Autopsy 72 pt loss to Adelaide

[schnoods]

If we could have had any full forward in the comp playing for us at full forward in place of Apeness, we wouldn't have scored anymore, every delivery was sky high, 2 defenders were there by the time the ball dropped if not 3, and the delivery came so slow it was picked off.

Apeness should develop into the player Clarke was supposed to be, a forward who rucks in tandem with Sandilands, or can play the main ruck should another forward appear. I would rather see him work with a specific forward line coach and work hard at being a forward with leading etc. Half the problem with his pack crashing is the little self preservation he has given his previous injuries, the low percentage chance of actually marking the ball and the softness of the rules means there are going to be free kicks going against him. But with time and proper forward training he could be a Drew Petrie type goal kicker as well as a Ruck.

Its really going to be an interesting dynamic when this season is done and dusted (officially), players looking to be traded in or out, players wanting a contract extension and not getting one and players who should be out but are required out of necessity, particularly the forward line.

 

[Midnite65]

Ross mentioned in his presser - problem all season is backward of centre transition and Duffield in Todays Game lift out went straight for the jugular re
"If Fremantle cannot fix their skills over summer, nothing can be fixed and the unrest festering in this diabolical season will turn into one of the AFL's ugliest weeping sores"

RTB has placed too much faith in Sutcliffe(finally been dropped), Spurr, Ibbo, Dawson, D.Pearce, Suban(been dropped) Clarke(in and out) Griff(only really there as backup fro sandi), Barlow,
Mzungu, De beor & C.Pearce(these three all ready had card stamped).

In 2012-15 we had paul dufield and Johnno(and to a lesser extent Luke Mc) was the plus one to distribute the ball forward to the mids.

he has used Stevie and Barra alternating in the back half to address this but it robs the midfield(where games are won)

Do we need a skills coach? and Brad Lloyd(no brainer) needs to select skillful footballers not athletes

Uglier than Richmond, Brisbane or the Bombers? DOn't you love the journalists in this state.

 

[johnnomac]

Was a possible plus that Sheridan did a really good job tagging Sloane? Perhaps Im grasping at straws but I also liked Weller off half back in the first half before he faded in the second half.

Since we're talking positives from the game, mine is how Pavlich responded to that scragging little s**t Hartigan.

 

[Righteo]

On the Apeness thing, the club has repeatedly talked about how he's one of our best runners and that's why they felt comfortable bringing him in twice this year after almost no prior WAFL games. I actually hope it IS a fitness issue (which I think it must be) because the alternative is that he has no clue where to run to ala Nic Nat, and that's a much more difficult problem to solve.

 

[Righteo]

Was a possible plus that Sheridan did a really good job tagging Sloane? Perhaps Im grasping at straws but I also liked Weller off half back in the first half before he faded in the second half.

I think so. Many of us considered him a bit of a flake with no real capacity for strong defensive jobs but his last two weeks have shown that not only can he shut down quality mids but also impact offensively at the same time which is huge for us. He's played in quite a few different positions at Freo and imo that contributed to his inability to influence games with any consistency. I really hope he's finally going to be able to settle and reach his full potential. It might surprise many but I think he could eventually become a very important player for us.

 

[Unique Name]

I think so. Many of us considered him a bit of a flake with no real capacity for strong defensive jobs but his last two weeks have shown that not only can he shut down quality mids but also impact offensively at the same time which is huge for us. He's played in quite a few different positions at Freo and imo that contributed to his inability to influence games with any consistency. I really hope he's finally going to be able to settle and reach his full potential. It might surprise many but I think he could eventually become a very important player for us.

Barlow does not like this.

 

[Fred Ziffel]

Barlow does not like this.

It looks fairly obvious now that Sherro is out of place in defence.
Two run with types won't go astray. Terrific goal by Tommy on Sunday, too.

 

[Unique Name]

It looks fairly obvious now that Sherro is out of place in defence.
Two run with types won't go astray. Terrific goal by Tommy on Sunday, too.

Most of us have been saying this for 2 seasons now. He was drafted off the back of a great season for the Cannons as a running midfielder with great endurance. Funny that when we play him in his best position he suddenly looks better.

Why did it take so long to get him out the backline and move him into the middle. Everyone could see he wasn't a defender.

 

[Lach72]

It looks fairly obvious now that Sherro is out of place in defence.
Two run with types won't go astray. Terrific goal by Tommy on Sunday, too.

Then classic Tommy...missing the soda long ball to Ballas

 

[Scham]

Then classic Tommy...missing the soda long ball to Ballas

Yep, some of his disposal was terrible. Even the one hat got to Yarran was a floater that luckily went straight. Seems to kick with his shin when on the run.

 

[Righteo]

Barlow does not like this.

I think as Fred said two run-with guys is doable if they can still contribute the other way, unlike Crowls.

 

[Nothing]

Walters picks up the 2 votes in the AFLCA. It pushes him to equal second behind Neale (equal with Barlow and Mundy).

 

[Scham]

Most of us have been saying this for 2 seasons now. He was drafted off the back of a great season for the Cannons as a running midfielder with great endurance. Funny that when we play him in his best position he suddenly looks better.

Why did it take so long to get him out the backline and move him into the middle. Everyone could see he wasn't a defender.

View attachment 277231

To be fair we played him as a mid for the first two years and he couldn't consistently find the ball, he was struggling at Peel and his development had stalled. Playing him in defence has allowed him to focus on an opponent rather than trying to rack up 20+ disposals a week and it seems to have worked but as you say it's time now to put him back into the middle.

 

[freo_leo29]

People who are doubting Apeness in his 5th game are crazy!

I paid close attention to him and he was actually getting in the right positions but was double teamed all day, the ball was coming in and he was being held off by his opponent very well and this will only be fixed with more time in the side to improve beating defenders and affecting the contest.

Fitness would definitely be a part of holding him back, with that little bit of extra fitness as a forward you can run up and back for 10 metres before the ball comes in keeping some separation from your opponent to allow you to affect the contest with the second man, he doesn't have the fitness at the moment to keep that up for the whole game which makes it near impossible to beat 2 opponents in the air if one of them has good body positioning on you (And Talia is a very very good defender)

Another preseason with hopefully no injury will be very very good for the Ape!

 

[beetz]

Walters picks up the 2 votes in the AFLCA. It pushes him to equal second behind Neale (equal with Barlow and Mundy).

Correct me if I'm wrong but has Neale slowed off the pace a bit the last few weeks in terms of his own form? I feel the gap in the Doig Medal race is closing rapidly between Neale and Walters.

 

[darkshines]

I think as Fred said two run-with guys is doable if they can still contribute the other way, unlike Crowls.

Before last week, I thought Sheridan would be limited to the Sam Gibson run with role. I think there was even talk from Ross that running with Sloane (who does inside and outside) would be a bridge too far for Tommy. Boy was that wrong.

IMO running with the likes of Gaff, Hannebery, I Smith etc is far more helpful than the Crowley inside tag. Maybe not good news for Mick Barlow.

 

[Nothing]

Correct me if I'm wrong but has Neale slowed off the pace a bit the last few weeks in terms of his own form? I feel the gap in the Doig Medal race is closing rapidly between Neale and Walters.

Neale score 8 against Port and 2 against Suns. Since Port, Walters has scored 1 against geelong and the 2 against Adelaide. Hill against Geelong is our only "good" vote getter (with 7) since our wins.

I think Neale has slowed a little and the Doig will be getting closer, but I think that gap will be insurmountable.

 

[freoextra]

Correct me if I'm wrong but has Neale slowed off the pace a bit the last few weeks in terms of his own form? I feel the gap in the Doig Medal race is closing rapidly between Neale and Walters.

Neale has got this, even if he struggles through with a sore shoulder. Walters has been great but far more quiet games than Neale.

 

[little graham]

I admired the way your club fought the game out. You refused to roll over like a few teams have against us recently. I thought it showed pride in the jumper and good culture. I don't expect us to have it as easy next time you host us. I expect you'll be in the mix for finals next year.

 

[beetz]

I admired the way your club fought the game out. You refused to roll over like a few teams have against us recently. I thought it showed pride in the jumper and good culture. I don't expect us to have it as easy next time you host us. I expect you'll be in the mix for finals next year.

Are you sure it wasn't because you guys shot off at 3 are time to catch your flight??

 

[little graham]

Are you sure it wasn't because you guys shot off at 3 are time to catch your flight??

Well, you did fight the game out.

 

[Bicco]

Well, you did fight the game out.

It's a sad day when there's no opposition and you still lose.