- Aug 18, 2009
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We’re in hell right now, gentleman. Either we heal as a team, or we’re gonna crumble.
We can stay here, and get the shit kicked out of us by Cornes, hackdorn, gossage and the rest, or we can fight our way back to premiership contention.
This movie is terrible, but the speech is one of my favourites. The background song is by Paul Kelly called Peace Reprise. Somewhat apt. But I digress, today we’re here to discuss whether Freo can heal as a team, or if the footy season will die. Can Freo absorb every modicum of negative media/pressure/external noise, and come out the other side breathing fire? Let’s find out.
So, what’s the go with these pies?
They’re basically the Iceland team in the second Mighty Ducks movie. We’re more like the Bad News Bears before any of the good parts. They’re bloody good. Extremely well drilled with an appetite for full-throttle, breakneck footy. If the need calls for it, they’ll change gears smoother than Dom Torreto. Basically, prepare for a good old-fashioned walloping and despair.
I warned you we’re in hell right now.
DeGooey, Pendlebury, Maynard and Mihocek are all confirmed outs. Usually, DeGooey type players thrive against Freo. Just look at Stringers game last year, or Dangers game this year. Power-mid-forwards are a tough match-up for any team, but Freo rarely enjoy quiet days against them. With no DeGooey or Mihocek, the defence MUST clamp down the Pies forwards and not allow cheap contested marks. Between the arcs needs to be a battleground. No Walker makes the task of containing their all-star pressure forward line difficult. A lot of speed and changing angles will need to be dealt with in real-time, and less reliance on set positions and corralling. No junkyard dog Maynard means Freddy and Sharp can play a little easier knowing they won’t get as bullied in our forward half or on the ball, but make no mistake. This pies outfit loves a scrap, and will happily bring it to us. Having these four players out is nice, but the next four players in will be chomping at the bit like a baseball coach with baccy to keep their spot in the 22.
Then, there’s the Daicos Bro’s with a side of bottom. The 90-year-old Royles Royce is having a great season. He’s obviously gone to the Mountain of Mundy to meditate in the off-season. Nicky D is a little magician who can make magic happen and has the kicking efficiency of a German engineered robot with an inbuilt laser guidance system from SAAB. Absolute jet. Josh is an incredible football player with hair that belongs in a Disney musical. He’d be the best footballer in most families, just not this one.
How do we stop them? Short answer? We can’t. JLo rarely sends a tag, and I’m not quite sure we’ve got someone with the skillsets to contain them that isn’t named Banfield. Constant and rapid pressure on Nick and closing Josh’s running lanes/open pockets are our best option with classic JL team defence. If they gain ascendancy and decent looks inside 50, we’ll be well and truly on the backfoot.
How do we crawl out of hell and fight our way back to premiership contention?
Hear me out… We need to score more than them time by the time the final siren sounds. So… how do we do that?
Grit and determination. Feel uncomfortable and take the game on. If we sit back and try to play our regular style, we will get picked apart like a prawn by your drunk uncle at Christmas. Expect physical, contact-based clinches with swarms of overlap running and a belief system that won the pies a flag a few years ago. Screw it, let’s go oldschool Neesham up in this bish!
Jackson and Darcy must be prepared to run Cameron ragged all over the ground. And Pearce will have his hands full when he drifts forward. Do not give any width to their half-backs and stifle their run and carry. Bolton, Dudley, Reid and Switkowski need to be front and square of any ground ball, force their backline to work for every single chain possession. Chapman and Clark need to take the first option when exiting the backline. Be aggressive. Brayshaw and Serong have both mentioned finals before. If they want to play finals, they’ll need to pass this audition first. I want these players to show the courage and commitment I show when they yell last drinks at a busy bar to score an extra pint.
EVEN IF we bring the tenacity and courage of Paddington Bear when he went to prison, the pies won’t be shocked or phased. They’ve had a few rodeos and will be willing to throw it right back at us in a way that Adelaide couldn’t. It’s then up to the players and between the ears.
Expect it. Face it. Endure it. Defeat it. Fight our way back to the light and climb out of hell.
Or we will crumble.
So, will we heal as a team? Or, will our footy season die as individuals?
Will we be singing "We Are The Champions" after the game or will we be cry-singing Hurt by NIN/Johnny Cash?
Maybe this is the turning point. Maybe this is the moment we crawl out of hell and become the team we want to be and spoken about. The team we all whispered about with cautious optimism. Frustrations quashed by jubilation. Resentment transformed into ecstasy. Apathetic yearning drastically shifted towards triumphant satisfaction. This could be the moment where we as a team take a stand, and springboard forth to eternal happiness. In the future, our 30 years of heartache will be dismissed in jest as we reminisce the pivotal platform this game on a Thursday night in May gave us. The night when the Fremantle Football Club FINALLY stamped their authority on the competition. A centrifugal force of grit and determination surging towards premiership glory. Or we’ll yield as a team, and fail. It’s up to them.
It's just football, guys. That’s all it is.
Now, what are they gonna do?
**** it…. Freo by 30 points.
Now, what are they gonna do?
**** it…. Freo by 30 points.
Loljks, Pies by 4 goals and we all take up alcoholism as a hobby.
