Training Preseason 2024
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Thanks everyone. Great reporting.
Worried about Chapman. The training I saw last preseason he was awful with his kicking & even unsure with ball handling.
Sounds like he’s still having real issues with skills.
Hopefully just rusty but it worries me when players that have showed enormous potential seem to lose their confidence.
Worried about Chapman. The training I saw last preseason he was awful with his kicking & even unsure with ball handling.
Sounds like he’s still having real issues with skills.
Hopefully just rusty but it worries me when players that have showed enormous potential seem to lose their confidence.
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Let's give him some time. He's showed great skills during games.
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His kicking was great in the only session Ive seen for what its worth.
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His kicking bar today has been great in most preseason sessions since he started.
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I thought we did well last year winning a final finishing 5th with mundy as a wise head around the group.
We had 5 people in our fwd line that would have won our 2018 goalkicking award this year.
Stop reading the west and get excited.
Back to the finals in 2024
On like donkey kong in 2025
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AFL 2024: Fremantle face selection headache as Hayden Young, Heath Chapman join suddenly abundant midfield mix
Fremantle’s midfield is already the biggest talking point ahead of 2024, as a sudden oversupply of on-ballers threatens to create a selection headache for the Dockers, writes ELIZA REILLY.5 min read
December 20, 2023 - 6:53PM
Fremantle’s backline jokes that the defenders are taking over.
“They’re saying that the more defenders they can spread throughout the field, the better the team will be, Hayden Young said on Tuesday ahead of Fremantle’s final training session of the year.
In reality, Fremantle’s midfield is already the biggest talking point ahead of 2024.
Young’s move from the backline isn’t the only drastic change Fremantle is set to make to its on-ball division next year. Heath Chapman has also been touted as an option to replace departed wingman Liam Henry. The Dockers also added former Sun Jeremy Sharp through the supplementary selection period.
It’s all part of Justin Longmuir’s plan to add unpredictability to Fremantle’s midfield. Premiers Collingwood had 20 different players attend at least one centre bounce throughout the season. The Dockers finished with 14, one of which was departed forward Lachie Schultz.
![Fremantle is facing a selection headache in 2024, with [PLAYERCARD]Hayden Young[/PLAYERCARD] set to move from the backline into a stacked midfield. Picture: Getty Images](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 "Fremantle is facing a selection headache in 2024, with [PLAYERCARD]Hayden Young[/PLAYERCARD] set to move from the backline into a stacked midfield. Picture: Getty Images")
Fremantle is facing a selection headache in 2024, with Hayden Young set to move from the backline into a stacked midfield. Picture: Getty Images
“We want to have different looks in our midfield,” Young said. “We’ve got players like Sam Switkowski that can come through and pinch hit. Luke Jackson can play ruck and midfield.
“We want to have some diversity in there and be versatile and be a threat. Hopefully this year, with the group we’ve got at the moment, we can make it difficult for teams to scout us and play against us.”
It’s a necessary shift for Fremantle’s finals aspirations. But it also threatens to create a selection headache, one that Longmuir still has an entire summer to somehow soothe.
The midfield group at the Dockers’ second-last training session of 2023 on Thursday had all the ingredients of an elite AFL midfield. The only problem is that there are too many players to fit in.
There was reigning Doig medallist and all-Australian Caleb Serong, fellow Doig Medallist and co-vice-captain Andrew Brayshaw, two-time Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe, young stars Neil Erasmus and Matthew Johnson, forgotten recruit Will Brodie, trade acquisition Jaeger O’Meara and Young.
Wing candidates Chapman, Sharp and Nathan O’Driscoll were there too. And rucks Sean Darcy and Jackson.
Heath Chapman has also been touted as an option to replace departed wingman Liam Henry. Picture: Getty Images)
The majority played regular senior football last year. But 13 doesn’t fit into six.
That begs the question, what will Fremantle’s starting midfield mix look like in round one next season?
The nucleus will likely be formed around Serong, Brayshaw and Young. The trio roved together consistently in the closing month of Fremantle’s season and looked the part. Serong did the dirty work. Brayshaw was trusted to make the next decision in the stoppage chain. And Young played a negating role on some of the league’s best midfielders but his offensive skills were a major asset.
With a full pre-season with the midfield, Young is expected to become even more of a threat.
“It’s refreshing to be learning new things,” he said. “I feel like I’m back in my first year. There’s a lot of new terminology and structures I have to be aware of.
“Last year I got a bit of experience in the midfield but the good thing was I was thrown in there with not a lot of instruction. I was told just to play which I think helped me in those games.
“There’s a bit more homework for me to do and it’s exciting for me coming to work every day.
“I think the natural progression is to be a ball-winning midfielder and have the ability to negate if that role is given to me.”
If Chapman can stay fit after an injury-riddled season, he’s set to occupy one of the wing spots. Even in defence, the 21-year-old’s clean skills and decision-making were evident. The West Perth product has great endurance and with his background as a backman, the Dockers can trust him to drop back and provide support.
Nat Fyfe started 2023 as a forward but was forced back into the midfield. But where does he fit into the midfield puzzle now? Picture: Getty Images
James Aish trained with the backline on Tuesday, indicating that Fremantle may be looking to explore an entirely new wing combination. Sharp has already made an impression, smashing his teammates and even challenging Olympian Peter Bol during a set of pre-season time trials. While O’Driscoll was a revelation on the wing in 2022 but fell out of favour this year.
Darcy remains Fremantle’s number one ruck and is on track to rejoin the main group after a season-ending ankle injury. He’ll again be supported by Jackson, who is likely to start up forward.
That makes six – three rovers, two wings and one ruck. And it shapes as a worrisome equation for those left over.
Fyfe started 2023 as a forward. But when Fremantle’s midfield was pushed around in the early stages of the season, the Dockers had no choice but to reintroduce him back into the midfield. The former captain has re-signed for a further two seasons and has returned to training injury-free after a stress fracture ended his season.
Fyfe is the most interesting piece of the puzzle. His stature and ability make him almost undroppable. But he’s never been a defensively-minded midfielder and the forward experiment is yet to pay off.
O’Meara is a member of Fremantle’s leadership group. But it’s going to be very difficult for the Dockers to play both him and Fyfe in the same team as both are contested beasts. It’s the same equation Fremantle faced choosing between O’Meara and Brodie this year with the added complexity of Young.
Then there’s emerging stars Erasmus and Johnson. Erasmus has indicated that he wants to play a mix of inside midfield and up forward. While Johnson stepped ahead of Erasmus in Fremantle’s midfield pecking order this year and played 18 games.
This year, the Dockers mostly fielded a combination of no more than five midfielders at centre bounces. Serong and Brayshaw were regulars, attending at least 75 per cent of centre bounces in every game they played. And the remaining minutes were divided up between other on-ballers.
Fremantle’s desire for midfield unpredictability isn’t impossible. It will hinge on versatility.
Those fighting for a spot have no choice but to make themselves valuable in other positions, allowing the Dockers to squeeze an extra midfielder or two into the team. There’s also the option of the substitute role, albeit a bane for any player handed the vest.
On paper, Fremantle is at risk of having too many cooks in the kitchen. But the Dockers have the rest of pre-season to figure it out.
An abundance of AFL midfielders is a good problem to have. It’s just one that might give Longmuir a few sleepless nights in the lead-up to round one.
Very amusing.
I personally don't think comparing ourselves to North and thinking we are being successful (?) because we have kept some old heads around is a sharp-edged observation.
Mundy and Walters definitely bring leadership but like North we have nothing to brag about.
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No worries you keep staring at your half empty cup whilst I get excited about the most talented group freo has ever assembled.
Look at the age demographic of the premiers over the last few years.
I just noted examples of what happens
North and suns are getting handouts like it’s no bodies business.
Guys like Fyfe Mundy and son son have been extremely important over the rebuild whilst players have been walking out the door.
We’ve won 25 games over the last two years, half a game less than blues 2 less than port.
It’s not doom and gloom.
Sonny kicked 30+ in 23 and when we play finals in 2024 he will be super important.
Small fwds final records
Sonny 13 finals 30 goals
Cyril 19 finals 22 goals
Robbie gray 10 finals 10 goals
Martin 16 finals 27 goals
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Along with Collingwood Richmond and blues, freo are one of only 4 teams to ave over 40k home attendance in 2022 and 2023.
Stop absorbing the beat downs from all and sundry.
They fear what we’re building.
Carn the anchors!!!
Stop absorbing the beat downs from all and sundry.
They fear what we’re building.
Carn the anchors!!!
I love the beatdowns, almost everyone thinks we're in North and West Coast's league. Come at us ****ers.
A pessimist? From my reading of this board I think you and I are in the minority expecting that we play finals. Finals in 2024 is my notional pass mark. Winning one is confirmation we are on track.
If I am measuring leadership I would have players 'walking out the door' (as you put it) as a negative indicator. I'm not laying that at the feet of Walters, Fyfe or Mundy, but leadership is an issue at Fremantle.
And I wouldn't have the fact that a forward kicks goals as an indicator of leadership. It's an expectation.
Leadership is also important, but quoting Walters past goal kicking stats is borderline irrelevant.
Off the top of my head better indicators of forward line leadership might be;
- Overall poductivity of our forward line, sure. We need to improve.
- Getting our teamwork forward of centre right, yes. We need to improve.
- Retention of forward half players, maybe, but we just had Schultz and Henry 'walk out the door'. We need to improve.
Where his leadership is off the charts is at training and especially pre-season.
One of our weaknesses is how 1 dimensional our team is. I'm happy to hear about players who otherwise weren't getting midfield run training in that position. Compared to the majority of the top teams our midfielders played almost exclusively midfield.
Training observations
Got here early so they were still setting up with Mzungu laying out the conesTunes are playing with Blink182 blasting out an old hit. It was pretty windy down there. Was on the embankment but whilst dealing with crawling ants, thankfully didn't get bitten. Honestly, the ugly sandy area to the left isn't that terrible.
First drill I observed today were groups playing keep away with soccer balls taking turns to be the one to keep the ball from the others. While this was going on I also saw some basic kick to kick and fwd line agility exercises. Chappy didn't have his kicking boots on as I watched him kick inaccurately twice in a row and a third one a bit later. I could hear him admonishing himself.
Couldn't see everyone out there but could tell Freddy wasn't around and thanks to some posters, revealed that Sharp had a haircut. Cheers
Oh, and Hugh wasn't wearing his hat today. I think he's over the trolling.
I was liking the look of Ethan Stanley. He's physically as built as most of the mature squad so I wouldn't be surprised to see him get an early look in on the wing. He was looking the goods the whole session tbh.
After the first drills ended they started a full oval kick to kick exercise where everyone was pretty much calling for the ball and players with the balls were trying to spot a player to kick to. It was pretty cool to watch. They were calling for the ball all around the ground which made it fairly hectic and busy so I guess this was to simulate match day conditions and spotting options in conjestion. Black Betty was getting a good blast Spiderbait stylez.
Serong is looking very fit. Walters was vocal as usual and the whole team seemed quite buoyant and why wouldn't you with Bull On Parade getting blasted. Was rockin to it. I love Rage!
The next drills I watched was a footy version of the keep away game. Just trying to not get tackled with the footy. Half the groups wore a bib to differentiate. Brodie had some good moments in this one, evading his teammates well. This one happened in the middle while at the ends were forward pressure scrimmages in small teams where one team is trying to score and the other obviously trying to stop them. There was a nice moment where Serong found Knobel with a pass while in heavy traffic for a goal.
Funnily enough, while these drills occurred I could see a small group lined up with one of the coaches about 5 metres away from them just drilling hard kicks to them and they had to try a catch\control the ball at that high speed. Couldn't fully tell who was participating but when they broke away I could see Pearce & Amiss amonst them. Could've been a nice ball to the face had they not been alert lol.
After this they started drills that looked like transitioning the ball up the wings. Some good passages were observed with one that started with Wagner who worked it to Walters and found Fyfe, who delivered a very nice I50 pass to a coach. Another that started with Stanley who worked to to Young who then drilled it to a leading Jackson I50. Also watched Conrad and he had some good moments and while he's still on the skinny side, is starting to look like the likes of Wanganeen-Milera from St Kilda in the size sense, so maybe he could get some sort of look in. He was on the wing and half back, so maybe he might be part of the equation going forward as Young\Chappy move to the middle more often. He was pretty involved at times. Sharp was also involved and looked good. He's definitely has more spring and speed compared to a NOD, but they are relatively different players, despite being wingers.
Taberner was about the joint and actually was looking quite mobile and watched him kick a goal during this drill. Reidy is also looking very nice and strong and I noticed he's got a very nice field kick too. Was hitting his targets with some nice stab kicks. During this drill the coach would randomly blow the whistle and they all had to drop and do push ups. Made me chuckle. Heh heh. Overall, was also noticing Fyfe amongst this drill and he was looking mobile and moving quite well too. He didn't look like he was carrying anything which is great. Hughes and Brayshaw were in these wing drills too.
Next drills were some sort of mini match sim in the middle where they had smaller goal posts at the 50m lines each end (like the Auskick games at half time). Some great moments observed. Banfield had a good run towards goal, snapping it through the middle after his team mates got it forward. There was just some nice work overall in the thick of it where players were finding their man with the quick hand passes. Cox had some very nice marking contests defending his end.
They restarted the match sim drill to full length of the oval and Fyfe had a good moment again getting his hands on the ball and drilling it deep I50. Didn't see who marked it tho but Fyfe's kick was a beauty. Pearce and Davies were combining in defence and were competitive. While Davies isn't as large as Pearce, he was pretty mobile and active and has a a nice kick on him. Reminds me of Robbie Hadrill in the physical sense. Serong had another moment of winning the ball and finding Banfield by foot forward again as he ran in for another goal. I finally spotted Oscar McDonald and he also looks the goods. He looked fit, mobile and quite lean. Similar to Cox but maybe a tad heavier. His kicking is pretty good too , combining with Draper in this drill so I think we've picked a good one if he stays injury free.
New drill. Looks like more midfield stuff. Fyfe looking good again getting amongst it. While this is happening, forward drills are also occurring and the mids in the middle are trying to win it and find a forward target. In one instance, Taberner out worked Davies wonderfully to get free for the leading mark in front of him. Tabs is actually a lot more vocal than I first imagined. Not the loudest, but it was interesting to hear his voice calling out amongst it. I assumed he was mute or something
Full Match Sim
Yes, they did some match sim! Actually they did three rounds of it. Walters had an excellent running goal, drilling it through close to the ground. Serong won a midfield contest to then find a leading Walters and hit him on the chest from just outside 50, but wasn't able to convert. Still, very nice mid\fwd connection. Again Serong won the ball in the middle and shook off a hard tackle to find Delean leading I50 resulting in a sweet goal. At this point to myself, it's pretty obvious that Serong is our best inside mid. I think he's eclipsed Brayshaw in the sense of 'output'. The legs! (and I've got a decent pair myself
Moments of Davies side-stepping Reidy out of defense looked really good too. I sense Reidy could do some good things too given the opportunity, but I don't see how he gets a look in without a disaster happening. I reckon he's got the attributes to succeed at AFL for someone else possibly. He's definitely ahead of Knobel and in saying that just watched him dribble through a Sonny-stylez type goal on a 45 degree angle. Bloody well done! Wagner has been very good for the whole session really. He stays involved and his kick is actually really good for spotting players in traffic for short passes. He should be B23 (so I might have to revise my chart in the B23 thread.)
Another passage of play observed with Sharp transitioning the ball forward through the middle with a nice pass to Reidy who finds Jackson to his right and snaps the goal through. I'm definitely liking Delean and what he brings. Despite his height, he still 'looks' and plays like a small forward with that craftiness. Another passage with Erasmus winning the ball and feeding it to Serong in heavy traffic who finds an open Banfield again running towards goal. Looked nice to see.
Match Sim 2
This starts off with Jackson marking effortlessly I50 after a good pass. Conrad making his presence felt running around and getting some hands to ball. Saw an awesome passage with Fyfe winning the ball and feeding it to Brodie, to Switta and kicking I50 to an O'Meara mark, who went back and banged it through from about 35-40m at 45 degrees. Delean busy again I50 finding the ball and snapping the goal through. He's got forward craft for sure and pretty much looks ready to play. Fyfe again had more moments winning the ball and getting it forward. He might be handy next to Serong
Match Sim 3
I saw Chappy line up on the wing next to sharp for this one and he stayed there holding his line. Was stoked to see him there as I'm a believer in him moving to the midfield permanently. On the other end it was Stanley and NOD lining up. Again, I witnessed Chappy having kicking issues, spraying a kick nearly OOF from half back. I'm sure it's just temporary.
O'Meara forward again. Conrad took a nice mark but sprayed his kick. Reidy took a very nice pack mark. Saw Tabs working hard as an option and found himself marking in defence a couple times. A good sign for him that he's still got decent endurance.
Reidy vs Jackson in the ruck and honestly, Reidy holding his own very much getting some nice taps to the mids. Knobel was playing forward and bombed a brilliant 50+ metre goal through the sticks. He's also looking very talented but literally just needs to size up a bunch. He's not terribly far off. I noticed he's also got a decent field kick too.
Had Reidy and Knobel rucking for a bit with Reidy winning the tap and getting the ball forward. Tabs marking on a 45 degree angle about 40 out and drilling it through with a drop punt thankfully. In fact I didn't see a single snap kick but that could've been because there were no goal kicks on extreme angles.
Thats it! I'm out! Enjoy!
Thank you for an epic training report.
Thanks Purple. It's actually a nice way to take a time out so will be looking to do repeat performances hopefully
Interesting. My take on her words and what I observed would be that Brodie won't be getting a game this year, O'meara is a permanent fwd and Fyfe will start on ball. Erasmus looks like he'll function as a plug and play based on need, as I'm pretty sure he was running in those wing drills, and I'd say Johnson will continue in the midfield.AFL 2024: Fremantle face selection headache as Hayden Young, Heath Chapman join suddenly abundant midfield mix
Fremantle’s midfield is already the biggest talking point ahead of 2024, as a sudden oversupply of on-ballers threatens to create a selection headache for the Dockers, writes ELIZA REILLY.
5 min read
December 20, 2023 - 6:53PM
Fremantle’s backline jokes that the defenders are taking over.
“They’re saying that the more defenders they can spread throughout the field, the better the team will be, Hayden Young said on Tuesday ahead of Fremantle’s final training session of the year.
In reality, Fremantle’s midfield is already the biggest talking point ahead of 2024.
Young’s move from the backline isn’t the only drastic change Fremantle is set to make to its on-ball division next year. Heath Chapman has also been touted as an option to replace departed wingman Liam Henry. The Dockers also added former Sun Jeremy Sharp through the supplementary selection period.
It’s all part of Justin Longmuir’s plan to add unpredictability to Fremantle’s midfield. Premiers Collingwood had 20 different players attend at least one centre bounce throughout the season. The Dockers finished with 14, one of which was departed forward Lachie Schultz.
Fremantle is facing a selection headache in 2024, with Hayden Young set to move from the backline into a stacked midfield. Picture: Getty Images
“We want to have different looks in our midfield,” Young said. “We’ve got players like Sam Switkowski that can come through and pinch hit. Luke Jackson can play ruck and midfield.
“We want to have some diversity in there and be versatile and be a threat. Hopefully this year, with the group we’ve got at the moment, we can make it difficult for teams to scout us and play against us.”
It’s a necessary shift for Fremantle’s finals aspirations. But it also threatens to create a selection headache, one that Longmuir still has an entire summer to somehow soothe.
The midfield group at the Dockers’ second-last training session of 2023 on Thursday had all the ingredients of an elite AFL midfield. The only problem is that there are too many players to fit in.
There was reigning Doig medallist and all-Australian Caleb Serong, fellow Doig Medallist and co-vice-captain Andrew Brayshaw, two-time Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe, young stars Neil Erasmus and Matthew Johnson, forgotten recruit Will Brodie, trade acquisition Jaeger O’Meara and Young.
Wing candidates Chapman, Sharp and Nathan O’Driscoll were there too. And rucks Sean Darcy and Jackson.
Heath Chapman has also been touted as an option to replace departed wingman Liam Henry. Picture: Getty Images)
The majority played regular senior football last year. But 13 doesn’t fit into six.
That begs the question, what will Fremantle’s starting midfield mix look like in round one next season?
The nucleus will likely be formed around Serong, Brayshaw and Young. The trio roved together consistently in the closing month of Fremantle’s season and looked the part. Serong did the dirty work. Brayshaw was trusted to make the next decision in the stoppage chain. And Young played a negating role on some of the league’s best midfielders but his offensive skills were a major asset.
With a full pre-season with the midfield, Young is expected to become even more of a threat.
“It’s refreshing to be learning new things,” he said. “I feel like I’m back in my first year. There’s a lot of new terminology and structures I have to be aware of.
“Last year I got a bit of experience in the midfield but the good thing was I was thrown in there with not a lot of instruction. I was told just to play which I think helped me in those games.
“There’s a bit more homework for me to do and it’s exciting for me coming to work every day.
“I think the natural progression is to be a ball-winning midfielder and have the ability to negate if that role is given to me.”
If Chapman can stay fit after an injury-riddled season, he’s set to occupy one of the wing spots. Even in defence, the 21-year-old’s clean skills and decision-making were evident. The West Perth product has great endurance and with his background as a backman, the Dockers can trust him to drop back and provide support.
Nat Fyfe started 2023 as a forward but was forced back into the midfield. But where does he fit into the midfield puzzle now? Picture: Getty Images
James Aish trained with the backline on Tuesday, indicating that Fremantle may be looking to explore an entirely new wing combination. Sharp has already made an impression, smashing his teammates and even challenging Olympian Peter Bol during a set of pre-season time trials. While O’Driscoll was a revelation on the wing in 2022 but fell out of favour this year.
Darcy remains Fremantle’s number one ruck and is on track to rejoin the main group after a season-ending ankle injury. He’ll again be supported by Jackson, who is likely to start up forward.
That makes six – three rovers, two wings and one ruck. And it shapes as a worrisome equation for those left over.
Fyfe started 2023 as a forward. But when Fremantle’s midfield was pushed around in the early stages of the season, the Dockers had no choice but to reintroduce him back into the midfield. The former captain has re-signed for a further two seasons and has returned to training injury-free after a stress fracture ended his season.
Fyfe is the most interesting piece of the puzzle. His stature and ability make him almost undroppable. But he’s never been a defensively-minded midfielder and the forward experiment is yet to pay off.
O’Meara is a member of Fremantle’s leadership group. But it’s going to be very difficult for the Dockers to play both him and Fyfe in the same team as both are contested beasts. It’s the same equation Fremantle faced choosing between O’Meara and Brodie this year with the added complexity of Young.
Then there’s emerging stars Erasmus and Johnson. Erasmus has indicated that he wants to play a mix of inside midfield and up forward. While Johnson stepped ahead of Erasmus in Fremantle’s midfield pecking order this year and played 18 games.
This year, the Dockers mostly fielded a combination of no more than five midfielders at centre bounces. Serong and Brayshaw were regulars, attending at least 75 per cent of centre bounces in every game they played. And the remaining minutes were divided up between other on-ballers.
Fremantle’s desire for midfield unpredictability isn’t impossible. It will hinge on versatility.
Those fighting for a spot have no choice but to make themselves valuable in other positions, allowing the Dockers to squeeze an extra midfielder or two into the team. There’s also the option of the substitute role, albeit a bane for any player handed the vest.
On paper, Fremantle is at risk of having too many cooks in the kitchen. But the Dockers have the rest of pre-season to figure it out.
An abundance of AFL midfielders is a good problem to have. It’s just one that might give Longmuir a few sleepless nights in the lead-up to round one.
There's also no reason why we can't rotate mid game with these guys and have different looks rather than Serong/Brayshaw taking 75% of the bounces.
Serong, Brayshaw, Fyfe, O'Meara, Erasmus can all float forward for periods, Young, Chapman can cover backs. Switta is going to be floating around somewhere.
This is where we can be more unpredictable as all the aforementioned can attend centre bounces.
My actual thoughts on our issues has always been midfield related, as great as Serong/Brayshaw have come on.
We don't win the first ball at the bounce often enough, or at least cleanly enough to get it out to be damaging. To me that's gonna be largely a size and strength issue as those that are large enough know they can just out body their man/men.
When we lose these contests we're seeing an Alex Pearce copping multiple i50s which leads to inevitable goals and a unnecessary bad reputation.
Adding these bigger bodies, whether it be an injury-free Fyfe, or a levelled-up Young/Chapman, or gymed-up Brayshaw/Serong, or even a defensive +5 Brodie is ultimately where the recipe for success lies.
Why do they call it the engine room?
Jap crap don't beat V8s
IMO
I really hope that's not the end of Brodie. He was so good for us last year. Would be such a shame if he's unable to replicate that.Interesting. My take on her words and what I observed would be that Brodie won't be getting a game this year, O'meara is a permanent fwd and Fyfe will start on ball. Erasmus looks like he'll function as a plug and play based on need, as I'm pretty sure he was running in those wing drills, and I'd say Johnson will continue in the midfield.
There's also no reason why we can't rotate mid game with these guys and have different looks rather than Serong/Brayshaw taking 75% of the bounces.
Serong, Brayshaw, Fyfe, O'Meara, Erasmus can all float forward for periods, Young, Chapman can cover backs. Switta is going to be floating around somewhere.
This is where we can be more unpredictable as all the aforementioned can attend centre bounces.
My actual thoughts on our issues has always been midfield related, as great as Serong/Brayshaw have come on.
We don't win the first ball at the bounce often enough, or at least cleanly enough to get it out to be damaging. To me that's gonna be largely a size and strength issue as those that are large enough know they can just out body their man/men.
When we lose these contests we're seeing an Alex Pearce copping multiple i50s which leads to inevitable goals and a unnecessary bad reputation.
Adding these bigger bodies, whether it be an injury-free Fyfe, or a levelled-up Young/Chapman, or gymed-up Brayshaw/Serong, or even a defensive +5 Brodie is ultimately where the recipe for success lies.
Why do they call it the engine room?
Jap crap don't beat V8s
IMO
He can replicate it, it's the coaching staff that doesn't like his two-way game methinks. Which I don't see as an issue when Brodie just plays inside mid and his job is to get the ball out and tackle which he does very well.
Having said that who would you take out? Johnson? O'Meara? Erasmus?
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That’s the issue for Brodie, the kids are coming on so quickly. I was in the “should have played Brodie instead of JOM” camp this year, however it seems JOM is now being pushed into a forward role by Young, Johnson and the apparent resurgence of Fyfe.
Those 3 with the occasional use of Jackson provide the size to ensure we aren’t being pushed around in the middle and with Serong, Brayshaw and Switta makes for a lot of different combinations to keep teams guessing.
Brodie is going to have to sub on for Fyfe (or visa versa) to get a look in.
Erasmus is only going to get better which will likely bump Brodie further down the pecking order.
wakojako
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You can't fit the both of Brodie and Fyfe in the same team. I actually think Fyfe should play as the sub because his body is cooked so you could rotate between the two. Johnson and Ras need guaranteed spots. I just don't know what to do with JOM.
I think it's time to let Fyfe go tbh. JOM goes forward. I actually liked Johnson in the limited time he played on the wing. I know it's not his best position, but he did it well. Ras I'm still not convinced is better than Brodie at all really, but he has time on his side.
I rated his first year and also agree that winning the ball first negates the need to defend. That's why Fyfe I think was not a defensive liability, at least in Brownlow years, because he won it so much.
I thought Brodie was winning a healthy percentage of bounces in that year so he's shown he can get first hands on it but I guess it's down to all the bounces he or Freo don't win so the others ahead in the pecking order have a better ability to defend those possessions that he can.
That's simply my elementary.
Why do they call it the engine room?
Jap crap don't beat V8s
IMO
You lost you're argument here. Awd jap cars will always thrash V8'S
It's hard to like his game when he only has 60% tog and has no leadership qualities.
Some players get away with it but they bring off field intangibles which he doesn't seem to have.
But there was a lot to like about his game when he was doing that a couple years ago. We've always had someone in the middle who wasn't defensively accountable, Fyfe and Mundy for one. I don't understand why they don't just play Brodie to his strengths, and focus on what he can do rather than what he can't do.
Sure there was a lot to like but there is more to like from Fyfe in that position, or even Johnson now.
Brodie was never defensive.
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