Highlights: Rejuvenated Dockers smash woeful Lions

ok I don't want to get too excited as the opposition hasn't been of a high standard at all, but I am pretty happy with the way our youngsters are tracking. Blakely just looks like another Mundy and already is full of class, Weller has loads of pace and is a goal kicker, Collins looks fine down back and could form a key defensive duo with Alex Pearce, Tanner Smith fights hard and offers a good contest, Crozier looks a rejuvenated player down back and even Taberner looks like he is finally coming on. There are signs there that we have turned a corner and we do have some very good young talent. If we can just get one more Key Forward (McCarthy or even better Hogan) as well as another good young draft pick and then throw in the likes of Fyfe, Sandilands, Bennell, Ibbotson, Johnson and co back into the side then all of a sudden things are looking up. Not suggesting we will challenge for the flag in 2017 but certainly could be far more competitive and perhaps challenge for the lower half of the 8 once again. Yes I don't want to get carried away yet as we have only beaten Essendon and Brisbane, but scoring 147 points against any team for Freo is unheard of!!! As for Brisbane, wow serious issues up there. Coming into the game both sides were 1-10 so to lose by 83 points is shocking. Predicting Lepptitch will not see out the season.

Yes Don great depth, two wins and ten loses may I remind you?

They have great depth. Look at how well they are playing with 13, 14,15 injured. Make them available and there will be 10 or 12 genuine AFL level players missing out.

I agree with you mattyb, but I don't think they will be top four next year maybe 5/6 or 7, Freo are one of those clubs that cannot afford to have top players go down as they do have a depth problem.

I don't doubt that. Well coached.

Better skills it's called Don

Your comment about the impact of the youth on the oldies is pertinent. It's why Freo fans have been more excited than despondent this season. Even Sutcliffe and Sheridan have lifted for fear of being superceded.

Axle. I tend to think that some of these problems people might think Fremantle have or had are actually just in their imaginations. Freos only real problem has been the loss of some key personal due to injury. In the last couple of weeks they have shown that if you have Lyon at the helm there is no such thing as a problem. Sandi will be back soon and with some excellent youth coming through,Fyfe to come back next year and Tabenar delivering on his potential they will be a major threat again next year if they can't get through to the finals this year.

6 players under 20 games. Not a lot more experience at all. Just better coached. Someone that knows how to bring on some youth.

Brisbane are a side playing with no belief in themselves, they have no hunger or want, if Freo couldn't take a side like that apart after a good win last week, then they would have much bigger problems than anyone thought. I would back the top sides in the WAFL to beat these Brisbeats by ten goals.

I watched Freo v Brisbane at Subiaco last year and walked away thinking that Brisbane were hands down the worst team I had seen in years. Yesterday just confirmed it. Big, big problems up there.

The Dockers have the biggest injury list in the AFL and were missing the vast majority of their top-shelf talent coming into the weekend's game. It'd be interesting to see how the games played tallies would stack up, but as they're reporting, Freo had 9 players with less than 50 games on the park. I'd wager Brisbane had far more top picks too. All up I'm not sure a lot of people were picking Freo to demolish either Essendon or Brisbane by anywhere near as much as they have.

Not to mention it's a much better ran club that the Brisbane Hasbeens.

Look at the sides on paper Dal, don't you think your side has a lot more TALENT, a lot more EXPERIENCE, dot you think your just a better side FULLSTOP?

Why would you expect them to flog them? Some details would be nice.

You would expect Freo to flog Essendon and the Bad News Bears, if they had lost these games Lyon would be bald.

Goodness me. The Lions are very sick indeed.

I think it can be easy to chalk Fremantle's youthful talent down to how dismal Essendon and Brisbane have been the last few weeks. But even for very easy games, guys like Weller and Blakely and Tucker and Crozier etc have been playing with a kind of aggression and confidence and skill-set that would hold them in good stead even in tight contests against quality opposition. The other good result from the influx of youth into this side is that youthful energy can be contagious, and guys like Ballantyne, Barlow, Mayne, Walters etc are playing with some aggression and some energy again. It's as if the attitude of the younger blokes has spread and only served to rejuvenate the experienced guys. Similar story at the Swans, it's just unfortunate this team couldn't blossom perhaps earlier in the year and Fremantle could have at least been competitive for the rest of the season, instead of playing with life despite facing certain rejection from the finals.

Loved the grunt and substance that Tanner Smith offered up forward. Also loving the Cliché...Rock of Gibraltar, Sam Collins.

Well in the past 3 games the Dockers have an aggregate score of 340 points, so while we may resemble that comment, they're at least managing to turn it on against some fellow strugglers.