Preview Rnd 1 - Fremantle vs North Melbourne 24th March 3:20pm

[Snake_Baker]

How do you folks think the ground hardness scenario will improve this season?

It has to be a concern with someone like Hogan on the list, and I am definitely concerned about it in our round 1 clash.

 

[tonygeeks]

How do you folks think the ground hardness scenario will improve this season?

It has to be a concern with someone like Hogan on the list, and I am definitely concerned about it in our round 1 clash.

Didn't hear much about it after the first few months , whether that's because they improved it or just the natural effect of winter I'm not sure. Doubt there is much you can do to stop an outdoor oval in Perth getting too firm over summer. We had plenty of injuries last year but there didn't seem to be a lot of stress type one you would expect if the ground was the problem

Don't you blokes play on docklands ? Wouldn't be any worse than that roller skating rink


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[Snake_Baker]

Didn't hear much about it after the first few months , whether that's because they improved it or just the natural effect of winter I'm not sure. Doubt there is much you can do to stop an outdoor oval in Perth getting too firm over summer. We had plenty of injuries last year but there didn't seem to be a lot of stress type one you would expect if the ground was the problem

Don't you blokes play on docklands ? Wouldn't be any worse than that roller skating rink


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

Docklands was bad, but they resurfaced the ground and now it's no issue.

 

[rgauci]

I’m hearing about this Uber elite midfield we are coming up against and I just don’t see it. Can anyone enlighten me?

Cunnington - Fyfe
Higgins - Mundy
Polec - Brad Hill
Ahern - Brayshaw
B.Jacobs - Banfield
J.Anderson - E.Langdon
Hrovat - Conca

(Jack Ziebell’s a forward I’m told), include him and we include Walters.

That’s without listing Cerra who’s gonna play HBF. Not listing Stephen Hill or Harley Bennell. Not listing Blakeley who should be back for the 2nd half of the year.

What’s to fear?

 

[Snake_Baker]

Round 1.
B: Wilson A.Pearce Hamling
HB: Ryan Logue Duman
C: Langdon Brayshaw B.Hill
R: Sandy Fyfe Blakley
HF: Colyer Taberner Walters
FF: Switkowski Lobb Hogan

I/C Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield (Banfield f Ross wants to tag Hall).

Based upon your side, with S. Hills ommission.

North will match up something like this:

B: Wilson A.Pearce Hamling
F: Turner Brown Ziebell
HB: Ryan Logue Duman
HF: Atley Wood Garner
C: Langdon Brayshaw B.Hill
C: Hall Higgins Polec
HF: Colyer Taberner Walters
HB: McDonald McKay MacMillan
FF: Switkowski Lobb Hogan
B: Williams Tarrant Thompson

R: Sandilands Fyfe Blakley
R: Goldstein Jacobs Cunnington

I/C: Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield
I/C: Tyson, Anderson, Dumont, Simpkin or Ahern

 

[sherrif]

I’m hearing about this Uber elite midfield we are coming up against and I just don’t see it. Can anyone enlighten me?

Cunnington - Fyfe
Higgins - Mundy
Polec - Brad Hill
Ahern - Brayshaw
B.Jacobs - Banfield
J.Anderson - E.Langdon
Hrovat - Conca

(Jack Ziebell’s a forward I’m told), include him and we include Walters.

That’s without listing Cerra who’s gonna play HBF. Not listing Stephen Hill or Harley Bennell. Not listing Blakeley who should be back for the 2nd half of the year.

What’s to fear?

Hall at his best is a very good mid who requires attention, but I dont think either team has an elite midfield with what they will likely put onto the field Round 1 Even without S.Hill, Bennell and Blakely Im hopeful you can add Bewley and Colyer to our list of good midfield options.

 

[Snake_Baker]

I’m hearing about this Uber elite midfield we are coming up against and I just don’t see it. Can anyone enlighten me?

Cunnington - Fyfe
Higgins - Mundy
Polec - Brad Hill
Ahern - Brayshaw
B.Jacobs - Banfield
J.Anderson - E.Langdon
Hrovat - Conca

(Jack Ziebell’s a forward I’m told), include him and we include Walters.

That’s without listing Cerra who’s gonna play HBF. Not listing Stephen Hill or Harley Bennell. Not listing Blakeley who should be back for the 2nd half of the year.

What’s to fear?

Jacobs will take Fyfe, and Hrovat is about 8 back out of the side at the moment.

Simpkin has been burning up the training track and been mentioned as an eye catcher in every training report, Hall is fit and firing, Dumont finished 3 votes outside a top 3 finish in our B&F, and we have added Dom Tyson to the list who is a better than serviceable inside mid rotation.

You also left out Ahern who set records for a first 10 games player.

The kids Davies-Uniake, Thomas and Bailey Scott have also been very good. All will be guns, but I don't think they will strip for round 1.

 

[Unique Name]

Based upon your side, with S. Hills ommission.

North will match up something like this:

B: Wilson A.Pearce Hamling
F: Turner Brown Ziebell
HB: Ryan Logue Duman
HF: Atley Wood Garner
C: Langdon Brayshaw B.Hill
C: Hall Higgins Polec
HF: Colyer Taberner Walters
HB: McDonald McKay MacMillan
FF: Switkowski Lobb Hogan
B: Williams Tarrant Thompson

R: Sandilands Fyfe Blakley
R: Goldstein Jacobs Cunnington

I/C: Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield
I/C: Tyson, Anderson, Dumont, Simpkin or Ahern

Isn't Thompson suspended for firrst round?

 

[Snake_Baker]

Isn't Thompson suspended for firrst round?

Correct, apologies.

B: Wilson A.Pearce Hamling
F: Turner Brown Ziebell
HB: Ryan Logue Duman
HF: Atley Wood Garner
C: Langdon Brayshaw B.Hill
C: Hall Higgins Polec
HF: Colyer Taberner Walters
HB: McDonald McKay MacMillan
FF: Switkowski Lobb Hogan
B: Williams Tarrant Vickers-Willis

R: Sandilands Fyfe Blakley
R: Goldstein Jacobs Cunnington

I/C: Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield
I/C: Tyson, Anderson, Dumont, Simpkin or Ahern

I don't think Hogan will play either.

 

[Unique Name]

Correct, apologies.

B: Wilson A.Pearce Hamling
F: Turner Brown Ziebell
HB: Ryan Logue Duman
HF: Atley Wood Garner
C: Langdon Brayshaw B.Hill
C: Hall Higgins Polec
HF: Colyer Taberner Walters
HB: McDonald McKay MacMillan
FF: Switkowski Lobb Hogan
B: Williams Tarrant Vickers-Willis

R: Sandilands Fyfe Blakley
R: Goldstein Jacobs Cunnington

I/C: Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield
I/C: Tyson, Anderson, Dumont, Simpkin or Ahern

I don't think Hogan will play either.

You've got Blakely in our side aswell and he won't be playing.

Hopefully Bennell will be in the round 1 side though. But he has to get through JLT first. Will be a big inclusion if he can make it.

Who gives Goldy a chop out for you? Feel like the Sandi/Lobb combo will give you guys quite a headache. Goldy's fit but he's not going to be able to go head to head against us rotating Sandi and Lobb for a full game. Brown/McKay chopping out will rob you of a KPP at either end and will probably not be that effective against actual rucks.

Hoping the ruck battle can help us win first use out the middle more often and let us go long to our forwards. With the 6v6v6 out the centre square we should be able to get a mismatch in height if you're likely to play EVW as your third tall.

Only having Big Ben up forward. You would be relying on Wood to be effective as an undersized kpf or Brown absolutely killing it. Generally speaking I don't think BBB has had many big games against us and he struggled a bit near the end of the year when teams started to cotton on that you looked to go to Brown with almost all of you i50's. (Like we used to with Pavlich)

So either Wood needs to really scare us into not blanketing Brown or BBB just needs to dominate. I know he had an interrupted start to his preseason. Has he been fine since the chrissy break?

 

[Snake_Baker]

You've got Blakely in our side aswell and he won't be playing.

Injured?

Who gives Goldy a chop out for you?

Brown & Ben McKay, who has really filled out now (201cms & ~ 100kgs). He will slot straight in to Majaks role.



Goldsteins endurance means that he will play 85-90% TOG as usual, and I doubt whether Sandi could go with him these days. Of course, in the centre square it's another matter.

Brown will ruck deep forward 30 and McKay will ruck deep defence 30, with Goldy working a kick behind play and taking the rucks in the rest of the ground.

Only having Big Ben up forward. You would be relying on Wood to be effective as an undersized kpf or Brown absolutely killing it. Generally speaking I don't think BBB has had many big games against us and he struggled a bit near the end of the year when teams started to cotton on that you looked to go to Brown with almost all of you i50's. (Like we used to with Pavlich) So either Wood needs to really scare us into not blanketing Brown or BBB just needs to dominate. I know he had an interrupted start to his preseason. Has he been fine since the chrissy break?

That's okay if you see this match as purely being about marking power, but we won't play that way. I expect us to flick the ball around and carry it a lot more than we have in the past. FWIW, I do agree that this will be a battle of height vs speed.

Wood will get up & down the ground, much like Waites past role. He has elite endurance for a 192cm player. Ziebell is also a very potent target. Kicked 35.29 last year and is expected to get in to the 40's this year. I think we have a good enough forward structure to kick a winning score. The forgotten Taylor Garner is finally fit and Freo fans should remember that he is very capable in the air:



I also expect to see a lot of the midfielders rotated through the forward line, and Cunnington has been been playing forward on a lot of occasions in the training drills. As an onballer, I rate him second only to Fyfe as a mark.

I think our better all round midfield depth would have us slight favorites, but this match is no certainty.

 

[rgauci]

Jacobs will take Fyfe, and Hrovat is about 8 back out of the side at the moment.

Simpkin has been burning up the training track and been mentioned as an eye catcher in every training report, Hall is fit and firing, Dumont finished 3 votes outside a top 3 finish in our B&F, and we have added Dom Tyson to the list who is a better than serviceable inside mid rotation.

You also left out Ahern who set records for a first 10 games player.

The kids Davies-Uniake, Thomas and Bailey Scott have also been very good. All will be guns, but I don't think they will strip for round 1.

I forgot about Simpkin and Hall. You have some very good depth. Your midfield doesn’t concern me like Melbourne or Collingwoods for instance who may tear us apart. They may tear apart a lot of teams though. Hopefully we have Bennell and S.Hill available by then. Maybe Blakeley too. Add those 3 to the aforementioned and we starting to scare a few teams.

 

[Snake_Baker]

The two that have been getting constant raves are Simpkin & Jed Anderson (who is as strong and fit as he has ever been).

 

[Unique Name]

Injured?




Brown & Ben McKay, who has really filled out now (201cms & ~ 100kgs). He will slot straight in to Majaks role.

View attachment 613934

Goldsteins endurance means that he will play 85-90% TOG as usual, and I doubt whether Sandi could go with him these days. Of course, in the centre square it's another matter.

Brown will ruck deep forward 30 and McKay will ruck deep defence 30, with Goldy working a kick behind play and taking the rucks in the rest of the ground.



That's okay if you see this match as purely being about marking power, but we won't play that way. I expect us to flick the ball around and carry it a lot more than we have in the past. FWIW, I do agree that this will be a battle of height vs speed.

Wood will get up & down the ground, much like Waites past role. He has elite endurance for a 192cm player. Ziebell is also a very potent target. Kicked 35.29 last year and is expected to get in to the 40's this year. I think we have a good enough forward structure to kick a winning score. The forgotten Taylor Garner is finally fit and Freo fans should remember that he is very capable in the air:



I also expect to see a lot of the midfielders rotated through the forward line, and Cunnington has been been playing forward on a lot of occasions in the training drills. As an onballer, I rate him second only to Fyfe as a mark.

I think our better all round midfield depth would have us slight favorites, but this match is no certainty.

I'm hoping centre square clearances should lead to deep kicks in to the forward line where teams can't imediately double team due to the 6v6v6 rule. EVW likely to take Lobb or Tabs would be a good mismatch if we can get it in quick enough. Agree Goldy will be able to work Sandi over around the ground, but not Lobb. Hoping Sandi wins the tap battle and Lobb wins the 15% against McKay/Brown giving our midfield first use.

Fyfe/Mundy is better than Cunners/Jacobs imo.
Higgins alot better than Brayshaw.
BHill and Polec equals.
Langdon IMO is better than Hall but you're not going to find many Freo supporters that show any respect for Hall after he got absolutely destroyed by 2nd gamer Banfield last year.

Then Conca, Cerra, Banfield, Bewley against Tyson, Anderson, Dumont, Ahern I'd say ahead in your favour due to experience but not by much.

Walters and Ziebull equals as forwards who rotate through.

Bennell perhaps a wildcard in our favour if he makes it.

I'm fsirly confident our backline has your forward line covered and with North missing Daw and Thompson you will be playing two inexperienced KPD's which should help us.

I actually think our sides are fairly evenly matched. I have both of us as bottom of middle 6 teams, probably ending up just outside the 8. But at our home ground, your poor Rnd1 record and my freo bias I have us just winning.

;-)

 

[Snake_Baker]

I'm hoping centre square clearances should lead to deep kicks in to the forward line where teams can't imediately double team due to the 6v6v6 rule. EVW likely to take Lobb or Tabs would be a good mismatch if we can get it in quick enough. Agree Goldy will be able to work Sandi over around the ground, but not Lobb. Hoping Sandi wins the tap battle and Lobb wins the 15% against McKay/Brown giving our midfield first use.

Again, I don't think Hogan will play so it will be Tarrant to Lobb/Sandilands and McKay to Taberner .

Fyfe/Mundy is better than Cunners/Jacobs imo.

For pure clearances, Fyfe and Cunners differ little based upon last years numbers. Jacobs will just sit off Fyfe and Anderson & Tyson will be our next best clearance players. Anderson alone finished ahead of Mundy for clearances last year. Ziebell will also swing in there now & then.

Higgins alot better than Brayshaw.

There's no shame in that considering it's talented kid vs seasoned veteran at the top of his game.

BHill and Polec equals.
Langdon IMO is better than Hall but you're not going to find many Freo supporters that show any respect for Hall after he got absolutely destroyed by 2nd gamer Banfield last year.

Then Conca, Cerra, Banfield, Bewley against Tyson, Anderson, Dumont, Ahern I'd say ahead in your favour due to experience but not by much.

Okay, when you are weighing up our outside mids you are looking at our entire group of Polec, Hall, Higgins, Simpkin, Dumont & Ahern. Luke McDonald also won our shuttle runs and is as fit as he has been, so he might also be in that group. This is where I see our biggest advantage.

I actually think our sides are fairly evenly matched. I have both of us as bottom of middle 6 teams, probably ending up just outside the 8. But at our home ground, your poor Rnd1 record and my freo bias I have us just winning.

We'll play finals mate. Agree it's nowhere near a laydown for North, and the HGA will make it a very tough ask.

At the end of the day I favor us due to the fact we are a little bit more forward in our rebuild than the Dockers, who still have some shedding to do (Sandilands & Mundy).

The respective talent on the interchange benches tells the tale for me:

I/C: Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield
I/C: Tyson, Anderson, Dumont, Simpkin or Ahern

I don't think Conca, Bewley or Banfield would get a run in our side, and we would have retired Mundy (great servant though, he has been).

 

[rgauci]

Again, I don't think Hogan will play so it will be Tarrant to Lobb/Sandilands and McKay to Taberner .



For pure clearances, Fyfe and Cunners differ little based upon last years numbers. Jacobs will just sit off Fyfe and Anderson & Tyson will be our next best clearance players. Anderson alone finished ahead of Mundy for clearances last year. Ziebell will also swing in there now & then.



There's no shame in that considering it's talented kid vs seasoned veteran at the top of his game.



Okay, when you are weighing up our outside mids you are looking at our entire group of Polec, Hall, Higgins, Simpkin, Dumont & Ahern. Luke McDonald also won our shuttle runs and is as fit as he has been, so he might also be in that group. This is where I see our biggest advantage.



We'll play finals mate. Agree it's nowhere near a laydown for North, and the HGA will make it a very tough ask.

At the end of the day I favor us due to the fact we are a little bit more forward in our rebuild than the Dockers, who still have some shedding to do (Sandilands & Mundy).

The respective talent on the interchange benches tells the tale for me:

I/C: Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield
I/C: Tyson, Anderson, Dumont, Simpkin or Ahern

I don't think Conca, Bewley or Banfield would get a run in our side, and we would have retired Mundy (great servant though, he has been).

Mundy played forward for 1/2 the year. His clearances numbers are down because of the role he played. He’ll be back in the middle against North. I’ve no doubt his clearance numbers over his career are better than anyone at North except Cunnington.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Mundy played forward for 1/2 the year. His clearances numbers are down because of the role he played. He’ll be back in the middle against North. I’ve no doubt his clearance numbers over his career are better than anyone at North except Cunnington.

Mundy: 3.67
Dom Tyson: 3.77
Jack Ziebell: 3.93

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/D/David_Mundy.html
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/D/Dom_Tyson.html
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/J/Jack_Ziebell.html

Tyson turns 26 in June, Mundy turns 34 in July.

Jed Anderson finally had his first full season and averaged 4.5 clearances a game in 2018.

 

[Unique Name]

Again, I don't think Hogan will play so it will be Tarrant to Lobb/Sandilands and McKay to Taberner .



For pure clearances, Fyfe and Cunners differ little based upon last years numbers. Jacobs will just sit off Fyfe and Anderson & Tyson will be our next best clearance players. Anderson alone finished ahead of Mundy for clearances last year. Ziebell will also swing in there now & then.



There's no shame in that considering it's talented kid vs seasoned veteran at the top of his game.



Okay, when you are weighing up our outside mids you are looking at our entire group of Polec, Hall, Higgins, Simpkin, Dumont & Ahern. Luke McDonald also won our shuttle runs and is as fit as he has been, so he might also be in that group. This is where I see our biggest advantage.



We'll play finals mate. Agree it's nowhere near a laydown for North, and the HGA will make it a very tough ask.

At the end of the day I favor us due to the fact we are a little bit more forward in our rebuild than the Dockers, who still have some shedding to do (Sandilands & Mundy).

The respective talent on the interchange benches tells the tale for me:

I/C: Mundy, Cerra, Conca, Bewley or Banfield
I/C: Tyson, Anderson, Dumont, Simpkin or Ahern

I don't think Conca, Bewley or Banfield would get a run in our side, and we would have retired Mundy (great servant though, he has been).

Don't see you guys playing finals IMO, just see North as a good side but not great in any aspect. Waite will be missed and Wood has under-delivered too often, too much is hanging on BBB dominating IMO.

You had a fairly good run injury wise last year and consistently put out one of the most experienced B22's in the league and still didn't make the 8. I'm not a big fan of any of your recruits apart from Polec who I consided a Bgrade winger same as BHill. Pittard is a liability, just read the Port board for the last 3 yrs+. Hall is good offensively but is mentally weak. Tyson is a solid midfielder but i don't think that was an area you needed to improve.

Again I think middle 6 so finals not inconceivable but unlikely IMO. Too good a side to drop but not good enough for the top teams in the league. Your ahead of Freo though.

Why don't you think Hogan will play Rnd 1? I've been watching him at training over the preseason and I will be very surprised if he doesn't play Rnd1. He has come along way in the last 2 months. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[rgauci]

Mundy: 3.67
Dom Tyson: 3.77
Jack Ziebell: 3.93

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/D/David_Mundy.html
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/D/Dom_Tyson.html
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/J/Jack_Ziebell.html

Tyson turns 26 in June, Mundy turns 34 in July.

Jed Anderson finally had his first full season and averaged 4.5 clearances a game in 2018.

Last time Mundy played full time mid was 2015. I’d bet on him getting more clearances than either Anderson or Tyson in round 1. Since our mini rebuild in 2016 he’s played a variety of rolls to allow youngsters some growing space. I can’t see that happening round 1.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Don't see you guys playing finals IMO, just see North as a good side but not great in any aspect. Waite will be missed and Wood has under-delivered too often, too much is hanging on BBB dominating IMO.

Mason got injured in 2018. Based upon his 2018 averages he would have returned 38.27 over 22 games. He turns 25 this year and will start hitting his peak.

You had a fairly good run injury wise last year and consistently put out one of the most experienced B22's in the league

This looks okay when the numbers are spread across the board, but when Jacobs went down the gaping hole in our midfield was exposed. Wood played 13 games and Garner played 0, yet we were still in the hunt for finals in the last game of the season. Nick Larkey was the best full forward in the VFL last year (winning the Frosty Miller Medal) and recently kicked 5 in a half of a practice match. He could still strip in this match yet. Still only 20, 198 cms, a very good mark & footy brain, and an immaculate set shot, but still a little light at ~95kgs. Plays a bit like Drew Petrie and North have given the kid Drew's number 20 jumper.

Why don't you think Hogan will play Rnd 1? I've been watching him at training over the preseason and I will be very surprised if he doesn't play Rnd1. He has come along way in the last 2 months. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

My mail is his foot issue is bad and needs a lot of healing time. I think the Dockers will take an uber cautious approach with him. If he does play, then it puts a whole different spin on things and with Daw missing, and Thompson suspended we will be stretched. Hogan playued well against us last season, but he played a very high CHF role where Thompson followed him to defensive half and then rolled back. He picked up 26 disposals and 7 marks, but only scored 1.2 and had no assists. I thought he was pretty ineffectual considering his ability. It remains to be seen whether Lyon plays him the same way.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Last time Mundy played full time mid was 2015. I’d bet on him getting more clearances than either Anderson or Tyson in round 1. Since our mini rebuild in 2016 he’s played a variety of rolls to allow youngsters some growing space. I can’t see that happening round 1.

Ziebell played forward all last year, and Melbourne played Tyson on a wing. Tyson & Anderson are just entering their prime now, so comparisons with a bloke playing his last season aren't worth much. However, this is not an exercise in shitcanning David Mundy who I respect as a player, and who has been a great servant for your club. My overall point is that there won't be any great advantages either way at the clearances, unless Fyfe (will he even play?) has one of his all time out of the box matches.

 

[rgauci]

Ziebell played forward all last year, and Melbourne played Tyson on a wing. Tyson & Anderson are just entering their prime now, so comparisons with a bloke playing his last season aren't worth much. However, this is not an exercise in shitcanning David Mundy who I respect as a player, and who has been a great servant for your club. My overall point is that there won't be any great advantages either way at the clearances, unless Fyfe (will he even play?) has one of his all time out of the box matches.

I think we’ll have two of the top three best clearance winners. But I’m not sure that means we’ll win. Provided Sandilands plays. If he doesn’t play, we probably won’t get the clearance numbers.

 

[Snake_Baker]

I think we’ll have two of the top three best clearance winners. But I’m not sure that means we’ll win. Provided Sandilands plays. If he doesn’t play, we probably won’t get the clearance numbers.

What's going on with Darcy? He featured in the early write ups:

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl...ning-5-things-we-noticed-20181120-p50h3y.html

 

[rgauci]

What's going on with Darcy? He featured in the early write ups:

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl...ning-5-things-we-noticed-20181120-p50h3y.html

Darcy will transition to number 1 ruck by 2020/21. He’s still a baby ruckman wise. Hard to overtake a multiple AA 211cm ruckman. Not sure we play 2 pure rucks adding Lobb to the mix.

 

[theGav56]

Not sure we play 2 pure rucks adding Lobb to the mix.

Crazy if we do unless it is purely for instructional purposes (which would still be crazy).