This article aged well

Blues – something tells me this is not a false start
Cats – The Swans will get a reality check from the best team in the comp
Pies – Adelaide are awful
Lions – Bombers are not that good
Port – Hawks had their 1 win for the season
Roos – West Coast will not get back enough to win on the road
Tigers – GWS should have beaten the swans
Freo – If you can’t beat Collingwood this season you have no chance on the road

Freo’s first 10 rounds is probably the best case scenario for Freo fans

Games against the Saints, Suns, Eagles, Crows, Roos, Pies, Bombers and Blues don’t pose any clear and present danger. All very winnable, given injuries and COVID issues aside

The Cats are Kardinia will be a real test for the team given the past 3-5 years worth of efforts, but if Freo can actually feld a defence unlike last year then they should get a better result.

I am not holding out on Amiss playing many games this year.
All going well Freo will have a forward line with Tabs, Lobb and Treacy ahead of Jye. Schultz and Switta are first pick smalls and the rest are mids rotating through, and Darcy resting up fwd
I would have thought our new years resolution is to get the best 22 on the park for a change. Too many injuries across the past 3-4 years
Hamling, Fyfe, Cox, Young, Pearce, Switta – would be good to get a full season from them, as well as Chapman and Freddie
Even Walters missed 6 games in 2021

It will be interesting to see if Cox gets up for Freo.

If WCE go in with Kennedy, Darling and Allen then that puts a lot of pressure on Logue, Ryan and Hughes as our key physical defenders. If Cox plays then that gives the Freo defence a bit more of a chance if the WCE mids get on top.

The midfield battle between Darcy / Mundy / Fyfe / Serong / Brayshaw vs NicNat / Sheed / Gaff / Kelly / Redden is where it’ll be won and I for one am happy Shuey is out.

I tihnk the Freo forwards can capitalise if the mids get on top. Walters, Lobb, Taberner, Schultz, Freddy and Colyer have a good mix of speed, height and skill to take advantage of good delivery. If Freo just bomb it in then we are doomed to watcha rinse and repeat of intercept marks and easy exits.

One of Freo’s many problems on the weekend (from the bits I saw) was playing two rucks. Darcy was easily beaten by Jones and Meek didn’t offer enough around the ground with just the one mark and 10 possessions

This weekend I think we will see the inclusion of Sturt, Fyfe, Treacy and maybe Logue if he is over his hamstring issues. Else Blakely might need to come back in

Sturt should get a game after kicking 5 for Peel on the weekend

Schultz and Young are out, along with Colyer and Meek. Go with one ruck, and have Taberner as back up ruck

In 3 more weeks we may see Banfield, Crowden, Lobb, Hamling and Tucker get over their injuries, then we will see a bit more of a physical side

Brisbane, who came to WA and beat Freo will not lose their final 3 matches to the Pies, Dees and Roos. I just can’t see that happening

I expect them to beat the Pies who will travel for the first time this season. The game against the Roos is line ball but I am thinking the Lions will get that win away. The Roos were outscored by the Tigers in the second half and have not been as dominant as most people thought they would this season.

I think you have it right with the Crows coming home strong, but I feel the final ladder will be

Freo – win all 3
Lions – win all 3
Crows – win all 3
Pies (losses to Brisbane and Adelaide)
Roos (losses to Brisbane and Freo)
Blues (beat Gold Coast and GWS, but lose to Freo) – percentage gets them in

missing out

Dogs (losses to Adelaide and Norths Melbourne Tasmania but a win v Richmond) – percentage sees them miss out
Dees (losses to Adelaide, Freo and Brisbane)

So finals week 1
Crows v Blues – win to the Crows at home
Pies v Roos – Pies too strong

Week 2
Freo v Crows – Dockers at home
Lions v Pies – Lions to repeat the win they will get this weekend

GF
Freo v Lions – revenge for the loss at Freo oval by winning at Optus

I can only hope

The AFL gives every club $$ each year as part of the disbursements. in 2019 Geelong received $12m and Gold Coast $27.5m

Geelong earned ~ $17m more overall than the Suns in 2019, a $32m gap when you remove the extra funding from the AFL. I am not sure funding a Tasmanian team would be more expensive than propping up a team in the Gold Coast where they are largely ignored

The Suns have eff all members ~ 14k in 2019 and sell very little merchandise. A Tassie team would easily eclipse this membership as they already have more than that in Hawks and Norths members, and I dare say would sell a lot more merch.

Virtually every company in Tasmania would be falling over themselves to sponsor them, the team would become the heart of the state.

It is a sad thing to look at a Tasmanian team through the eyes of an accountant or from AFL think tanks set up in Victoria to assess the viability.

This should have been done a decade ago before Gold Coast and we would most likely be talking about whether Tassie will be adding to their 2 premierships in 2021 instead of talking about whether they deserve a team

My favourite AFL stat is the rise of a bottom 5 team to play finals the following season

It has happened every seasons since 1990, with the exception I think in 3 or 4 instances. Hell the Crows even won a premiership coming from bottom 5.

Last year it was the Saints, season before the Lions

The issue I have here is that 2020 was a weird year so maybe 2021 will be an outlier in that none of the Suns, Hawks, Swans, Roos or Crows will rise.

But if I had to pick 1 team I would pick the Suns with the qualifier that King, Anderson and Rowell play the entire season, especially that last bloke!!

Other kids like Flanders, Sharp and Hollands are going to impact that team too, also Lukosious is looking like a true quality player, as is Rankine – they have talent to burn but they also have a more stable set of mature age players for once

It could be an outlier year, but on talent alone the Suns should be the team to rise up

Freo’s last 5 first round draft picks has been 4 Vic kids and 1 Sandgroper / NGA pick. All 5 still with the club and all 5 look like ripper picks

Don’t think Freo cares about picking up locals or think that it is the safer option, but probably more so that he’s not a natural forward in the Ben / Max King mold

Hmmm – you state Fremantle need a young key forward but that they’re thin on the ground so we pick Jack Carroll up (no issues with Jack would be very handy) but very next pick is a young key position player in Nik Cox that GWS go for

What is it about Cox that would make Freo not try and grab him if he was available?

Ahh, was wondering when this article would come out..it happens each year

Brad Hill ended up in Freo getting Caleb Serong. I know who I would rather have

Brandon Matera cost nothing. Shane Kersten was drafted in order to get Hamling as they were best mates

McCarthy, Bennell and Hogan all came with risks, yep none worked out. Neither have heaps of other trades. Bryce Gibbs was an abject failure, Jake Lever cost the Dees way overs, Polec has been a dud, Stringer a bust, Crameri flopped, Jack Stevens fizzled you can pick them for all teams

Can’t wait to read this same article again in 2021

Thank god Sheahan is going, Jacko got it absolutely right

The Saints back in finals the year when Ross Lyon is no longer a senior coach? The curse of the Rossco has lifted.

I’ll be cheering for the Saints this finals season, along with Brisbane.

I’ll also be cheering for ex-Dockers players like Mayne, Sutcliffe, Crozier, Neale, Menegola, Hill ….. so that pretty much guarantees a Tigers v West Coast GF – the only teams without an ex-Docker in them …. just kids of ex-Dockers (Bolton and Guv)

Freo won’t trade Hogan unless it is an exceptional offer.

If Tabs, Darcy or Lobb gets injured then Hogan is straight back in.

I think Freo are just being cautious with Jesse and not rushing him straight in, that plus Cox has gone better than expected in defence.

Once Pearce, Hamling and Logue are back then Jesse goes forward again.

It will be an embarassment of riches to try and fit Lobb, Hogan, Tabs, Hamling, Pearce, Logue and Cox into the same 22.

Looked like it could easily have been called out on the full as well. No players where he kicked it and it went straight out .. just because Dwayne has a whinge doesn’t mean the umps are wrong

Freo definitely shirk on WA, but we have picked up Logue, O’Reilly, Henry, Butters, Thomas, Banfield, Watson, Pina, and Jones in recent years …. of course that none of those played on the weekend is damning, as well as Jones having been delisted

We’ve traded for WA players as well in Hogan, Hamling, Conca, Matera, Wilson, Kersten and Acres

So over the past 4 drafts / trades we’ve brought in 16 WA players.

But the obvious point is we ignore the high end WA takent. Naughton, Kelly, Ryan and Allen are the main cases. I think Young and Serrong will work out to be smart decisions.

Personally I blame Brad Lloyd.

Will be interesting to see what happens under Walls and Longmuir this year given we are likely to have a top 5 pick plus a mid range round 2 pick. By all accounts our NGA players in Joel Western and Brandon Walker are decent players, both possible top 20s

But do we go with Denver Grainger-Barrass who is the #1 WA kid … and is a tall defender, or do we instead try and get another mid fielder like Nathan O’Driscoll who’s sister plays for Freo already

Personally I’d lean towards trading our first pick if it means getting O’Driscoll for a later round 1 pick and picks we can use to get Walker and Western. Use the first selection on O’Driscoll, get Walker and Western and exit the draft early with 3 WA kids

Fyfe, Walters and Lobb are no brainers

Pearce is a big miss, as are Brayshaw and Cerra – two guns coming into their third season and with a lot of upside.

Logue is the other one, last season he showed he can hold down a key position in defence as well as attack the ball. I’d have him in there ahead of Taberner, simply because of Tabs is 27 this year and has only played 72 games for 76 goals. He has promised for years but cannot string together a season

Luke Ryan is best 22 easily, so kick Duggan out. Not sure how Darcy beats NicNert and I’m a Dcokers fan

No way Vardy plays CHF, Lobb gets that gig and Mundy can have Tabs place.

Get Acres off the wing and put Walters there and Ryan in the forward pocket.

Morks friend

They’re talking about Clem Michael not James Clement

Just get yourself admitted to Freo hospital and ask for an oval side window……

Freo should basically get home ground for each game they play since they finished undefeated

Should beat the Suns and GWS. Melbourne will push them but again playing at Freo oval without needing to travel is a bonus. Same goes for the Roos, if both teams make the final.

Seriously?

We have Hogan, Hamling, Pearce, Hill, Mundy, Wilson, Acres, Switta from the first choice 22 and then Aish and Ryan are both tests.

It could be half the best 22 out for round 1. If that’s half the numbers then it explains a lot about our previous few seasons.