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Freo failures stem from fear of losing 'the one'

The Dockers' Michael Johnson (Photo: AAP)
Roar Guru
5th April, 2017
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As the footy world (myself included) continues to mercilessly probe the issues surrounding Fremantle, we should all collectively acknowledge the precariousness of the situation they face.

The prospect is breaking up with someone they’ve envisioned for the past six years as ‘the one’.

We all know of ‘the one’.

The one who brings out the best in you, shows you pockets of yourself you never knew you existed and introduced you to a level of happiness you once thought unattainable.

Gerard Neesham was the volatile first love Freo fans look back at and wonder what the hell they were thinking in the first place.

Damian Drum was the regretful rebound.

Chris Connolly took you to your first finals series and may warrant the occasional drunken text saying “hey! How are you going! Haven’t spoken to you in ages! (smiling emoji)” …but ultimately you wake up to no response and immediate regret.

And Mark Harvey was all kind of a blur.

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But Ross Lyon has been Freo’s ‘one’ since 2011.

Regardless of what you think of Lyon – and let’s face it, there’s been animosity since his Baltimore-Colts-moving-to-Indianapolis-in-the-middle-of-the-night style jettison from St Kilda – but he has given the city of Fremantle a level of footballing success not seen since the Clive Lewington coached Bulldogs sides of the mid 1950’s.

So before we reach for a our flaming sticks and pitchforks and set off for the Frankenstein’s monster of unwatchable footy teams, spare a thought for the Freo brass who find themselves in the position in which they have to at least consider life after Lyon.

After all, breaking up is hard to do and even more so when you’re a club with a non-existent history of AFL success before your current coach.

To consider life without Lyon, one should first consider how far Freo have come.

CEO Steve Rosich has done an outstanding job in developing a financially viable club since his appointment in 2008, and it’s no wonder why he’s been one of the rumoured targets for Hawthorn since Stuart Fox left to join the ranks of the MCC late last year.

Freo has gone from strength to strength under Rosich, including but not limited to upgrading from one of the most laughable to the most envied elite training facilities in the competition, if not the entire country.

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The ETAF in Cockburn is truly revolutionary in its ability to engage with the general population on a daily basis (as part of its partnership with the City of Cockburn), and will likely continue to be the best training facility of its kind, at least until Hawthorn move to Dingley in a few years time.

The rebranding from the anchor to the chevrons has made Fremantle more at home in the 21st century sporting landscape and a far cry from the tri-coloured days of the 90’s where even the most successful clubs made their own crimes against fashion (see Collingwood checkerboard and Hawthorn diamond ensembles).

The 2008/2009 off-season acquisitions – whilst still in under the Harvey years – were maximised under Ross Lyon, ultimately becoming the most successful period of talent management at the club since they picked up the likes of Cook, Hasleby, Pavlich and Longmuir at the turn of the millennium.

To move on from Lyon after what was essentially an injury-ravaged 2016 and an ugly two-week stretch to start 2017 is to also bid goodbye to the only man under which there has been any sustainable success for the only non-expansion team to still be chasing their maiden premiership.

Fremantle’s 2020 vision for extending Ross Lyon wasn’t founded by unbridled enthusiasm about what could be but rather the shear consternation about what hasn’t been under anyone else.

Would they rather a marquee coach with and abundance of big game experience and the ability to sell optimism at the start of every pre-season?

Or risk starting over again and force Freo fans to undergo periods of PTSD with a recurring vision of a half-capacity, bone-dry WACA with Quenton Leach wondering how he’s going to get Winston Abraham into the game.

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Bringing it back to relationship terms, and apologies if I’m not explaining it as concisely as certain “experts” on a certain Channel 9 program, but Fremantle and Ross Lyon have a young family and are approaching the seven-year itch.

They best years of each others lives have undoubtedly been spent together, and they have children.

But now comes the difficult part, where neither are happy, both have stalled, and the spark just isn’t there anymore.

They can either stay together for the sake of the kids or acknowledge they’ve both achieved incredible things to get to where they are today, but ultimately realise they’re better off pursuing their own happiness but staying “close friends”.

The choice is there to make and if you think it’s an easy one, you’re clearly still looking for the one.

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