Review Fremantle d North Melbourne by 73 pts

[purplerunsdeep]

I was three rows back from the Freo bench and what struck me is that the organisation, structure, positioning, communication and discipline of the group is in another dimension to what i have seen before from another AFL side. They obviously have a system where every position/role has a number and as players rotate they get told which number to go to and they slot straight in.

I noticed it when I watched Peel a few weeks back. I distinctly remember Connor Blakely coming off for a rotation and telling his replacement "Position 5, and watch that corridor protection". It's obviously a comprehensive system of organisation that Ross has brought in and goes beyond traditional positions like CHF, wing, rover etc. Last night the players were communicating with each across the entire length of the pitch with hand/finger signals. Basically they looked like a completely cohesive unit.

We are very very well coached. The degree of systematic organisation reminds me of the Barcelona team coached by Pep Guardiola, also in the sense that the 'system' is made to work by a dominant individual/combination of individuals executing the critical part of the game plan (for us it's the Fyfe, Mundy, Sandi etc. on-ball brigade...for Barca it was the Messi, Xavi, Iniesta combination).

I think the big difference this year is that the system and the key individuals are clicking at the same time. Looks very promising but a long way to go!

Good Intel

Let's not make too much noise about it - it'll be on kingys 360 review by the end of the week

 

[Taylor]

They have been doing that signaling for years

 

[jedi mind tricks]

I can see why Mzungu isn't getting a game. Sheridan looks so damn classy and smooth. You can confuse him with Stephen Hill sometimes.

My dad shouted Steven Hill and then we laughed it was Sherro. He is on the improve

 

[poshman]

Another Positive - We have a fair bit of improvement in us even on this years form.

Ballas is only just getting close to full flight. We have in all but the port game 'actively rested' key players for the last quarter or more also. And we could be a little cleaner going into fifty still.

Plus - if tabs manages to hold onto even one or two more leading marks each game we would be instant improvers.

 

[Mr Peabody]

Just watched the game. Thought we were just ticking over with Walter's form change the highlight. North were beyond s**t

Just ticking over? In a sense I hope you are right as we'd have some serious upside to come.

We're over a third of the season through now so the improvement is clear to see.

FITNESS - we've improved our burst and intensity and on that last effort our endurance looks good too whereas in the earlier games, we didn't sustain it for the four quarters. The boys are stronger in tight with Fyfe, Neale, Mundy and Clancee as examples.

SKILLS - I've not seen the latest efficiency percentages but no doubt we're sharper and slicker with our ball movement. All that preseason work with the ball is paying off.

FLEXIBILITY - another focus has been to mix it up with the likes of Mundy and Hill running off half back at times and rotate the mids up forward. Barlow's role has changed somewhat.

MIDFIELD IMPROVEMENT - Neale has stepped it up to A grade. Fyfe and Mundy were there already but have improved again. Hill is more consistent. D.Pearce has improved (some would argue off a low base) and Clancee is a new addition this year to our midfield stocks that is getting plenty of the ball and providing added grunt. Clarke's form is on the rise too. Barlow accumulates and is working his way back to his best. I'm in the camp that wants more from Suban or try Mzungu or DeBoer in his role.

DEFENCE - Johnson & McPharlin are guns and they are integral to the ultimate goal. I think Spurr is having a better season and while Sutcliffe and Duffield haven't been standouts, the addition of Ibbotsen has been telling as his intercept marking and run out of defence is helping up the field.

FORWARD - we're a work in progress here but with Walters and Ballaz hitting some form on the weekend, how's the upside! Taberner is still finding his feet but together with Clarke's improved marking and Mayne's better year, they are all combining to give the opposition more to think about other than Pav.

DEPTH - we're blessed with it for the moment and long may it continue. Sheridan, Mzungu, Crozier & DeBoer are clipping at heels which is a beautiful thing (may well provide headaches for list management at some point but it's perfect for present requirements).

GAME PLAN - Improved fitness, skills, strength and individual growth is producing slicker ball movement, ball retention and defensive pressure on turnovers.

I actually see hunger and a level of eliteness building amongst this group like never before. Prior to this, the best I'd seen us was during the 2013 Qualifying Final against the Swans. If we continue to improve and stay fit and healthy, the team that beats us wins the flag....

 

[PapaJ]

I was three rows back from the Freo bench and what struck me is that the organisation, structure, positioning, communication and discipline of the group is in another dimension to what i have seen before from another AFL side. They obviously have a system where every position/role has a number and as players rotate they get told which number to go to and they slot straight in.

I noticed it when I watched Peel a few weeks back. I distinctly remember Connor Blakely coming off for a rotation and telling his replacement "Position 5, and watch that corridor protection". It's obviously a comprehensive system of organisation that Ross has brought in and goes beyond traditional positions like CHF, wing, rover etc. Last night the players were communicating with each across the entire length of the pitch with hand/finger signals. Basically they looked like a completely cohesive unit.

We are very very well coached. The degree of systematic organisation reminds me of the Barcelona team coached by Pep Guardiola, also in the sense that the 'system' is made to work by a dominant individual/combination of individuals executing the critical part of the game plan (for us it's the Fyfe, Mundy, Sandi etc. on-ball brigade...for Barca it was the Messi, Xavi, Iniesta combination).

I think the big difference this year is that the system and the key individuals are clicking at the same time. Looks very promising but a long way to go!

Don't think all of that is entirely new, but yes, no doubt one thing that is working really well is that we are very very organised. And it's such that when something does go wrong, RTB is able to quickly recognise it and make adjustments that the players seem to, by and large, implement.

Those of us still wondering why Mzungu doesn't get a game ahead of Suban, DeBoer or Sherro, a part of it often is this stuff that you're touching on KPop, that is working the system. Not saying Mzu can't and hasn't in the past, but unless you're a "Rolls Royce", it's about how well you can lock into the machine as much as skill-set and raw stats. What looks like a bit of a mehh game from Suban (for example) may be exactly what Ross wanted him to do and was a player working within the system to his role just fine.

 

[Arcassius]

Good Intel

Let's not make too much noise about it - it'll be on kingys 360 review by the end of the week

Every team does it - I sit near the opposition interchange and spent part of the Essendon game listening to the instructions coming off the bench. One instance was Heppell coming off and letting his replacement know 'High 5', and when Watson came off during one rotation he went 'Fyfe'


What is making our team a little different is the flexibility in roles that we have - one minute Mundy is blocking the main opposition clearance player at a bouncedown, next minute he's running off HB, and Suban is playing the blocking role. It's the chemistry between our players and their understanding of what they need to do and directing each other on field that has gone up a notch this season

 

[Lost_Deputy]

Great seeing Ibbo being pumped up in the AA thread. How good is this bloke. He just oozes class and makes opposition entries look insipid. Again, a componant that has taken us to another level but was already within our ranks.

 

[clogged]

Just ticking over? In a sense I hope you are right as we'd have some serious upside to come.

Hill had a good game but his ball use was patchy. There were missed set shots. Pavlich didn't have one of his best games. Mundy was good but probably playing under a little duress and could have played better. North probably had more inside 50s than you'd like, Freo fewer inside 50s then you'd like. Fix these things and there's a five goal better side.

What this game tells us is the team is able to play below its peak and still run out 73 point winners against a mature side that is competing for finals. That's a sign of a champion side.

 

[Lach72]

Hill had a good game but his ball use was patchy. There were missed set shots. Pavlich didn't have one of his best games. Mundy was good but probably playing under a little duress and could have played better. North probably had more inside 50s than you'd like, Freo fewer inside 50s then you'd like. Fix these things and there's a five goal better side.

What this game tells us is the team is able to play below its peak and still run out 73 point winners against a mature side that is competing for finals. That's a sign of a champion side.

Yes. I thought our ball use was sub par.
We were quite fumbly and effed around with the ball.

I thought it was an average game by us. We were even across the four quarters and our pressure was outstanding though

North were absolutely shitful. Over half our score was their turnovers

 

[malpaso]

I thought our inside 50s were inefficient, McPharlin beaten by Petrie. In the past a recipe for disaster, tonight our midfield and small forwards (plus some good things from Tabs) dominated. Great win.

Petrie had to pretty much come up the ground to get the ball. McPharlin wasn't beaten.

 

[malpaso]

Tabs is great at a lead up mark, not when the ball is dropped on top of his head.

I'd like to see a Pav and Apeness combo later when the Ape is fit.

Although that would be good to see, I think I'd rather see the Ape and Tabs. Tabs is the one doing the work up the ground so that Pavlich can stay closer to goal and remain 'fresher'. Apeness won't be able to provide that endurance run like Tabs does.

 

[malpaso]

Re: Suban

I think Mzungu should take his spot however I believe the reason that Suban is in there is his long kicks in the middle of the ground. Mzungu just offers so much more over the 4 quarters for me (pressure, goal kicking, go forward or back, tagging and endurance).

Sheridan I don't think is holding out Mzungu and still don't rate Sherro all that much. Wasn't hard to look good in our game on the weekend, he wasn't all that flash against the Doggies. I think he needs to put on another 5-7 kgs.

 

[clogged]

Yes. I thought our ball use was sub par.
We were quite fumbly and effed around with the ball.

I thought it was an average game by us. We were even across the four quarters and our pressure was outstanding though

North were absolutely shitful. Over half our score was their turnovers

I don't think North were any more s**t than most sides have been in the first halves of Freo games. The difference being that North didn't have the belief that they were still in it at half time. Freo broke them with those two goals just before the end of the second.

That's what great sides do - teams have a good quarter against them, and then right at the death they take it off them. All that work expended for minimal or no gain in scoreline breaks teams mentally. Hawthorn in particular have been masters at it.

 

[Steinfreo]

They have been doing that signaling for years

Do you know what the 'W' guesture is?

 

[dockerfemme]

I am very late to be making comments, but here goes.

I liked Mundy's game and felt he was playing more outside and forward. The stats back that up as he kicked half his score for the year on Saturday and had far more uncontested possessions than contested, he is usually close to 50/50. He also had more uncontested marks on Saturday. On the other hand, his clearance numbers were only down a little.

Whether he played more outside due to his head gash, or just to mix things up I don't know.

I suspect the difference in the impact of our small forwards on Sat was also, at least in part, due to them playing closer to goal.

I do think we are developing far more flexibility and our game plan is far more sophisticated with greater variety. I think our game plan was stale and predictable and we had become too easy to coach against.

At the moment it is all (or mostly) working.

 

[Arcassius]

I don't think North were any more s**t than most sides have been in the first halves of Freo games. The difference being that North didn't have the belief that they were still in it at half time. Freo broke them with those two goals just before the end of the second.

That's what great sides do - teams have a good quarter against them, and then right at the death they take it off them. All that work expended for minimal or no gain in scoreline breaks teams mentally. Hawthorn in particular have been masters at it.

It sounds like you're satisfied with the performance of the team. Am I right in assuming this is the first time (in your opinion) they've shown what it takes to be a contender? Or are you still reserving your opinion for when we do it consistently against all opposition?

 

[sij1981]

Tabs just needs to practice completing his marks, he had a few that just richoeted off his hands - a shame because he should have been rewarded for some good gut running if he had. His work rate is top notch. Nat Fyfe needs to work with him to improve his technique. Or maybe he needs to practice catching lads of raw eggs.

Shero will get better if he grows in confidence. No wonder Ross is trying to give him a run. Two Hill-like players to complement our tough insiders, plus D. Pearce, makes us hard to stop.

Great performance. North gave it a hot go in the second, but we refused to let them in all game.

Sherro looked good 9 posessions in 1 qtr but he just need confidence in himself.

 

[StingBitten]

Even though we're clear ahead on top of the ladder, I wonder if we might still be flying under the radar a bit atm.

All anyone's talking about at work is the Hawks/Sydney game; and 'how much closer it will be for this year's Grand Final'. I still don't think a lot of people rate us at taking it all the way, which would be perfectly fine with RTB I imagine. I guess it's in part due to our TV schedule, we don't get the 'big GF rematch' at the MCG, we're relegated to Tasmania.

Maybe after we pulverize Tigers and Collingwood on our Friday/Thursday night games people will start taking notice.

 

[sherrif]

Just watched the game. Thought we were just ticking over with Walter's form change the highlight.

North were beyond s**t

Geez I hate comments like the above. "just ticking over". What an absolute load of crap. We have actually had one of the most successful starts to a season in the last decade (with a handful of exceptions). When are the glass half empty types going to actually acknowledge we are going pretty bloody well. The North game was in reality a really consistent four quarter effort. North was missing three key players, but geez you can only beat the team infront of you and we did that comprehensively. We have also met every challenge thrown at us this year. The way we are playing is making decent teams look crap because of our pressure (eg West Toast and North) and that is actually a really good thing.

Two players having outstanding seasons with little fanfare are Spurr and C.Pearce. Sherro played brilliantly as the sub. Awesome win.

 

[clogged]

Geez I hate comments like the above. 'just ticking over". What an absolute load of crap. We have actually had one of the most successful starts to a season in the last decade (with a few exceptions). When are the half glass empty types going to actually acknowledge we are going pretty bloody well.

Because unlike a bunch of one eyed, myopic homers, those of us who watch a lot of footy know there's a lot of footy to come.

Being eight-zip is great. Of the past decade, six teams have been 8-0. Only three of them have won premierships.

 

[sherrif]

Because unlike a bunch of one eyed, myopic homers, those of us who watch a lot of footy know there's a lot of footy to come.

Being eight-zip is great. Of the past decade, six teams have been 8-0. Only three of them have won premierships.

My point is that we are playing well at the moment. If that changes the criticize then The way you post is that it means nothing. Actually, when you have as good as home record as we do it goes a long way to a home ground advantage and that is massive in terms of chances of winning a premiership. A 50% premiership record is actually significant in terms of the prospects of 8 -0 teams. At the start of the year we were mathematically a 1 in 18 chance.

 

[Steinfreo]

My point is that we are playing well at the moment. If that changes the criticize then The way you post is that it means nothing. Actually, when you have as good as home record as we do it goes a long way to a home ground advantage and that is massive in terms of chances of winning a premiership. A 50% premiership record is actually significant in terms of the prospects of 8 -0 teams. At the start of the year we were mathematically a 1 in 18 chance.

As Ross says its never as good or as bad as it looks.

 

[clogged]

My point is that we are playing well at the moment. If that changes the criticize then The way you post is that it means nothing. Actually, when you have as good as home record as we do it goes a long way to a home ground advantage and that is massive in terms of chances of winning a premiership. A 50% premiership record is actually significant in terms of the prospects of 8 -0 teams. At the start of the year we were mathematically a 1 in 18 chance.

If you watched the game on the weekend and didn't think there were areas the side could tune up, then you have nothing to add.

 

[clogged]

It sounds like you're satisfied with the performance of the team. Am I right in assuming this is the first time (in your opinion) they've shown what it takes to be a contender? Or are you still reserving your opinion for when we do it consistently against all opposition?

DudleyDocker asked me a similar question and I answered it here.

What I have noticed in most premiership winning teams is that they develop a mental edge over their opponents, where they win the game in small bursts and their opposition is defeated despite plenty of game time being left. Freo have been doing that early, but still leaving the door ajar late in games. Every side so far has had the confidence to run down Freo, even if they haven't gotten a win in the end.

North were nearly winning the quarter in the second and then lost it in two minutes. They scored one goal after half time, and in the last were missing set shots because they'd completely lost their nerves. Freo got the game on their own terms and it allowed Pavlich a rest.

It may seem like a small thing, that two goals before half time can have such an impact, but I'm of the belief that Gunston's goal just before 3QT did the same thing in the 2013 GF.