Expectations now after 6 rounds

[Jimbos1]

Im surprised people are talking about top 2/ top 4.

Im firmly of the view/like Lyon that the past counts for nothing- we should be looking to just make the 8 and then go from there. I've got confidence that on any given day in September we have the cattle to challenge all teams. We just need to get there first.

I don't think its disaster if we don't make the 4 - i feel we can still do some damage from outside it if we peak at the right time. Finals experience is an intangible of which we have a bit of now. I'll only really declare our season a disaster if we miss the 8.

Bro a WA team making the grand final from outside the 4 just doesnt happen. Im not gonna bash around the bush.. fly in fly back fly in fly back meanwhile 3 day breaks in perth. Grand final.. we need top 4.

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[Freo88]

4th. And 5th in 98, only time from outside top 4 during top 8 times...

There you go - There is hope!

 

[Freo88]

Bro a WA team making the grand final from outside the 4 just doesnt happen. Im not gonna bash around the bush.. fly in fly back fly in fly back meanwhile 3 day breaks in perth. Grand final.. we need top 4.

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I don't agree. You're basically saying we might as well pack it in then if we don't make the 4 - don't even bother turning up to week 1 of finals. Thats is if we are good enough to qualify.

 

[Jimbos1]

We might as well pack it in then if we don't make the 4 - don't even bother turning up to week 1 of finals. Thats is if we are good enough to qualify.

Im just highlighting how important it is for us to make the 4.

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[Freo88]

Im just highlighting how important it is for us to make the 4.

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Well yeah thats a given, i don't think its curtains though if we don't make the 4. Quite often the gap between 5th and 4th isn't that great.

 

[Schauermann]

There you go - There is hope!

I'd really like us to win premiership from outside the top 4. But so unlikely to happen you shouldn't hope for it...

 

[Freo88]

I'd really like us to win premiership from outside the top 4. But so unlikely to happen you shouldn't hope for it...

Im a freo supporter - hope is what i do best!

 

[go_the_dockers]

I don't think we are travelling that badly. We just need to sort out our forward line.

We had more inside 50s than North and broke even with Sydney. We've just been shit at converting those into goals. Despite what many doomsayers say, our effort has not been down, and we haven't been getting smashed (except against Hawthorn). We've just been terrible at creating scoring opportunities.

That sort of thing can be fixed with a few tweaks.

Agree the forward line and forward entries in general are shocking at the moment. Ballas back next week, Barlow the week after, and hopefully Sylvia shortly should help a lot.

The coaches need to work harder to get the structure right.

 

[aussieviking]

I don't think we are travelling that badly. We just need to sort out our forward line.

We had more inside 50s than North and broke even with Sydney. We've just been shit at converting those into goals. Despite what many doomsayers say, our effort has not been down, and we haven't been getting smashed (except against Hawthorn). We've just been terrible at creating scoring opportunities.

That sort of thing can be fixed with a few tweaks.

Problem is We have few options to fix our forward line. At the moment we have only one player capable of kicking goals that is playing as a forward --- Pavlich. defensive pressure is great but if you dont kick 20 goals per season you should not be in the forward line

 

[clogged]

The complete thrashing at the hands of Hawthorn should have been a wake up call, although it may have been to tempting to write it off as a result of injuries and suspension.

Ultimately these bad results over the past two weeks are not too dissimilar to the losses Freo had last year, just that other, lesser clubs are figuring the game plan and structure out.

 

[Concussion]

4th. And 5th in 98, only time from outside top 4 during top 8 times...

Sorry for the intrusion.
This was under the old Macintire final 8 system which was fundamentally flawed and the reason why it was replaced with the current finals system.
Since that change only Carlton(6th) has come from outside the 8 to make a GF (1999). FWIW I think it would be quite hard for any side (especially interstate) to win a premiership from outside top 4 because of the extra travelling required.

 

[Schauermann]

Sorry for the intrusion.
This was under the old Macintire final 8 system which was fundamentally flawed and the reason why it was replaced with the current finals system.
Since that change only Carlton(6th) has come from outside the 8 to make a GF (1999). FWIW I think it would be quite hard for any side (especially interstate) to win a premiership from outside top 4 because of the extra travelling required.

You are technically right. A different system, but didn't find it that bad. But effort would have been enough today as well. Beat all top 3 side away, after losing against 4th. The year before they beat 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th in a row.

 

[eastfreo75]

I think that we will 5-8. Our skills and decision making is horrible. Our role players cant step up when our stars are missing.

 

[Kram]

Over the offseason I found it concerning how many supporters just almost assumed that the club would be at least close to making the grand final again this year.. Not that I'm not positive about the season but last year was a massive lost opportunity and it's a mountain to climb just to get another shot.

Not that this season is shot maybe it's the wake up call needed but simply have to win next week against the Slime.

 

[PurpleWizard]

Teams have caught up to us defensively this year and it's not a strength as it once was.

We have a horrible Forward line. Walters is a massive loss. Mayne looks horrible.

Our skills and depth are being tested and it's not there

Crozier and Sheridan haven't come on and I'm doubting they will

Crowley is severely overrated, a big negative with the ball and hasn't been shutting out players

Bottom tear midfielders Neale and Suban giving us nothing

 

[clogged]

Lachie Neale was good, top five on the ground for Freo.

 

[freoextra]

Im now expecting 7th, top 2 is out the window. Maybe we could scrape in and finish 4th but not with this form. Im really missing barlow.

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The loss of Barlow is biting hard. I noticed that RTB has said he has just started training again, hopefully a return is not far away.

 

[Jimbos1]

The loss of Barlow is biting hard. I noticed that RTB has said he has just started training again, hopefully a return is not far away.

Hes like the glue of the team, the missing link.

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[salim malik]

Lynch would be a walk up start for us if he was on our list. He kicked 3 of WC's 12 goals in that grand final. Tall forwards win football games, and we don't have any.

Ross Lyon is still convinced that backmen are more important than forwards. So we continue to play 3 tall defenders but only 1 tall forward. Not coincidentally, we have the lowest scoring efficiency in the league.

At the very least, we could bring in Silvagni/Ibbotson and move either Johnson or McPharlin forward until other forwards are fit to play. Not doing so has now cost us 2 games, and probably a realistic chance of top 4.

It doesn't matter how well McPharlin defends if we can't kick more than 8 goals ourselves. Most teams midfielders will kick more than that, even if McPharlin's opponent does nothing.

We had Clark,Sandilands,Pav,Fyfe and Mayne all in the forward half .How much taller do you want it
The problem was lack of crumbers and our smalls to put pressure on the North Backs bringing the ball out when it hit the ground.
Another tall would make the problem worse.

 

[slicedndiced]

Over the offseason I found it concerning how many supporters just almost assumed that the club would be at least close to making the grand final again this year.. Not that I'm not positive about the season but last year was a massive lost opportunity and it's a mountain to climb just to get another shot.

Not that this season is shot maybe it's the wake up call needed but simply have to win next week against the Slime.

I don't think that it was just the supporters.

I would think that a fair few players are riding on the coat-tails of last years performance and finding out rapidly that it isn't the case.

 

[UFO Tatsu]

We had Clark,Sandilands,Pav,Fyfe and Mayne all in the forward half .How much taller do you want it
The problem was lack of crumbers and our smalls to put pressure on the North Backs bringing the ball out when it hit the ground.
Another tall would make the problem worse.

but but 100 years of history blah blah blah

 

[samFFC]

We will beat West Coast next week.
We have a good record against Port away.
We have a good record against Geelong at Subi.

We have good ins for next week and then for the games after.

We have Sandi's 200th next week to spur us, and Pav's 300th against Geelong.

One week at a time, and it can (and probably should) be 6-3.

 

[free at last]

Getting barlow and ballas back will make a big difference to my expectations,throw in ibbo and Sylvia and our situation could rapidly improve.

Firstly we've gotta take care of da slime.

 

[freoextra]

I don't think that it was just the supporters.

I would think that a fair few players are riding on the coat-tails of last years performance and finding out rapidly that it isn't the case.

It certainly felt that way last night. I felt we had the game under control the stats indicate we were getting enough but the lack of effort over the entire ground was tangible.

Strange season, real effort shown against Collingwood and Essendon and a real lack of concerted effort against Hawthorn. We do not look like winning away from home lately and now we have brought that form to our home game.

RTB has looked decidedly on edge for the last 2-3 weeks, like he could see that we were not hitting his targets on the track. I expect our team to take stock and come out firing sooner than later, I certainly know we have a coach who will not leave a stone unturned in trying to find the solutions.

 

[slicedndiced]

It certainly felt that way last night. I felt we had the game under control the stats indicate we were getting enough but the lack of effort over the entire ground was tangible.

Strange season, real effort shown against Collingwood and Essendon and a real lack of concerted effort against Hawthorn. We do not look like winning away from home lately and now we have brought that form to our home game.

RTB has looked decidedly on edge for the last 2-3 weeks, like he could see that we were not hitting his targets on the track. I expect our team to take stock and come out firing sooner than later, I certainly know we have a coach who will not leave a stone unturned in trying to find the solutions.

That's what frustrates me with the never-ending targetting of a few, (the same), players.

This a team issue, not an individual one.