Autopsy 2020 Season Review

[Boppo]

No home ground. Youngest team on the park along with GC with a significant number of big names to come in.

No salary cap issues.

Watch a certain cross town rival fall off the age cliff next year while we go up not one, but 2 gears.

Fantastic season all things considered.

 

[Cesoir]

I was very much in the camp of wanting to keep Ross for the last year of his contract to see if his rebuild was successful or not - in the eyes of some that makes me a Ross "fanboi" which I am quite comfortable with.

Sadly, I think even if he has stayed, with the preponderance of injuries this year he would have struggled, as Justin did and as would any other coach - if you can't get the cattle on the park consistently you can't win consistently.

So, Ross is gone and as a club we have moved on. Personally, I am reasonably happy with the season considering the obstacles and handicaps we faced, and I think Justin has shown enough to suggest he has the boys onside and he is able to coach. The jury is still out on whether he will take us to a flag, but that can be said of any coach (including Ross) right up until they win one. I'm choosing to stay optimistic and I think the natural development of the squad we have now along with the addition of a few new faces will stand us in good stead. As long as we see real progression next year and keep the majority of the squad together AND ON THE PARK we should see a really competitive team in the second half of the year and beyond.

Not sure about anyone else, but I get tired of the constant comparisons between Justin and Ross - I supported Ross, but he's gone and now I will support Justin 100%. The sooner we stop measuring him against the previous coach the sooner we will appreciate the unique skills and qualities he brings to the team. Not the least of which is that we have had some much more favourable press this year!

 

[Okinakashi]

My personal opinion is that Ross was sacked for PR reasons

I agree with this, and think we would've have done better under Ross (this year). Not so sure about moving forward. In saying that, I really like what JL is doing and where he's headed.

I enjoyed this year a lot.

In my eyes, there were changes around the stoppage setups - we seemed to be able to make a few quick handballs to find a player in space - it seemed better organized than the last few years.

We had a number of players improve - Tabs, Cox, Ryan, Hughes, Brayshaw, Cerra, Darcy etc. and a glimpse into the future with Serrong, Young, Fredrick, Henry and Watson all showing a bit.

Forward 50 "connection" continues to be an issue, but having the players on the park week in, week out will undoubtedly improve this. There's a bit to look forward to in 2021.

Finally, I didn't give two sh**s about this season, so I sat back and went with the ride.

and to add to the other posters -

Highlight: The improvement of the yunguns (and not so Yunguns - Tabs) - as well as the Perth Stadium Festival of Footy - so many games, lots of fun. I even got to a couple of non-freo games which was a novelty.

Lowlight: Getting soaked at the Geelong game - and the game itself.

Your MVP: Luke Ryan - Enjoy your first AA tomorrow mate.

Best young player (under 22): Cerra - his goal from the boundary in Cairns was a thing of beauty.

Most Improved: Tabs, by a half Pincer, Cox in second.

Biggest surprise for the year: The Bash brothers in defense. With Hamling, Logue and Pearce out, I thought our season would end up like the Globetrotters vs the Washington Generals. How wrong I was. Well done to all the players who had a ripper year in the back half.

 

[CapitalA]

We were hardly impressive post R11 this year. In that time, the only game that I see as "good" was NM and that says more about the opposition IMO. We also suffered some significant losses considering the length of games. I'd argue last year's win against Geelong was far more impressive.

Well we went 4 wins 4 losses in that run and should be 5-3 with that carlton robbery.

Our worst loss was to GWS and it was by 38 points. Nothing like the 60-100 point losses in the previous 3 years.

If this was a regular season i would probably be a bit disapointed. However JLo has done very well for a first year coach (who wasn't already here as an assistant) to get us playing decent footy with a young squad.

I think it was pretty impressive especially playing 3-4 out of 6 mids as kids at most center bounces. Lyon would most likely would have gone with 2 or so kids mixed with Mundy, Fyfe and Walters at every CB.

 

[Nothing]

Well we went 4 wins 4 losses in that run and should be 5-3 with that carlton robbery.

Our worst loss was to GWS and it was by 38 points. Nothing like the 60-100 point losses in the previous 3 years.

If this was a regular season i would probably be a bit disapointed. However JLo has done very well for a first year coach (who wasn't already here as an assistant) to get us playing decent footy with a young squad.

I think it was pretty impressive especially playing 3-4 out of 6 mids as kids at most center bounces. Lyon would most likely would have gone with 2 or so kids mixed with Mundy, Fyfe and Walters at every CB.

To be pedantic, post R11 we went 3-4. Similar to this season, you could argue that both Carlton and Saints last year were "robberies" in that time.

38 points this season was close to a 10 goal loss in a normal season (equates to ~57 based on my work). I could easily see a number of our big losses pushing beyond that 10 goal margin, if they were full games (and over a full season). With the way that way have historically conceded goal in red time, I think the shorter quarters flattered our relative scores.

I do think we showed plenty of positives and it is a base to build on. But 2021 must be a finals win.

 

[masai]

I’m going to review the players contributions this season.

Acres - slowly built from injury. Took time to settle in. Better next season ?.

Aish - became valuable team player. Unheralded, but gets a tick.

Banfield - the team has passed him. Delist ?.

Bewley - gave his best, solid. Will be a depth player in 2021.

Blakely - backed him regularly, passed and in reverse. Trade ?.

Brayshaw - improved with every game, very happy.

Cerra - ditto, ditto, ditto.

Colyer - depth, ..... gone ?.

Conca - 100% player, rarely beaten, regularly beat up the opposition.

Cox - improved when we needed him most. From injuries, Cox surfaced.

Crowden - love bulldog style players, ripper arm clamper.

Darcy - improving in steps, needs support.

Duman - surprised me, similar to Cox, stood up during the injury plague.

Frederick - love the look, but a good pre season & get form in the WAFL required.

Fyfe - brilliant team orientated season, changing his game style. Did the heavy lifting when required, as usual. Captains season.

Hamling - memories ..... he did play this season ?. Best 22.

Henry - ditto, ditto, ditto, ..... Frederick

Hill - slowly built into the season. Using his brain not speed now. Still think there’s room for a fit Hilly next season.

Hogan - i’ll keep backing him, as he was slowly climbing the hill back to his best. Time to grow up Jesse.

Hughes - happy, but surprised. Best 22 now, you’ve got to perform to oust him next season

Lobb - grrrrrrrrr, bloody Singer sewing machine’s have a lot to answer for. Rory, go back and reset for 2021.

Logue - showed what he can do, primed for 2021. Where he’ll play will be sorted out in some tough wrestling match’s in pre season.

Matera - from a bulldog family, but lacks any bulldog traits. Been passed.

Mundy - What can you say ?, rode “protection” for the whippersnappers and still found time to waltz around the ground, bamboozling opposition players with his graceful moves. 10 / 10 from me.

Pearce - love you, but can you please introduce yourself to “the backline” when you return. They will wonder what all the fuss is about ....

Ryan - exceeded expectations by miles. Deserved a VC, after regular mentions in dispatches. Really excelled when his drinking partner came to the party.

Schultz - ditto with Crowden. Really lifted his game to another level, and as such in 2021, players will have to perform to displace him from the 22.

Serong - put simply, very impressed. Love his arrogance when attacking the ball (mongrel). Me thinks he is now best 22 ...

Sturt - showed what he could do, then retired to the medical room. Obviously knew of all the wet games we were going to play, .... dryer and warmer in the medical room.

Switkowski - almost forgotten what you look like. Bloody medical room.

Taberner - yippee, put it together ....... more regularly. Do, don’t think is his motto. Thanks Tabs, you provided great entertainment, so the cardiac specialist’s keep telling Freo supporters.

Tucker - was going ok, then off to the bloody medical room.

Walters - started ok, but lost the plot mid season. Reset your compass & mind, then off to 2011. Stay away from the ducks.

Watson - didn’t put a foot wrong. Probably depth next season.

Wilson - much better season than 2019, but geez your brain fades makes Tabs look like a genius !!!. Vital component of backline.

Young - was but only a glimpse, but what a glimpse. Bloody injury room again.

 

[Purple Jesus]

From the coach:


To the Purple Army,

Now we’re sitting in the comfort of our own homes after a really challenging year, it’s safe to say we’re disappointed that our 2020 season is over.

Despite missing out on finals, I’m really proud of the way we grew throughout the year.

I’m proud of the way we handled everything this season threw at us. We relocated our entire football operations three times, heading to our hub in the Gold Coast, back to Perth and then finishing the season in Cairns.

Near the end of the season, we played some of our best footy during a period of four games in 15 days.

We played games off four-day breaks and travel. When we played North Melbourne, we spent four hours in the air travelling from Cairns to the Gold Coast and back on the same day and came out of it with a strong team performance and the four points.

These are experiences that we went through together as a team and can build off in the future.

As a senior coach I can’t help but dwell on the games that got away and I’m sure many of you feel the same.

I’m competitive and I want us to win every game. I want us to be playing at this time of the year and not sitting on the sidelines watching.

In three of the first four games, we had big momentum swings that ultimately cost us.

In the first quarter of the Essendon game, we coughed up five goals and lost by a goal. In the second quarter of the Gold Coast game, we coughed up four goals in the space of 116 seconds and we lost by two goals.

By the end of the season, while we still had some disappointing final quarters against Richmond and the Bulldogs, we made progress as our football became more consistent.

We were competitive for longer in games and I felt our players started to understand their roles in the team a lot better. They started to play more instinctively as the year went on.

We’ve already seen a number of players recognised for their efforts. Luke Ryan, Matt Taberner and Nat Fyfe are in the All Australian squad, Sean Darcy, Adam Cerra and Andrew Brayshaw are in the 22under22 and Caleb Serong was voted the best first year player by the AFL Players' Association.

It’s nice for some of our guys to get that recognition however a lot of our players, not just the guys mentioned, have played really consistent footy this year and they really deserve it.

It does feel that as a team, we are getting pats on the back but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re at home watching finals instead of playing in them.

Some of this recognition can come from a lack of initial expectation.

I want us to get to a point where there are significant expectations on us and we handle those expectations and perform.

So while we have made some gains this year as a group, we are far from satisfied with where we’re at, and that was the discussion we had after our game against the Bulldogs on Sunday.

Every single person involved in our program has got to drive each other to improve, I’ve got to become a better coach, our coaches have to become a better coaching group, our players have got to get better and help each other get better.

While I have mentioned how proud I was of the way the players have handled this season, our coaches and staff have also been exceptional.

This year, the staff answered everything that was thrown at them. There was no whinging or complaining, everyone got on with what they could control and chipped in where possible.

I’ve seen massive growth in the way everyone looked to help each other, that’s players to staff, staff to players, players to players and staff to staff. It’s been terrific.

I’d like to think that desire to pitch in and leave no-one behind is ingrained in the Fremantle culture, as I’ve also seen that same desire to help from our members this season.

At the start of the year we asked if you could still remain members, even with the prospect of not being able to attend any games. And somehow, our membership numbers grew.

When we finally got to play a home game, you could just feel the passion and the positivity.

I mentioned it’s been a tough year in the AFL but one of our motivating factors to stay on task was the knowledge that it has been even tougher on a lot of you.

Without our fans, we’re not a club. We understand that. So count on us to do everything we can to work hard, try and improve and come back better next year.

All we ask from the players is that we make you proud every time we walk out.

That’s our aim.



Justin.

 

[Daddoo]

I enjoyed this year a lot.

Finally, I didn't give two sh**s about this season, so I sat back and went with the ride.

Welcome to the club, man. When I started watching footy 8 years ago I made a conscious decision I wasn’t going to let expectations interfere with my enjoyment of the game. I spent too many hours pissed at the Packers for bad play calls, stupid trades, bad losses, etc... Too many grumpy days. It wasn’t healthy. It was strange to watch a sport for the pure enjoyment of it at first but it was oddly refreshing.

I try and just enjoy the ride now. I understand this is hard for most (I was super guilty of it with the Pack) and some would say I’m not “passionate” but that’s just one view. I never miss a game and I’m on this stupid board more than I should be, so I guess its a matter of perspective.

I personally loved this season (I’m hoping to share my final views at some point) and the future looks bright.



On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[freoextra]

As a member it has felt like the first year in a long time that the club has (mainly) been away from the scandals and rumours. Even the ones that have occurred have been well managed.

We have had a major cultural change and it was well overdue.

Been a very long time since I have felt this positive about the club.

 

[UYD 4 Life]

As a member it has felt like the first year in a long time that the club has (mainly) been away from the scandals and rumours. Even the ones that have occurred have been well managed.

We have had a major cultural change and it was well overdue.

Been a very long time since I have felt this positive about the club.

We've had our fair share this year. Off the top of my head.
Drink driving X2
Covid Breach by several players
Hoges flipped his car
Rumoured Hogan bender leading to time away from the club

Fortunate the DUI's were no name players.

 

[MadMundy]

This year was the most fun I've had watching us for a long tIme, we were right in it until the end. Huge improvements from multiple players particularly my boy Tabs, while it's not good enough that we didn't play finals, we'll be up there next year making a big push, I can assure people that.

 

[Ghost Pig]

Last year was like season 8 of Game of Thrones, this year was like season 4 of The Wire.

 

[ignoramus]

We've had our fair share this year. Off the top of my head.
Drink driving X2
Covid Breach by several players
Hoges flipped his car
Rumoured Hogan bender leading to time away from the club

Fortunate the DUI's were no name players.

Not to mention Fyfe going surfing!

 

[freoextra]

We've had our fair share this year. Off the top of my head.
Drink driving X2
Covid Breach by several players
Hoges flipped his car
Rumoured Hogan bender leading to time away from the club

Fortunate the DUI's were no name players.

Still my point. If you take out Hogan and his issues the improvement and good publicity is massively different.

Even Hogan (albeit he went within a bees d@#$ of being delisted) has been brought back into line. In his case it is a genuine mental health issue so things could still turn again.

Listen - what due you hear - nothing - no talk about everyone wanting to leave no big time players putting themselves on the market.

Things can change but signs are all good.

 

[Minz]

Not to mention Fyfe going surfing!

Which was 100% media beatup of course. Perhaps newspapers shouldn't sponsor one team when there are several local teams, eh?

I'd still prefer every single Dockers scandal to that bunch down the road who won a premiership with a coach who was a pharmacist and "didn't notice" that all his top players were on drugs... with associated trail of ruined lives. Ew.

 

[SHill Shall]

I’m going to review the players contributions this season.

Acres - slowly built from injury. Took time to settle in. Better next season ?.

Aish - became valuable team player. Unheralded, but gets a tick.

Banfield - the team has passed him. Delist ?.

Bewley - gave his best, solid. Will be a depth player in 2021.

Blakely - backed him regularly, passed and in reverse. Trade ?.

Brayshaw - improved with every game, very happy.

Cerra - ditto, ditto, ditto.

Colyer - depth, ..... gone ?.

Conca - 100% player, rarely beaten, regularly beat up the opposition.

Cox - improved when we needed him most. From injuries, Cox surfaced.

Crowden - love bulldog style players, ripper arm clamper.

Darcy - improving in steps, needs support.

Duman - surprised me, similar to Cox, stood up during the injury plague.

Frederick - love the look, but a good pre season & get form in the WAFL required.

Fyfe - brilliant team orientated season, changing his game style. Did the heavy lifting when required, as usual. Captains season.

Hamling - memories ..... he did play this season ?. Best 22.

Henry - ditto, ditto, ditto, ..... Frederick

Hill - slowly built into the season. Using his brain not speed now. Still think there’s room for a fit Hilly next season.

Hogan - i’ll keep backing him, as he was slowly climbing the hill back to his best. Time to grow up Jesse.

Hughes - happy, but surprised. Best 22 now, you’ve got to perform to oust him next season

Lobb - grrrrrrrrr, bloody Singer sewing machine’s have a lot to answer for. Rory, go back and reset for 2021.

Logue - showed what he can do, primed for 2021. Where he’ll play will be sorted out in some tough wrestling match’s in pre season.

Matera - from a bulldog family, but lacks any bulldog traits. Been passed.

Mundy - What can you say ?, rode “protection” for the whippersnappers and still found time to waltz around the ground, bamboozling opposition players with his graceful moves. 10 / 10 from me.

Pearce - love you, but can you please introduce yourself to “the backline” when you return. They will wonder what all the fuss is about ....

Ryan - exceeded expectations by miles. Deserved a VC, after regular mentions in dispatches. Really excelled when his drinking partner came to the party.

Schultz - ditto with Crowden. Really lifted his game to another level, and as such in 2021, players will have to perform to displace him from the 22.

Serong - put simply, very impressed. Love his arrogance when attacking the ball (mongrel). Me thinks he is now best 22 ...

Sturt - showed what he could do, then retired to the medical room. Obviously knew of all the wet games we were going to play, .... dryer and warmer in the medical room.

Switkowski - almost forgotten what you look like. Bloody medical room.

Taberner - yippee, put it together ....... more regularly. Do, don’t think is his motto. Thanks Tabs, you provided great entertainment, so the cardiac specialist’s keep telling Freo supporters.

Tucker - was going ok, then off to the bloody medical room.

Walters - started ok, but lost the plot mid season. Reset your compass & mind, then off to 2011. Stay away from the ducks.

Watson - didn’t put a foot wrong. Probably depth next season.

Wilson - much better season than 2019, but geez your brain fades makes Tabs look like a genius !!!. Vital component of backline.

Young - was but only a glimpse, but what a glimpse. Bloody injury room again.

Really good player by player summary. Great read Thanks.

 

[Freomaniac]

7 wins and 10 losses from 17 games.

Not bad considering the season was marred with the corona virus.

Spent the 1st 6 games with no home games in WA. Went 0-4 yet strangely didn't look like playing as a bottom 4 or bottom 6 club. Went 7-7 in the last 14 games.

I was one of the few people that wanted Ross Lyon to coach in 2020. The only way I could justify sacking Ross Lyon is that we also sack the medical staff and we did, one year later. Buy the time Ross Lyon was sacked, 75-80 percent of the rebuild was completed. Justin Longmuir finished the last 20-25 percent.

We have spent 5 seasons and no finals from 2016-2020.

Saying that.... That 2016-19 rebuild under Ross Lyon has been set up well for Justin Longmuir.

I think we are set up to make finals next season or contend for a finals spot.

I also predicted on various threads that Justin Longmuir will last 6-7, possibly 8 years at this club. I can see Freo play finals for 3 or 4 years in a row before Fyfe, Walters, Wilson, Hamling, Conca, Lobb and Taberner all retire.

 

[showemhowtorock]

From Freo twitter

 

[manpurple]

Possitives (in order of importance) :
S&C sackings
Draft & Trade (Serong, Young, Frederick)
Youth improvement

Negatives (In order of importance) :
Failure to make finals (don't hate, said it was JL's pass mark at the start of the year. We fired RTB because he missed them and JL didn't do any better.)
Attrocious injury list (a yearly issue)
Points deficit for Henry (He's showed glimpses only time will tell if the juice was worth the squeeze)

Other points :
Selection was avergage at best
- Almost all "blooding" of new tallent was driven by injury, so nothing to do with new coach or game plan
- Blakely's exclusion being the exception, highlights his surplus to needs
- Leaving Hogan on the bench when fit brings up the question of trade, I remain skeptical of the wisdom of this move
Change of coach
- JL had an average season
- - We didn't move either up or down the ladder by enough to justify any other comment
- Change is as good as a holiday so "possitive changes" are a natural bounce with a new coach
- - Players need this refreshing so not anti, just saying it's paint over cracks, genuine improvement isn't quick
- Proof of pudding is really only in 2 years time (if we don't make finals in 2021 and 2022 JL's tenure should be regarded as a big misstep)
- - Not saying we should have held RTB but rather he will not have had the desired effect