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List Mgmt. 2025 List Management

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Can't blame Erasmus for securing his future and won't - but if it's to WC then we will lose him for nothing and it will be good for the theater of the game for WC to take Erasmus from Freo with their preseason draft pick #1. Do not expect them to do something stupid like swapping their Allen compensation pick for our first and Erasmus like they effectively did for Liam Baker.

There's no reason to protect the future trading between Fremantle and West Coast.
 
Can't blame Erasmus for securing his future and won't - but if it's to WC then we will lose him for nothing and it will be good for the theater of the game for WC to take Erasmus from Freo with their preseason draft pick #1. Do not expect them to do something stupid like swapping their Allen compensation pick for our first and Erasmus like they effectively did for Liam Baker.

There's no reason to protect the future trading between Fremantle and West Coast.
They should attempt a sign and trade.
 


Murphy Reid says he’s loving his footy and his time at Fremantle and has revealed he plans to enter talks around a contract extension at the end of the season.
 


Murphy Reid says he’s loving his footy and his time at Fremantle and has revealed he plans to enter talks around a contract extension at the end of the season.
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My comment was only addressing Taylor’s false narrative that without Darcy we get smashed in the clearances and that having Voss in there is an automatic clearance loss, which is clearly not true.

With Jackson/Voss:

vs GWS +11 clearances

vs Port +5 clearances

With Darcy/Jackson:

vs Gold Coast -7 clearances

vs North Melbourne -4 clearances

Maybe you should be quizzing them on their “in-depth analysis” and not me.
Why are you using examples of GWS (Who's ruck was going so bad that they dropped him for a debutant 2 weeks ago) and port (who their ruck is a journeyman and a debutant) vs the 2 hardest rucks to face in Xerri and Witts?
 
Why are you using examples of GWS (Who's ruck was going so bad that they dropped him for a debutant 2 weeks ago) and port (who their ruck is a journeyman and a debutant) vs the 2 hardest rucks to face in Xerri and Witts?
Because the argument is disingenuous and entirely designed to support their preconceptions regardless of evidence?

Wait, sorry you were being rhetorical right?

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And I’m a firm believer that a nowadays a ruckmans role is more then just the ruck battle and to win the hit-outs. The two most dominant tap ruckman you speak of right now would be Gawn and Xerri, Gawn has taken 34 contested marks this season (league high) and Xerri is averaging nearly 6 tackles a game which is leagues above most other ruckman. It’s also why I’m high on Jackson because the guy is so multi-faceted, he can win the hit outs then follow up on the end of the chain going inside 50.

Darcy right now is being used purely as foil for the opposition ruckman. He is essentially a roadblock. He’s not really adding anything else that a ruckman should - you can’t swing him forward or back, he’s not taking marks down the line, he’s not imposing himself physically on the game, etc. It’s worked the last two games (by 11 and 6 points) but I query the sustainability of that going forward.

Surely you would rest Darcy this week and let Jackson go to town on a debutant, and get Darcy right for the Saints game vs Marshall. Or play Darcy this week and rest him for the Saints game seeing as Jackson had a 3 vote game as the sole ruck against Marshall last year. Either or because right now he’s less mobile then he was when he was 20kg heavier, which suggests to me he’s still not fully fit and needs to be managed.

I still maintain the GWS and Port games were the best we looked all year - nothing to do with the quality of opposition, I’m talking purely how we looked structurally, and I’d like to see a bigger sample size of that set-up.

Anyway this is the list management thread and we are getting off-topic and clearly I’m in the minority with my view so I’ll leave it at that.
Can you actually give Darcy a chance? He’s literally played 2 full games without an injury for the first time in years. Let him develop a tank and get some fitness into him before judging him. If he’s struggling round 20-21 then give him shit but he’s no where near the finished product just yet
 
My key points on the Darcy discussion:
1) I firmly believe Darcy is still a very good AFL ruckman come round 1 next year and assuming he gets through a proper preseason.
2) Jackson doesn't match up well against the big big guys like Xerri and Witts.
3) Jackson dominates basically everyone else (including Gawn historically) when playing as the lone genuine ruck
4) Jackson is not in his ruck prime yet, its coming
5) Jackson absolutely needs to spend every minute hes on onfield onball especially now that Voss is a genuine AFL player (and I've been screaming about this since before we had Voss, nothing wrong with only 2 key forwards).
6) 700 to 800k for Darcy isn't the albatross everyone likes to say it is
7) There is nothing stopping us NOT dominating the ruck when Xerri and Witts are playing, other teams find a way.
8) There is nothing stopping us having a cheap depth option to bring specifically against big guys and playing Jackson midfield like we do with Darcy.

Given all of the above, do you want to keep Darcy because you love him or because its best list management practice for the club? We are Freo, we have to get the most out of every part of the list to win a flag. I would argue the idea of keeping Darcy is as much reliant on Dogga showing he can play as a mid as anything.
 
I would argue the idea of keeping Darcy is as much reliant on Dogga showing he can play as a mid as anything.

And Voss being an AFL player or the uncovering of another medium/tall forward who can contest for a mark and bring a ground ball game too. That player might be Jye Amiss, and someone else fills his role instead.

My hope is that Darcy is fully fit next year, first bounce starts with Darcy in the ruck, Jackson around the edge of the circle and Darcy taps it straight to Luke who handballs it to Brayshaw running past for an inside fifty. Then it happens nearly every stoppage, Darcy taps to Jackson and there's no room for opposition to get hands on it. They start setting up expecting it, and Darcy taps it to the open side and Bolton runs off that way while his opponent tries to cover Jackson's backwards handball to Bolton.

Then it's all down to the key forwards taking the marks. This could start happening by finals too.
 
My key points on the Darcy discussion:
1) I firmly believe Darcy is still a very good AFL ruckman come round 1 next year and assuming he gets through a proper preseason.
2) Jackson doesn't match up well against the big big guys like Xerri and Witts.
3) Jackson dominates basically everyone else (including Gawn historically) when playing as the lone genuine ruck
4) Jackson is not in his ruck prime yet, its coming
5) Jackson absolutely needs to spend every minute hes on onfield onball especially now that Voss is a genuine AFL player (and I've been screaming about this since before we had Voss, nothing wrong with only 2 key forwards).
6) 700 to 800k for Darcy isn't the albatross everyone likes to say it is
7) There is nothing stopping us NOT dominating the ruck when Xerri and Witts are playing, other teams find a way.
8) There is nothing stopping us having a cheap depth option to bring specifically against big guys and playing Jackson midfield like we do with Darcy.

Given all of the above, do you want to keep Darcy because you love him or because its best list management practice for the club? We are Freo, we have to get the most out of every part of the list to win a flag. I would argue the idea of keeping Darcy is as much reliant on Dogga showing he can play as a mid as anything.

I think the conversation is harder, when you look at the midfield squeeze we have at the moment and next year.

Next year we can only really fit in 8 mids and rucks into the 22. (9 at a stretch)

Darcy, Jackson
Young, Brayshaw, Serong
---------- If you play 2 rucks, then you can only fit in 3 of the below players.
NOD, Wagner, Erasmus, Johnson, Sharp, Reid / Bolton (Swapping midfield and forward), Whan

I would prefer to play the extra mid, and accept we won't always win the ruck.

1.
Darcy, Jackson, Young, Brayshaw, Serong, NOD, Wagner, Erasmus
-- very limited midfield time for Bolton

2.
Jackson, Young, Brayshaw, Serong, NOD, Wagner, Erasmus and Bolton / Reid spending half their time in the midfield. (Could also just Johnson, Sharp or Whan or ................................)

-- This is before we try to squeeze in Sharp, who will more than likely play or Whan who I badly want to play next year.
 
And Voss being an AFL player or the uncovering of another medium/tall forward who can contest for a mark and bring a ground ball game too. That player might be Jye Amiss, and someone else fills his role instead.

My hope is that Darcy is fully fit next year, first bounce starts with Darcy in the ruck, Jackson around the edge of the circle and Darcy taps it straight to Luke who handballs it to Brayshaw running past for an inside fifty. Then it happens nearly every stoppage, Darcy taps to Jackson and there's no room for opposition to get hands on it. They start setting up expecting it, and Darcy taps it to the open side and Bolton runs off that way while his opponent tries to cover Jackson's backwards handball to Bolton.

Then it's all down to the key forwards taking the marks. This could start happening by finals too.
That is as cunning as a fox that used to be Professor of Cunning at Oxford University but has moved on and is now working for the U.N. at the High Commission of International Cunning Planning?
 
I think the conversation is harder, when you look at the midfield squeeze we have at the moment and next year.

Next year we can only really fit in 8 mids and rucks into the 22. (9 at a stretch)

Darcy, Jackson
Young, Brayshaw, Serong
---------- If you play 2 rucks, then you can only fit in 3 of the below players.
NOD, Wagner, Erasmus, Johnson, Sharp, Reid / Bolton (Swapping midfield and forward), Whan

I would prefer to play the extra mid, and accept we won't always win the ruck.

1.
Darcy, Jackson, Young, Brayshaw, Serong, NOD, Wagner, Erasmus
-- very limited midfield time for Bolton

2.
Jackson, Young, Brayshaw, Serong, NOD, Wagner, Erasmus and Bolton / Reid spending half their time in the midfield. (Could also just Johnson, Sharp or Whan or ................................)

-- This is before we try to squeeze in Sharp, who will more than likely play or Whan who I badly want to play next year.

I am expecting Frematle to have less midfielders ready for AFL on the list next year than we have this season.
 
That is as cunning as a fox that used to be Professor of Cunning at Oxford University but has moved on and is now working for the U.N. at the High Commission of International Cunning Planning?

Hopefully more Blackadder than Baldrick then.
 

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If it’s the case that we are going to carry Darcy for a while until he gets up to speed that’s Ok provided that:
It doesn’t cost us games.
Doesn’t reduce Jackson’s and Voss’s input.
 

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And Voss being an AFL player or the uncovering of another medium/tall forward who can contest for a mark and bring a ground ball game too. That player might be Jye Amiss, and someone else fills his role instead.

My hope is that Darcy is fully fit next year, first bounce starts with Darcy in the ruck, Jackson around the edge of the circle and Darcy taps it straight to Luke who handballs it to Brayshaw running past for an inside fifty. Then it happens nearly every stoppage, Darcy taps to Jackson and there's no room for opposition to get hands on it. They start setting up expecting it, and Darcy taps it to the open side and Bolton runs off that way while his opponent tries to cover Jackson's backwards handball to Bolton.

Then it's all down to the key forwards taking the marks. This could start happening by finals too.
Yeah, basically if you dont believe Darcy is cooked (I dont but some do) you need to believe Jackson can and will work as a mid. I want it to work, I think it can, I've been almost as big on it as you but we also cant be completely ****ed in transition which is absolutely killer in modern football
 
Yeah, basically if you dont believe Darcy is cooked (I dont but some do) you need to believe Jackson can and will work as a mid. I want it to work, I think it can, I've been almost as big on it as you but we also cant be completely ****ed in transition which is absolutely killer in modern football

We had a lot of slow ball movement against North Saturday and many, many times I noticed Sean Darcy standing in space with his arms calling for a kick, right in the corridor and they ignored him to kick longer down the line and Sean jogged over to contest the ball in.

Sean can take that mark, there's nobody near him, as long as they don't loop it in the air. He was 35-40m away about 45 degrees forward of the player on the half back flank.

It's an opportunity for the team to move the ball more directly and it's ignored for the safe option.

I'm not expecting the team to adjust to different opportunities immediately, but I do hope that the post game review brought up that Sean was getting to dangerous spots to get involved but wasn't used resulting in slow ball movement.

Turnovers there would kill us though, absolutely slaughter us.
 
Can you actually give Darcy a chance? He’s literally played 2 full games without an injury for the first time in years. Let him develop a tank and get some fitness into him before judging him. If he’s struggling round 20-21 then give him shit but he’s no where near the finished product just yet

If you want to look at worthy criticism as me “giving him shit” then that’s your prerogative. I want Sean to succeed more than anyone. Nothing I’ve said about Sean is a personal dig at him as a person and all my criticisms are based in reality.

I’m judging him off his output in the past few seasons, not 2 games, and certainly not his output 5 years ago.

I’m also judging how we look with a one-ruck setup which has nothing to with Sean himself.

“he’s literally played 2 full games without an injury for the first time in years” yeah that’s kind of proves my point. And I would hardly call 50% and 61% TOG two “full” games.

And seeing as he’s been “managed” this week clearly there’s something to what I’m saying.
 

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