Roar Rookie
Joined August 2019
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Appeared on the Footy Show as some obnoixious kid who knew a bit about the Dockers, since then my journalism career has followed the same trajectory as the show that first spotlighted me. Youngest WAFL commentator at league level (16 years), who just wants one of his teams to win a trophy.
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Arguably the biggest problem Fremantle faced in 2023 was their inability to be productive with forward play, with key metrics for offensive elements of the game reflective of their ladder position.
Carnival time out West comes to a close with day five of The Pinnacles upon us, with the inaugural (kind of) running of The…
The greatest horse Western Australia has ever produced (sorry, Eurythmic) finally gets his name attached to a Group 1. The 1800-metre weight-for-age classic has…
Meeting three of the revamped Pinnacles carnival in Western Australia has arrived, and for many it’s their highlight of the Ascot racing season. The…
Since 1887, the Railway Stakes has been an integral part of the West Australian racing calendar. Run over a mile, the race has alternated…
Phar Lap. Carbine. Makybe Diva. These are just three of the icons of the turf that have ascended to the top of the racing…
Cast your mind back to season 2021, and ask yourself one simple question: who was the most frustrating team to watch throughout the year?…
Being a Fremantle fan out West, there’s three certainties. Death, taxes and the constant reminder of four premierships to zero by our neighbours. It’s…
Being a Fremantle supporter for my entire life was essentially signing up to a yearly subscription package of disappointment. Over the years the club…
Ask any Manchester United fan about the post-Fergie era and chances are they’ll either attack you or start crying on your shoulder. It’s been…
Australia were the Test team to beat for the majority of the 2000s. Iconic names such as Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and…
Perth's media has an unrelenting obsession with the turmoil and tribulation of one of the state's finest footballing products. It seems each week there’s…
Steve Smith’s heroics at Edgbaston will no doubt go down as one of the greatest individual efforts by an Australian in an Ashes test.…
When Champion Data released their elite players list for 2019, I smiled from ear to ear. One of the most underrated, understated and infinitely…
Last night, I heard something I’ve been waiting to hear for a very long time: genuine praise of Hawthorn’s new midfield machine, James Worpel.…
Imagine if history left Steven Gerrard behind because he never lifted a Premier League trophy or Patrick Ewing because he could never quite drag…
Thanks Chris, it was a cracking race in the end.
Re your comments on the Eastern staters I have to agree (although the genuine stars that have come were before my time); I just think it’s hard to find mile handicappers to travel at the end of the Melbourne/Sydney spring. Fortunately the Winterbottom and Northerly have been really well supported.
Railway Stakes 2022 preview
Much appreciated Hammer, but gotta give credit to Carbery for a peach of a ride that gave him every chance. Will be trying to make this a regular thing so stay tuned in the coming weeks!
Railway Stakes 2022 preview
It’s a bit of a rock and a hard place for Henry, as he runs into depth again on the wing. Aish, O’Driscoll, Clark, Acres and potentially Erasmus would all be ahead of him for a spot on the wing.
Does Henry have the potential to be in our best 22? Without question.
Is he currently, either as a wing or forward? On current form no.
Fremantle's forwards are flowering in 2022
Thanks for the comment, the challenge was the time it took but it’s always good to bask in reflective glory when you’re 7-1!
Sturt kicking 3 in the WAFL has sold me that Henry now finds himself on the outside looking in. They aren’t the same type of forward but Sturt is probably our best medium forward (although if Banfield keeps up his current form you could make his case) while Henry would be our 6th best small (Schultz, Switkowski, Walters, Colyer, Frederick).
Lobb is the definition of the adage “promises you the world but gives you an atlas”. I really want him to succeed but through misfortune and form slumps it’s just never really clicked.
Fremantle's forwards are flowering in 2022
You’ve convinced me to go and dig up some old highlights of Ashley Hansen, which is the first time anyone has ever said that sentence
The forgotten Eagles from West Coast's 2006 triumph
Hi Gerard, the drugs talk is kind of on me I should have known what I was getting myself into writing about the 06 Eagles.
I’ve been lucky enough to meet Wirra and he’s a fantastic bloke off the field as well, I’m not sure if you’re based here out West but he has a foundation that does some fantastic community work.
The forgotten Eagles from West Coast's 2006 triumph
Genuinely I had Hansen typed and ready to go at the number 3 spot, he was the closest of anyone to miss.
I don’t know about most underrated of the 21st century at centre half forward, but he certainly is due more credit than he gets.
The other names you mentioned prove just how remarkable the depth was, this list could have an entirely different set of 5 names and there wouldn’t be that many complaints.
The forgotten Eagles from West Coast's 2006 triumph
Agree with this and I think this could have easily been dragged out to a top 10, as a Freo supporter (and being about 6 during this era) I fondly remember the Carr brothers constantly going at Cousins and Kerr. Good times.
The forgotten Eagles from West Coast's 2006 triumph
Hi Marty, totally agree with that, I was only 5 when West Coast won that flag so I’d certainly forgotten how powerful they were at the time. One thing I wondered when reading your comment about the forward line is how strong could they have been had they retained Fraser Gehrig. Enough to have won 05 as well perhaps?
The forgotten Eagles from West Coast's 2006 triumph
Guess I’m new enough here to have fallen victim to that, at least the neutrals didn’t mind it.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
I hope Essendon send the 90s decision makers a Christmas card every year.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
Well Jonboy if that’s the case I’m glad to hear he’s doing better mentally and hopefully he can find a work life balance required when being a professional athlete.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
I can’t speak for the exact reason why Hogan was brought in, but we did need a key forward who had shown quality and he wanted a return to WA, so at that time it made sense. Were his off field issues known? Yes. In my opinion, have these off field issues gotten worse since his return to WA? Yes. There’s no statistical data to back this up for me obviously, but through both verified and unverified sources Hogan has not been conducting himself to a standard becoming of an AFL player. If you gave me the choice of Hogan or the draft, at the time I was happy with Hogan, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
“Hogan and Wilson are obvious winners”. Maybe it’s a Pavlich hangover, but I don’t think anyone can truthfully say Hogan was a win. In 2019, Hogan played twelve games for the Dockers, kicking thirteen goals. In the interest of fairness, I’ll compare that only to 2017, where he managed 10 games for Melbourne. Despite playing two less games, he kicked seven more goals, going at an even 2 goals per game against 1.08 goals per game last year. Across four seasons at Melbourne, Hogan represented the club 71 times, scoring 152 times at an average of 2.14 goals a game, exactly double his Fremantle total. Statistically only, while completely ignoring the off field dramas, Hogan is not an “obvious win”.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
Sturt is one I’m genuinely excited about for 2020.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
I always rated Robbie Warnock, shame it never really worked out for him with us but he was one of the nicest and most down to earth players I’ve met.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
Was there fundamental improvement in year two for Brayshaw though? Like it or not AFL is a cutthroat industry and Freo especially don’t have time to wait around. This is a big year for Brayshaw, I wouldn’t say he is under pressure, but he needs to show meaningful improvement.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
If time froze at 2015 Ross probably would’ve gone down as a club legend, nobody can dispute 2012-2015 was the strongest period the club has ever had.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
Missing out on King is for sure a blow, I personally have accepted Hogan won’t take to the field this year and that we need to find a way to make a forward line that if we are honest with ourselves is in the bottom third of the competition fire.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
Even Dylan Roberton, who had all the ability of a deodorant can at Fremantle, turned into a handy player for the Saints.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
Brayshaw I like but I’m concerned he has hit his ceiling. Cerra from all reports looks set for a big year so I’m really keen for him to hit his stride. There’s promise in this list, the question is can an unproven coach extract the obvious talent available to him?
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
That’s very true Col but I have to say Freo have never gotten it right. The 25 year rebuild rolls on.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
Hey Johnno thanks for taking the time to comment. I can’t say, no matter how much I want to, that we won the Croad trade. McPharlin is one of my favourite Dockers of all time but conventional wisdom says we could’ve got him for so much less due to his injury problems. Happy to be corrected on this but I understand Silvia’s wages were quite high when he was under contract with us. Kersten was unlucky to be here compared to some of the others but still let us down.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
100% Josh, I can’t recall any whispers of Neale wanting out pre Kersten so take that how you will.
The flawed five: Fremantle's worst recruitment woes
Column coming out soon, but based on what you’ve said I think you’ll like my on top selection.
Railway Stakes 2022 preview