Fremantles Changing Mindset (Supporters Included)

[stylor]

I've been thinking lately about how much Fremantle have changed in the last few years. There's been a lot of frustration and disappointment during the first two rounds but I think a few things have gone unnoticed by us all.

1. Belief: We are actually going into every game believing we can win. The first round game for example, everyone (myself included) really thought we'd win that game. This is in massive contrast to the previous few years, if we played away I'd basically assume we'd lose but hope we'd win. If we won away it was like winning a final ffs!

2. Depth: Could anyone imagine just a couple of years ago that we'd be dropping players like Black & Walker because of form?? And then having the depth to add players like Peake and Hayden because they've been so good in the preseason and the WAFL? We've never been in a position to do this with any confidence, I recall the horrible feeling in seasons past when I saw that a player like Haselby wouldn't play because of an injury, it turned any belief of a win into just hope for a win. Things have changed, I wasn't too concerned on the weekend about losing Hase, I still believed in a win!!

3. Winning Attitude: I also recall thinking even the most ugly, scrappy, skill-less win was still f*cking fantastic! Our expectations were so low that any win was a good win! We'd play like complete idiots for a full 3 quarters and then from somewhere find the strength to get up for a win and the crowd would go nuts! The players now have a winning attitude!! Look at their reaction after last weekends game! They weren't celebrating, they were disappointed in themselves! What does that say about our changing attitude?

4. Aggression: Every premiership winning team has had a couple of enforcers! We've had Cookie I guess but he's not a match winner (no disrespect to one of my favourite players though!) and now take a look at the team! Crowley, Dodd, JCarr!! Crowls and JCarr are match winners with grunt! Dodd is a madman with more aggression than Shirty the Slightly Agressive Bear from the Late Show! Medhurst will miss a game because of a bit of rough stuff, this doesn't concern me, I'm actually quite pleased with him! If we're going to become aggressive then we're definitely going to get some suspensions! Fact of life! But guess what! Look at point 2 above! We now have the depth to be aggressive because we can confidently go a week without a player like Medhurst because of depth! I'd rather become a hard, aggressive team and cop some suspensions than stay butter soft! Look at the Saints a couple of years ago, I think they'd got about 9 weeks worth of suspensions two thirds of the way into the 2004 season! They also lost their soft tag!


Now I understand that more is expected of us because we are a better team on paper but the competition is also becoming a lot more even! I'm also concerned with our coaching and am still a bit undecided about Connelly, I was a fan of his but now I'm not so sure!

I'm not saying that we don't deserve to expect more from our team, all I'm saying is that we have improved a lot more than some people (the media especially) think! Some of us are thinking we've gotten nowhere and the media is constantly plugging the line "same old freo" and drilling this into us! Well F*CK THAT! We HAVE improved and the biggest indicator of that to me is our attitude! We now believe we can win! The players believe they can win and we supporters believe we can win!

We start playing that ugly style of game when our belief gets a little shaky! This is because we know the massive potential we have! So far it's been a shaky start but the belief will become ingrained and we'll be playing our whole games like the first two quarters vs the Blues!

Come on Dockers! Believe in yourselves!

And maybe all of us supporters should put our hearts on the line and believe in them too!

[Ripper]

Great post.

[dockers_bengals]

Here here very good

[wizard_9]

Here here very good

Bengals fan i see, i hear Chad Johnson will be on the cover of Madden 07. Bad news for a Bengals fan.

[Dwayo]

Great post but you forgot the great contribution CC has made to getting Freo to here.

[Kapow!!!]

That really is more of a summation and really expectation of everyone as the side gets better. The issue I'm more concerned with is the failure to really learn from the past mistakes in this current mindset and culture of the players and supporters and I question the productiveness of realising that things have changed in fear of sliding back into acceptance of mediocrity.

It's all well and good to realise that as supporters and a club we've evolved but if we rest on our laurels that we've evolved we'll slip right back into those old patterns.

[stylor]

Great post but you forgot the great contribution CC has made to getting Freo to here.

No, I'm just unsure of the significance of his contribution so far. I think we had some great players when he arrived at the club who had, up to that point, not been coached very well at all. We've also recruited very well recently, especially given that we've not had many top draft picks lately and that's not entirely the coach's call so he can't be completely credited for that. The club's also been well managed by Schwab and he's the reason we're as strong as we are off the field now.

You are sort of right, CC has brought the team to a point that they could potentially be a top four side, he hasn't however got them over that line yet and I'm not sure if he can. It must be frustrating for him to be so close and I hope he pulls it off!

:)

[stylor]

That really is more of a summation and really expectation of everyone as the side gets better. The issue I'm more concerned with is the failure to really learn from the past mistakes in this current mindset and culture of the players and supporters and I question the productiveness of realising that things have changed in fear of sliding back into acceptance of mediocrity.

It's all well and good to realise that as supporters and a club we've evolved but if we rest on our laurels that we've evolved we'll slip right back into those old patterns.

I totally agree with that! It's just that I believe that with this aggressive, winning attitude we're poised to take the next step and become a club to be reckoned with. This attitude is what's been missing for so long, the final ingredient I guess you could say.

[Ripper]

No, I'm just unsure of the significance of his contribution so far. I think we had some great players when he arrived at the club who had, up to that point, not been coached very well at all.

There is not many left.

The only great players left that had played a senior game when CC started:
Hase
Pav
Parks
Bellie

The only very good players left that had played a senior game when CC started:

Justin
M Carr
Grover

The only Good players left that had played a senior game when CC started:

Cookie
Macca
Walker

So He has basically started again with in effect 10 uncontracted player selections.

McPhee for Headland and Crowley

& Brown for Schammer

are the only players that CC has traded off that feature regularly in the seniors of other teams.

[Griffo]

Great post. I think CC has done what was intended and that was to promote Freo and get more members . Now we need to win games and play in finals.

[hoss]

Thanks Stylor for providing this board with some much needed perspective.

Yes, I was disappointed when leaving Subi Oval Sat night, but there has been too much negative whiteanting on this board lately. I, like most of us, sit somewhere between Dwayo's blind optimism and mathew20's extreme negativity. Heaven help us if our players were that pessimistic.

Now that the dust has settled on Rnds 1 and 2, things don't seem too bad. We are 1 and 1, the team hasn't played well yet and many of the stars that we continually relied upon for the last two years are yet to fire a shot. Pavs not got into it yet, the Carrs, JLo, Black etc have been scratchy.211's been down a bit. Hase was missing last game, Hayden will be better for the run and others in our backline - Haddrill, Thornton, Polak are on the way back.

Let's judge everyone after Rnd 7 or 8 rather than all this (unneccessary, I hope!) premature gloom and doom.

As D.Ream sang in their one hit wonder classic - "Things Can Only Get Better!"

[dugrene]

Thanks Stylor for providing this board with some much needed perspective.

Yes, I was disappointed when leaving Subi Oval Sat night, but there has been too much negative whiteanting on this board lately. I, like most of us, sit somewhere between Dwayo's blind optimism and mathew20's extreme negativity. Heaven help us if our players were that pessimistic.

Now that the dust has settled on Rnds 1 and 2, things don't seem too bad. We are 1 and 1, the team hasn't played well yet and many of the stars that we continually relied upon for the last two years are yet to fire a shot. Pavs not got into it yet, the Carrs, JLo, Black etc have been scratchy.211's been down a bit. Hase was missing last game, Hayden will be better for the run and others in our backline - Haddrill, Thornton, Polak are on the way back.

Let's judge everyone after Rnd 7 or 8 rather than all this (unneccessary, I hope!) premature gloom and doom.

As D.Ream sang in their one hit wonder classic - "Things Can Only Get Better!"

I'll second that.

[dockers_bengals]

Bengals fan i see, i hear Chad Johnson will be on the cover of Madden 07. Bad news for a Bengals fan.
dam:(

[ohhhkid]

You are sort of right, CC has brought the team to a point that they could potentially be a top four side, he hasn't however got them over that line yet and I'm not sure if he can. It must be frustrating for him to be so close and I hope he pulls it off!

:)

I think CC has indeed got Fremantle to where they are today, but all good things must come to an end, He needs to go, no good anymore, Bring harvey onto the scene and lets see how he goes, we need to take that chance, or we will be swimming in circles, I also think that if CC doesn't get us to the top 8 or a PF then that's it. That will be the last straw.