 2- 4 goals a game consistiantly then he need to stay.
Samantha
Roar Rookie
Cats have conceded the 2nd last points this year so far. Must be some pinhole leaks. Cats have a number of issues to work through yet, but so far their defence has been the stand out part of the team. The highest score conceded this season by the Cats so far is 89 points. Goes to show how little AFL Don actually watches.
13th Man
Guest
Free kick to Hawthorn!
13th Man
Guest
Yeah in many ways we are the exact opposite of Leicester City. If anyone put money on Freo to win the spoon at the start of the season they could be getting a very nice payday at the end of it.
13th Man
Guest
Michelle, criticize Freo all you like but don't insult a champion like Pavlich. He had every right to decide when he wanted to retire, if he felt he had it in him then I believe him. In fact I believe he has been our best player so far this year. Still our best forward by miles.
13th Man
Guest
Oh Don seriously?? I love your optimism but face some reality. We are screwed for season 2016, it's a write off. The only good thing that may come out of this year is the no 1 draft pick. Other than that it's time to make wholesale changes in Freo, that starts with the axing of a lot of players that aren't up to it including Spack Clarke, Craberner, Mayne, Sutcliffe, Sheridan, Dawson, Suban, D Pearce, perhaps even Barlow. This is a horrible footy side at present and the only way to change is to give all the young felllas a go.
13th Man
Guest
Yes I think your right Michael, there is definitely something happening behind closed doors that we don't know about. I did suspect a drop off this year but not to this extent, this is such a large fall from grace that something is certainly occuring
spruce moose
Guest
Better than littering the environment with your constant garbage.
anon
Guest
"10 goals with only 41 forward 50 entries against a Sydney colts side last year Freo had 19 scoring shots from 41 inside 50's, versus Sydney's 25 from 53 inside 50's. "10 goals with 41 forward 50 entries against Hawthorn in the prelim" 17 scoring shots from 41 inside 50's versus Hawthorn's 19 scoring shots from 43 inside 50's. Not that bad.
Tim
Guest
I disagree Anon, I agree that the Freo forwards sans 2016 got it done in the H&A but are anything but efficient in the finals against quality. If you want proof: 10 goals with only 41 forward 50 entries against a Sydney colts side last year 10 goals with 41 forward 50 entries against Hawthorn in the prelim Both games showing a huge reliance on Walters, with the rest of the forwards not up to it As for this year, it has been a collective mash with them being exposed for what they really are. They haven't got the personnel to pull off what Lyon is trying to achieve. With the focus falling on a fully fit Fyfe to carry much of the burden, and Bennell being what they hoped him to be. These calculations omitted the effect McPharlin's retirement would have on the plan for in this age the best attacking teams are facilitated by their defenses. In this regard, freo lack quality in the key posts and are bereft of those line breaking flankers
Tim
Guest
'stuff up' Dalgety?-quite to the contrary, the only feeling i have out of our little debates is vindication. For everything I say in regards to Freo comes true and everything you say is exposed as delusional and false. It culminated in a hilarious dummy spit by you at the end of last season, which i can find if you wish ;)
anon
Guest
As I wrote on the 22nd March: "Lyon’s decision making is becoming increasingly bizarre. Bringing in two complete novice coaches to replace Kirk, wanting to move the best midfielder in the game out of the midfield, and wanting to move the best small forward in the game out of the forward line. All this seems desperate to me. Like he has no real plan. Lyon will never coach a team with a better midfield at his disposal. If he can’t win every midfield battle against premiership contenders with this all star midfield line up then he’s never going to beat them with is game plan." I'm correct "Depending on on how you view things, either the unskilled Dawson or the undersized Ibbotson are Fremantle’s second best defender now. It’s a poor back line, but Freo have only their selves to blame. For several seasons now they have failed to trade for a key position player." I'm correct. "Having such a stacked midfield, most coaches would probably utilise the attacking potential of those players, but given how thin they are in defence this season, Lyon will probably revert further into his shell and become more dependant on his structures." Kind of correct. He's bizarrely thrown the stoppages games completely out of the window, going from 1st in stoppages to 17th. Hawthorn has done from 2nd in stoppages to 1st.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
Well Michael does love a bit of melodrama, he does it with his own team all the time and anybody else's if he gets a chance. Perhaps I should've specified point 3 as being the melodramatic bit, but to be fair there's a fair bit of the sweeping non-specificity about each of his points too.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
The patronising wasn't in the quotation marks, it was in your head. The quotation marks conveyed doubt. spruce looking after the environment I see with a nice bit of recycling.