Strategy Changes: Round 16 Fremantle vs. St Kilda

[Raz]

ill predict Fyfe will not get dropped unless he is injured. yes he slower than he used to be. but his leadership is critical in tough games to come,

 

[JammoMonty]

Out: Banfield
In: A rusted out wheel barrow

Banners is such a liability and needs to go back to Claremont. JL loves a battler and I’d prefer to have another spud in from his purple circle in Walker over Banners.

Darcy comes back in and I’d prefer to see Omac over Draper. I’d say Ras will be sub and Fyfe to run out a game.

 

[WilloTree]

You must be joking, Draper was beaten every time in the contest and the only he got a spoil was against his teamate in the third quarter Davies is a better competitor and has improved heaps over the past 12 mths, just needs a chance to prove it

Draper's defensive contests aren't out of line with our other stopping defenders.

Interestingly, Brennan Cox is clearly our best one on one defender. He loses only 27% of his contests.

Cox 27.4
Pearce 34.6
Chapman 35.7
Draper 37.5
Ryan 37.9
Worner 42.0

 

[Wizard]

Draper's defensive contests aren't out of line with our other stopping defenders.

Interestingly, Brennan Cox is clearly our best one on one defender. He loses only 27% of his contests.

Cox 27.4
Pearce 34.6
Chapman 35.7
Draper 37.5
Ryan 37.9
Worner 42.0

Cox turning into an actual defender is going to do wonders to our back 50 if / when we have a fit and healthy AP.

 

[s_wd6]

Draper's defensive contests aren't out of line with our other stopping defenders.

Interestingly, Brennan Cox is clearly our best one on one defender. He loses only 27% of his contests.

Cox 27.4
Pearce 34.6
Chapman 35.7
Draper 37.5
Ryan 37.9
Worner 42.0

I’m pretty sure we’re the worst team in the league at 1v1 contests statistically. 27% is actually very high compared to other KPDs (for reference Taylor, Moore, Weitering, Wilkie are all between 9%-15%). Also for reference, Cox last year was going at 20% as our best 1v1 apparently.

 

[s_wd6]

Cox turning into an actual defender is going to do wonders to our back 50 if / when we have a fit and healthy AP.

I do like how Rawlings has swapped their roles this year. Leaves us a lot less vulnerable now when AP is out.

 

[RonnieRaven]

Out:
Sharp
shirked 3 contests against a youthful bombers.
we can’t have a player in the team like that.
There’s lots of bgrade players with flags but not many that consistently pull out of contest.
Fyfe
Unless he is in a heavy traffic feeding out a handball he looks lost and out of his depth which sounds absurd but that’s what my eyes told me against the bombers
Draper
Has a bright future but we need our captain back to take on the oppo number 1 key forward.
Draper not ready yet.

Love banners flexibility and effort
Perfect sub

In Pearce Dudley Darcy

 

[Mudd]

ill predict Fyfe will not get dropped unless he is injured. yes he slower than he used to be. but his leadership is critical in tough games to come,

His best leadership quality was leading by example, his body doesn't let him do that at this point of his career.

I agree with your prediction though and it will be to the teams detriment, mostly because our coach doesn't have the stones to do it.

 

[StingBitten]

The Fyfe scenario seems fairly simple to me - just play him as sub.

This may be a minor thing, but after watching roaming BT on Thursday night and hearing most of the players speak, it was plain to see that our team is mostly made up of kids who are nowhere near peak maturity yet. It's easy to forget given that they look and play like much older Men, but mentally and emotionally they're very much kids. Makes sense given most of them are in their early-20s - an age I was still dodging booze buses and creating a general nuisance of myself in society.

Fyfe really represents one of the few integrated minds at the club - given his age, achievements and experience. It makes so much sense now why our midfield fell off a cliff in 2023 after Mindy retired.

Keeping Fyfe in some form of an on-field role, as long as he can contribute, should pay dividends.

 

[malpaso]

More like you refuse to see anything there.

He provides size, grunt work and youth. The latter means there is upside, maybe not that much, but he can still improve.

I watched him closely yesterday live and he does a lot of good body work at stoppages. Deft knocks and hand balls. A lot of this might go unnoticed. He had 7 clearances on the stats sheet and helped us win others. He is better around the ground in congestion than the more open centre bounces where his speed can be exposed.

His short kicking is decent. His long kicking is poor and his speed is poor. You could say the same about Dunkley.

His tackling is actually good when he can lay one, but he doesn't get in position to tackle enough and certainly needs to improve this if he wants to be a B grade Dunkley.

Also needs to move the ball quicker if he gets it in open play, but he is still young and adjusting to the tempo of the game. Jury is out on this aspect.

I'm not refusing, believe me I'd like nothing better than a top 10 pick to work out for us. Is he this 'meh' at WAFL level when he gets the ball? It's just frustrating to watch him IMO. If there isn't room for improvement at his age, it's not worth pursuing.
I almost think we should just get free agents on a 2 year basis to do the role that Erasmus/Fyfe are 'trying' to do.

 

[malpaso]

The Fyfe scenario seems fairly simple to me - just play him as sub.

This may be a minor thing, but after watching roaming BT on Thursday night and hearing most of the players speak, it was plain to see that our team is mostly made up of kids who are nowhere near peak maturity yet. It's easy to forget given that they look and play like much older Men, but mentally and emotionally they're very much kids. Makes sense given most of them are in their early-20s - an age I was still dodging booze buses and creating a general nuisance of myself in society.

Fyfe really represents one of the few integrated minds at the club - given his age, achievements and experience. It makes so much sense now why our midfield fell off a cliff in 2023 after Mindy retired.

Keeping Fyfe in some form of an on-field role, as long as he can contribute, should pay dividends.

I think we are limited in playing Fyfe as a sub. He can't play anywhere except the midfield and in congestion. We get an injury in the first quarter and our 'bandaid' is Black&Gold.
In the ESS game, I would have started him in the middle. Instead Bolton did. Was strange considering they already planned to play Fyfe for 3 quarters.

 

[Freo Big Fella]

Think prep this week is less about selection and more about psychology - we know exactly what the Saints will do (flood back, double tag on Brayshaw and Serong, exhausting negative footy and rebounding) because Ross has done the exact same thing to us every time since he's taken over. The question is how do we prep and respond to it?

• I think Fyfe stays (I like him as the sub) to provide the physical presence/break glass in case of emergency factor if they are managing to get on top in the middle.
• The need to keep Wanganeen-Milera accountable - Wilkie will go to Treacy, so we need to ensure there's people at his feet ready to split the contest. That should mean Dudley in IMO.
• Fit Pearce comes in for Draper, no one else.

 

[sumavich]

Reckon Omeara comes in for Sharp.

 

[mattis117]

McDonald is a strong chance to come in based on Peel so far. JOM is absolutely dominating so he's almost a certainty to return.

 

[yakamoto]

O’Meara in for Fyfe.

 

[south beach]

O’Meara in for Fyfe.

Playing well for Peel

 

[rgauci]

Playing well for Peel

Are you watching the game or looking at the stats?

 

[south beach]

Are you watching the game or looking at the stats?

Yeah watching clean hands lookin good considering time out of game

 

[rgauci]

Yeah watching clean hands lookin good considering time out of game

Did you like his quick hands directly to South Freo player in the last quarter?

Or him jogging behind the play while the Souths midfielders streamed forward? He was terrible.

 

[apuchar]

Did you like his quick hands directly to South Freo player in the last quarter?

Or him jogging behind the play while the Souths midfielders streamed forward? He was terrible.

His second half wasn't good.

 

[mattis117]

Did you like his quick hands directly to South Freo player in the last quarter?

Or him jogging behind the play while the Souths midfielders streamed forward? He was terrible.

Judge, I'd like to submit article 1 for confirmation bias.

 

[Superkoops]

McDonald is a strong chance to come in based on Peel so far. JOM is absolutely dominating so he's almost a certainty to return.

I felt Draper played an improved game. I’ve already talked about this but Caddy is next level and to think that OMac would have fared better against Caddy is ludicrous.

Draper needed to do away with the holding the man option and on Thursday night had no free kicks against. He will be replaced by Alex Pearce - who will hopefully be right for the Sydney away game.

JOM will come back at some point but for mine needs another run. First 2 and half quarters were good. He then ran out of legs and it showed. Another Peel game showing he can run out a full game. Really can’t see Fyfe and JOM working out well in the starting 22, so Fyfe back to sub. If Fyfe plays again like he did against st Essendon in the first half then I’d absolutely send him back to Peel to find some touch and improved match fitness.

Walker is a massive upgrade on Aish and Banfield. He will need another week or two at Peel. Has been out quite a while.

Hopefully Switta isn’t out too long.

I’d get big Darcy back against Saints.

In: Darcy
Out: Aish

Sub: Fyfe or Banfield

 

[Freo123]

ill predict Fyfe will not get dropped unless he is injured. yes he slower than he used to be. but his leadership is critical in tough games to come,

 

[Freo123]

Yes exactly this.

 

[bellie4pm]

LR AP BC
JC KW HC
JS NF MJ
HR SB MF
JA LJ JT

Brayshaw Darcy Serong

NOD Wagner Dudley

Sub : Erasmus

Out Draper Banfield

Why?

Ok, so our superstars remain - brayshaw, serong, bolton, jackson, treacy, cox, ryan, AP and clarke. (To be joined by young soon. 10!!! Have we ever had it this good?!)

Then there is Voss, Chapman, Amiss, Frederick, Switta, Reid that are locks.

Reality is that Sharp appears to be a lock too - plays an important role that noone else can play re big distances at speed with repeated sprints. He’s not going anywhere, gnash your teeth, spit your dummy all you want but longmuir et al have been unwavering in their support. (Wish he’d kicked that goal but!)

So time to drench a few posters with a dose to decrease urgency and stimulate planning for the finals!

In terms of the rest of the preferred B22 - which heavily influences the team for next week:

- Fyfe needs game time to be fit for finals. Simple. Far from bad thursday’s game. Way too early to say he’s past it which is what many of the same posters calling for JL’s immediate execution earlier this season are saying. Believe the selection committee will play him into form from here unless tired or injured.

- do you honestly think Darcy is not going to play whenever available? He’ll be back for every single game this season - except the ones where oppo ruck is either average or not a man mountain like Xerri etc. only way he will get match fit is playing games. we haven’t even vaguely seen whats possible when he gets back to his best and jackson thru the midfield. Giving him games critical to our final hopes. Jackson going down and him being unfit too disastrous to contemplate!

- driz to gamefit is critical for the team too - real point of difference thru midfield and wing. He’ll be played into fitness too every game possible.

- Worner is playing v well - few mistakes. no idea how they rate him vs walker? Guessing may be horses for courses re truly speedy forward gets walker else worner as the default.

- johnson and erasmus are the interesting ones for me - need games into both but think this is a secondary consideration to fyfe played into match fitness and young coming back in.

- banners and aish our “break in case of emergency” fillins - and both a-grade depth in this role.

- simpson straight into halfback … somehow… on his return. Guessing will take aish’s spot next season as small utility?

- can’t see walters getting anything other than a retirement game unless he proves me wrong in the wafl.

- can’t see a place for jom unless he is a smaller fyfe replacement when needed. Damn fine depth but.

- i would LOVe to know the real take on why Brodie doesnt get a game - hes the ultimate quality depth in his one role that never gets a game!

- i can’t see how sturt is going to force himself into the team with voss now well entrenched as one of the three talls? Shai, reid are locks for smalls, dudley and narkle both ready to go here and guessing in front of sturt. Only poss for a sturt comeback is if the selection committee drop frederick for lack of defence / involvement. But gees we would be going in tall then!

- OMac hard done by tbh. Played well enough to be on the fringes of selection but doesnt appear the openings? Davies still building. And time to let Draper have another pre-season - hes not fit enough, strong enough or seeing the game well enough to persevere with him this season. He is young, in a position that needs a bigger body - classic case of give him time.

- Narkle offers awesome depth - though it appears either him or dudley not both? Any chance of him going onto the wing?

- Nicholl, Riddle,Murphy, Delean, Jones etc depth and developing.

Best list we have ever had by a country mile - Mr Walls take a bos