Training 2026 Preseason

[bellie4pm]

Its not that he doesn't put in the effort he's just fumbly and an average kick. Can't play inside like Johnson or Erasmus because he doesnt have the strength.

Notably his 3 highest disposal games this year were all losses when Young was out. He had 68% CBAs when we got smoked by Geelong (one of those high disposal games) and barely featured in the middle afterwards. That tells you what the coaches think of his on ball ability.

Is an athlete like Sharp but otherwise has little point of difference

Driz to me v much a confidence player - get him in the zone and magic happens. Its when things dont go his way, or he thinks too much whilst playing, that bad things happen. Funny how for some players its waking up and thinking more on the field, whilst others, its about letting your instincts guide you more. Who’d be a coach!

 

[Superkoops]

Yeah I used to think it was like that too but realised a couple years ago that it’s this years 1st-4th years, not the year to come.

E.g Michael Frederick took out the 2023 1-4 year time trials in November. He played 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, so 4th year going into 5th. Same as Amiss, Ras and McVee now.
https://www.fremantlefc.com.au/news...-we-saw-frederick-and-worner-lead-time-trials

Anyway I’m sure it’s nothing and he’ll show up in the next lot of training photos, but the club hasn’t exactly been very honest with the reporting of injuries

He must be at Schoolies

 

[DragoDelph]

 

[DragoDelph]

Sounded like a pretty intense session.

Wasn’t meant to be.

 

[ImperialPurple]

Just popping in. 1-4 years completed. So Bruce is considered a 1st year player for example.

 

[DragoDelph]

Just popping in. 1-4 years completed. So Bruce is considered a 1st year player for example.

Yep, and Sweidy and co are 0 years.

 

[worsemim]

Fremantle Bigfooty reinventing the number zero from first principles

 

[Purpletown]

View attachment 2487443
Fremantle Bigfooty reinventing the number zero from first principles

Obviously motivated by the AFL's round zero.

 

[Jezzitizle]

 

[eastfreo75]

View attachment 2487443
Fremantle Bigfooty reinventing the number zero from first principles

Zero isn’t a number.

 

[Superkoops]

View attachment 2487614

There was a write up in the west. Sounds like NOD had a nasty collision with Whan on the Wing but after halt in play for a bit and some time off field being assessed returned to the field.

Some positive comments about Kickett matched up on Walker.

 

[Hazelsnuts]

There was a write up in the west. Sounds like NOD had a nasty collision with Whan on the Wing but after halt in play for a bit and some time off field being assessed returned to the field.

Some positive comments about Kickett matched up on Walker.

Liked positive the comments on Kickett beating Walker with pace and strength in a one on one…
But Walker losing a one on one isn’t surprising, he is overrated in my opinion.

 

[Jezzitizle]

Liked positive the comments on Kickett beating Walker with pace and strength in a one on one…
But Walker losing a one on one isn’t surprising, he is overrated in my opinion.

Come on, week one of preseason, may not have been going his hardest against a rookie.

He has often beaten the best small forwards in the league.

 

[Hazelsnuts]

Come on, week one of preseason, may not have been going his hardest against a rookie.

He has often beaten the best small forwards in the league.

Walker, has he really beaten the best smalls ???
Agree to disagree, just don’t see it at all.
The best smalls defenders have awareness, elite disposal with run and carry - for us that was Roger Hayden and the player that I always wanted to get back home was Neville Jetta.

Don Walker isn’t in the same conversation, he corales well and limits space, but his run and carry is almost a net negative, breaks the lines at times and gets caught because of his lack of awareness and he butchers the pill.

 

[Jezzitizle]

Walker, has he really beaten the best smalls ???
Agree to disagree, just don’t see it at all.
The best smalls defenders have awareness, elite disposal with run and carry - for us that was Roger Hayden and the player that I always wanted to get back home was Neville Jetta.

Don Walker isn’t in the same conversation, he corales well and limits space, but his run and carry is almost a net negative, breaks the lines at times and gets caught because of his lack of awareness and he butchers the pill.

Didn’t say he is one of the best small defenders, I said he has beaten the best small forwards.

Agree his rebound isn’t great, which is why he was squeezed out, but defensively he is good.

 

[s_wd6]

Walker, has he really beaten the best smalls ???
Agree to disagree, just don’t see it at all.
The best smalls defenders have awareness, elite disposal with run and carry - for us that was Roger Hayden and the player that I always wanted to get back home was Neville Jetta.

Don Walker isn’t in the same conversation, he corales well and limits space, but his run and carry is almost a net negative, breaks the lines at times and gets caught because of his lack of awareness and he butchers the pill.

The best small defenders also are able to lock down the best small forwards in the league. Who else on our team would you rather have on Kozzie Pickett honestly?

 

[DQ 4EVER]

The best small defenders also are able to lock down the best small forwards in the league. Who else on our team would you rather have on Kozzie Pickett honestly?

I must have turned into a crusty, old curmudgeon when I turned 58, earlier this month, because a missing comma irks me, no pause. Pardon the pun, & I do agree with your sentiment

 

[lint]

The best small defenders also are able to lock down the best small forwards in the league. Who else on our team would you rather have on Kozzie Pickett honestly?

Personally, I think the description of shut down/lock down defender in relation to Walker has always been pretty loose terminology.

Given his well known lack of spatial awareness and how prone he's been to turning the ball over, the major season he was lauded for his "shut down" jobs was 2023, where he was much vaunted for the mediocre claim of no one kicking more than 2 goals on him for an extended part of the season...

"No player has scored more than two goals on Walker since his inclusion in the side against Adelaide in round four, with Brisbane’s Charlie Cameron (two goals in round seven), Sydney livewire Tom Papley (two goals in round nine), Geelong goalsneak Tyson Stengle (two goals in round 10), Western Bulldog Cody Weightman (one goal in round six) and Melbourne ace Kysaiah Pickett (two goals in round 11)"

I feel having two goals kicked on you regularly is a pretty average bar for a small defender to be called "lockdown".

This is of course after the infamous 2022 final against Collingwood, when "constantly under pressure, often a result of indecisiveness, Walker turned the ball over five times and his opponent Jack Ginnivan kicked three goals."

In 2024, in our vital run of final games to make finals, Walker had 3 goals kicked on him by Willie Rioli, 3 goals kicked on him by Daniels, 3 goals kicked on him by Gresham, and 3 goals kicked on him by Shai.

I agree Walker is pretty much all we had to put on small forwards in 2022/23/4, but that doesn't mean he was particularly good at it. Given his limitations offensively (doesn't get it much, when he does often turns it over), you'd want a real defensive beast (aka Starcevich) if that is his one wood.

I would not call Walker a defensive beast. One of our only options on small forwards, and sound out it, but it's a pretty big stretch to call him much more than that. Its all very well to celebrate his decent jobs over the years, and he's an althetic specimen who has fought admirably through injury setbacks, but so far, I'd suggest serviceable has been his ceiling.

 

[Duz97]

Walker may keep players like stengle and [PLAYERCARD]Charlie Cameron[/PLAYERCARD] to under 2 goals but he still gives up 5-6 with turnovers.

He also does this thing where he might be playing on the best small fwd but runs off and will hand it over to either Chappy or Ryan and then gets lost in transition and then chappy or Ryan’s man is the one that scores which is on Walker. Stats always look better for him but it’s the team defence that make walkers goals against look better

 

[Superkoops]

I didn’t make the post to highlight Walker but to make mention of a promising start to PS training for our new rookie. Having played a fair bit of footy many of the training drills involve reduced defensive efforts.

Anyway my two Bob on Walker.

I think he is very good one-one-one defender. He does lack full game focus though and at times is caught ball watching, with the likes of the smaller forwards mentioned above getting goals out the back.

I like that he has an attacking instinct to take the game on at times but then whilst running full tilt to get himself free then lacks composure with the forward kick or general decision making often leading to turnovers.

What irks me more than anything is when he hesitates possibly due to some previous disposal or decision making error and then gets caught holding the ball.

I’d rather he just keep taking the game on and you can live with the disposal error around our f50. Can’t live with HTB decision around 40metres out in d50.

Remove the hesitation and the occasional ball watching which is a focus issue and he will be fine.

He played a run of games (7 in total) at Peel last year after coming back from the shoulder injury. Started to show some promise at the back end with 23 disposals in round 18 vs Perth (9/08/2025). He played a bunch of games from late June and July in atrocious conditions that made life very difficult for him to be very attacking. The same could be said for Josh Draper. The focus in the water lakes/mud of Leederville, Mandurah and Claremont was to play pure lockdown.

Walker needs to lift his intensity in general. I remember that indigenous game in the PS he seemed to go half arsed and never really got going thereafter even excl. the injury. He looked more desperate at Peel towards the end as he made a last ditch effort to get into the AFL side with finals on the horizon.

As it stands I don’t have him in the best 23 but that can change. He had his role taken by Worner.

 

[Hazelsnuts]

Walker may keep players like stengle and Charlie Cameron to under 2 goals but he still gives up 5-6 with turnovers.

He also does this thing where he might be playing on the best small fwd but runs off and will hand it over to either Chappy or Ryan and then gets lost in transition and then chappy or Ryan’s man is the one that scores which is on Walker. Stats always look better for him but it’s the team defence that make walkers goals against look better

Exactly this - Fremantle are a team defence.
Walker does his job ok, and defends space - ‘corrals’, love to know his tackle count - probably digging a hole for myself here, but the game these days, every player needs a point of difference and being a kelpie in the paddock isn’t enough.
Very average and doesn’t hurt, but we get hurt big time when he stuffs up - which is often.
Worner is another player that gives me the shit fits every time he is near it…

Love the effort of both though.

 

[malpaso]

Didn’t say he is one of the best small defenders, I said he has beaten the best small forwards.

Agree his rebound isn’t great, which is why he was squeezed out, but defensively he is good.

He was injured and continuity built while he was out (which was for a while), not squeezed out.

 

[2big2strom]

Sometimes I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall.

You know those games everyone goes on and on about how we play so slow and we just chip chip chip around the backline? especially across back half of 2022 + 2023? WALKER was one of our few players willing to go go go from the backline. And that was before we had a cohesive forward line and before our mids pulled their damn finger out.

Walker hasn't had a chance to play in the same team as a confident and attacking Clark or a 3 pronged uninjured talented forward line or even really when Young has been pushed into the middle.

For some reason in their first couple of seasons Youngy and Chappy got way more of a free pass for their colossal **** ups than Walker. It's not like he's trying to attempt something waaayy above his skill level. It's pretty hard to find an effective option when your mids and forward line are just standing completely still and staring at you like they've never seen a ball before in their life.

I want to see Walker streaming out of defense when he's got Youngy, Caleb, Bruce, literally any of our forwards screaming for the ball almost instantly. People love to blame him for that final loss against the Pies. You know the one, with the worst cat 10s you've ever seen. But who was helping him? Who else was taking the game on? No one.

 

[King Huskii]

Sometimes I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall.

You know those games everyone goes on and on about how we play so slow and we just chip chip chip around the backline? especially across back half of 2022 + 2023? WALKER was one of our few players willing to go go go from the backline. And that was before we had a cohesive forward line and before our mids pulled their damn finger out.

Walker hasn't had a chance to play in the same team as a confident and attacking Clark or a 3 pronged uninjured talented forward line or even really when Young has been pushed into the middle.

For some reason in their first couple of seasons Youngy and Chappy got way more of a free pass for their colossal **** ups than Walker. It's not like he's trying to attempt something waaayy above his skill level. It's pretty hard to find an effective option when your mids and forward line are just standing completely still and staring at you like they've never seen a ball before in their life.

I want to see Walker streaming out of defense when he's got Youngy, Caleb, Bruce, literally any of our forwards screaming for the ball almost instantly. People love to blame him for that final loss against the Pies. You know the one, with the worst cat 10s you've ever seen. But who was helping him? Who else was taking the game on? No one.

Well said

 

[Jezzitizle]

We will soon see how the coaches rate Walker, if he isn’t b22 this year I think teams will come for him, and he will leave.

Needs to show what he is capable of this offseason.