Will Fremantle make the 8?

footy75

Premiership Player
Jun 4, 2008
3,607
2,686
AFL Club
Carlton
Would of been a strong no from before yesterday. But who knows now. I didnt see the game.. were Freo that good or GWS just that bad.
 

Isaac Cumming No 1

Cancelled
10k Posts
Mar 28, 2018
10,491
8,454
AFL Club
GWS
Would of been a strong no from before yesterday. But who knows now. I didnt see the game.. were Freo that good or GWS just that bad.
Freo were very good. Taranto seemed to have an off day, but probably just frustrated as their midfield, particulariy their clearance work, was brilliant.
If you watched their round 1 game it was stunning. They will play finals if they play at that level consistently.
 

blitzer

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 27, 2006
7,483
8,749
House
AFL Club
Essendon
I reckon they are a chance. Its going to depend largely on injuries and whether they can keep their forward line functioning. I do rate their backline. Fyfe staying fit is one of the big ? marks. We all know his history.

The GWS win was a pleasant surprise but can they back it up over the next few weeks?
 

Loken

Reality Educator
Apr 15, 2019
1,002
1,246
AFL Club
Essendon
There is going to be a stack of teams that can make the 8 probably all the way up to the last round.

If they can win all their home games they are a massive chance.

I'm going to go with yes.
 
Last edited:

freo1

Club Legend
Jul 19, 2006
2,523
2,200
perth
AFL Club
Fremantle
Depth hurts us at the moment, so injuries play a big part. If Blakely and Hill return they're massive up's to our depth. Blakely in particular will make a massive difference to our midfield.

No significant injuries, yes we'll make it. if we lose too many more soldiers, maybe 9-10
 

its free real estate

it's free real estate
Jul 30, 2018
11,782
15,176
AFL Club
Fremantle
I reckon most of us would have taken 3-2 at this point, meaning we’d be in the running for finals. Sort of a mixed bag so far. North are obviously crap and in the running for the spoon. The Gold Coast loss was pretty ordinary, although they are better than expected. St Kilda was a bit of a dull game, but they are also better than expected (they’d be undefeated if we hadn’t beaten them).

I’ve given up on us beating West Coast so long as McGovern plays for them: we kick it to him more than we did to his dad when he played for us.

So yeah, I think we can play a lot better and possibly make finals, but that means playing games more like we did against GWS and less like we did against Gold Coast.
 
Last edited:
May 11, 2015
948
3,004
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Ipswich Town FC, Leeds Rhinos
I’ve always thought we’d finish 10-12 and my gut still thinks that. What I’m seeing though are the signs that the aggressive rebuild plan is working and we’ll be pushing for the 8 next season.

I reckon that will prove a few Ross doubters (myself included a couple of times) wrong...because 2016 wasn’t part of the rebuild, that was base jumping off a cliff without a parachute...so a FULL rebuild and back into finals contention in three seasons is about as fast as can be expected.
 

Bazza97

Premiership Player
Nov 17, 2016
3,957
3,973
Melbourne
AFL Club
Melbourne
Was impressed with the win against the Giants in Canberra. 3-2 is a solid start for the Dockers. I think they can at least push for finals. So far they haven't had any consecutive losses and I thought that was going to happen yesterday so it was a good response by Fremantle to get the win. They haven't had any consecutive wins yet either but I think that could change after yesterday's win. They play the Bulldogs next week at home which is very winnable so they've got a good chance to get consecutive wins for the first time this season. Right now they've got an opportunity to build some momentum and form which could help set up a good season for them.

For them to contend for finals, they'd want to get themselves into a good position going into the bye so their next 6 games will be important. 6-5 after 11 rounds would be ok but if they go at least 7-4 then they will be tracking well for a finals appearance. So going into the next six games I'd be wanting to win at least three of them before going into the bye but if they win more than that then they will be doing really well I'd say. Looking forward to seeing how the Dockers fare in their upcoming games.
 

Freo Hitman

Premiership Player
Mar 9, 2003
3,444
417
Fremantle
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Fremantle
Finally have a functioning forward line. Already have a solid defence. Need Blakely and S Hill back in the midfield then it is possible

Connor Blakely is the scary prospect for opposition teams . Make no bones about it.
He was our best player last year when he went out of the team injured and our performances dropped sharply without him.
 
Jun 23, 2008
33,485
27,225
Headed for Kirribilli House
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Norwood, Everton, Detroit Red Wings
You didn’t get Ross, to just finish in the 8.

The list is also drastically different to when he took over, as well.

2012-2015, which is unquestionably the most successful period in Dockers' history (67.68% winning percentage, 4 straight finals appearances, a minor premiership, and a Grand Final appearance), is another era, essentially. They had their crack, didn't quite make it, and are now re-building. Just six players remain on the list from that 2013 GF side, and two of them (Sandilands, Ballantyne) have looked cooked as AFL footballers for years now (neither has had a good full season of footy since like 2014-2015).

He's managing the transition between eras fine. They've assumedly been through the worst already (four wins in 2016, 8 wins each in 2017 and 2018), and are back on the way up.
 
Last edited:
May 11, 2015
948
3,004
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Ipswich Town FC, Leeds Rhinos
You didn’t get Ross, to just finish in the 8.

No, but:

- Ross doesn’t play youth
- Ross can’t rebuild
- Ross will never win the big one

He’s on his way to disproving the first two - I like that things often happen on threes.

That was the nice answer to your patronising comment.
 
Back