BeinPurplenGreen
Freo Football Foci
- Apr 8, 2008
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So when the schedule was announced for 2025, I locked in the preview (thanks Tonga Bob for letting me do it!) and booked in the trip up to Sydney for this game straight away. I figured it was Fyfe's likely farewell to the SCG, and especially so once it became clear that finals were unlikely to be hosted by Sydney this year
I can't tell you how excited I was to see Nat come back from injury slowly but steadily, and build game time at AFL level. I held out some hope that maybe Walters could make a sub appearance too!
Imagine how flat and sad I became on Sunday arvo, when I realised he'd miss the game, and I wouldn't get to see him or Walters play live one last time.
Then I saw the Starlight kids last week, and perspective returned. So many of my mates over here have copped weather impacts in the last 48 hours, that it reinforced again the reality that footy is just a game at the end of things.
Then the SCG ground state reared it's ugly head, and I realised we all have to talk about this dude instead of Fyfey:
More on him (and his Aussie offsider) later...
Recent records
There's something about this rivalry that just keeps murmuring away year after year after year.
Lets try to be a bit mathy about this first. Recent games were not pretty, nor masterpieces of coaching strategy, but last two have been close and tight, total margin of only 4 points across those two games.
In in the last 6 games against Sydney, going back to 2021, the away team has always won.
In our whole 44 game history against Sydney we've never won by more than 58 points, and apart from that one game all our other wins against Sydney since 1995 have been by 37 points or less.
We've only ever had 5 losses against Sydney bigger than 40 points. So games against Sydney anywhere have generally been close things since we have been in the AFL
Also of note, these are rarely high scoring games - since 2000 only 17 scores by one of the teams over 100 points, and not since round 5 2009 at Subi have both teams combined scored over 200 points in a game...
Weather
Bring your wellies, galoshes and ponchos, and yell out for the free ups for the three duckies (shoutout to Poppy Penny on twitter for catching this first - second clip has the audio if you want to actually sing it as duckies, just hit "show captions" on the Twitter video button...)
Season Stats
So in terms of the season so far, we look a bit like this compared to Sydney:
Remarkably even across a lot of categories, but we do have more handballs, scoring shots, fewer clangers and better disposal efficiency.
Lineups
Not announced at time of posting, will update in a second post later after the lineups are finalised.
Closing thoughts
So Fyfey is stuck on 244 games played with a 2-4 week injury now (244 played, and 2 to 4, get it?).
If Fyfe does finish on the same number of games as the great MJ and LukeyMac, I think there is a uniquely Freo and very poignant symmetry that 3 such legends of the club all finish on exactly the same number of games played.
Although strategic list management might suggest it is perhaps a sign that any player on game 244 should play exactly 3 minutes and then be subbed straight off, no warm ups (and don't bloody let Vossy get anywhere near them with his head high high fives!!).
According to the same AI that says we give out Free-Ups and salute 3 duckies, 244 is also:
For the record, my original preview was going to be built around the fact that against the Swans Fyfe has a literally 50% record - 9 wins, a draw and 9 losses - and the same at the SCG - 4 wins, a draw and 4 losses. So this would have been his career tiebreak game at the same venue Fyfey first exploded onto the AFL scene...
The Swans are the team Fyfey has averaged the most 1%s, most clearances (also most clangers) but most impressively the most hitouts!! He had 12 hitouts at the SCG alone!
FYFEY TO THE RUCK!!!!!!!
I'll miss ya Fyfey, and so will the SCG, you are one of the most consistent and impactful performers of visiting players at the SCG.
The Last Word - Volume Up
Let's leave the last word to the bloke who had the concert that turfed the SCG turf, along with his Australian offsider Tina Arena (you just had to know it was a 90s Aussie pop veteran that helped Andrea Bocelli junk the SCG turf):
And if you have read this far - in case you think I hate Bocelli, or that he would ever have knowingly let his performances damage a sports playing surface - watch this, and tell me if you don't see his absolute love for sports of any kind.
Hopefully this isn't the theme song for Fyfey's season, and we get a few more games for Fyfey to remind us all of the great he is..
BpG
I can't tell you how excited I was to see Nat come back from injury slowly but steadily, and build game time at AFL level. I held out some hope that maybe Walters could make a sub appearance too!
Imagine how flat and sad I became on Sunday arvo, when I realised he'd miss the game, and I wouldn't get to see him or Walters play live one last time.
Then I saw the Starlight kids last week, and perspective returned. So many of my mates over here have copped weather impacts in the last 48 hours, that it reinforced again the reality that footy is just a game at the end of things.
Then the SCG ground state reared it's ugly head, and I realised we all have to talk about this dude instead of Fyfey:
More on him (and his Aussie offsider) later...
Recent records
There's something about this rivalry that just keeps murmuring away year after year after year.
Lets try to be a bit mathy about this first. Recent games were not pretty, nor masterpieces of coaching strategy, but last two have been close and tight, total margin of only 4 points across those two games.
In in the last 6 games against Sydney, going back to 2021, the away team has always won.
In our whole 44 game history against Sydney we've never won by more than 58 points, and apart from that one game all our other wins against Sydney since 1995 have been by 37 points or less.
We've only ever had 5 losses against Sydney bigger than 40 points. So games against Sydney anywhere have generally been close things since we have been in the AFL
Also of note, these are rarely high scoring games - since 2000 only 17 scores by one of the teams over 100 points, and not since round 5 2009 at Subi have both teams combined scored over 200 points in a game...
Weather
Bring your wellies, galoshes and ponchos, and yell out for the free ups for the three duckies (shoutout to Poppy Penny on twitter for catching this first - second clip has the audio if you want to actually sing it as duckies, just hit "show captions" on the Twitter video button...)
Season Stats
So in terms of the season so far, we look a bit like this compared to Sydney:
Remarkably even across a lot of categories, but we do have more handballs, scoring shots, fewer clangers and better disposal efficiency.
Lineups
Not announced at time of posting, will update in a second post later after the lineups are finalised.
Closing thoughts
So Fyfey is stuck on 244 games played with a 2-4 week injury now (244 played, and 2 to 4, get it?).
If Fyfe does finish on the same number of games as the great MJ and LukeyMac, I think there is a uniquely Freo and very poignant symmetry that 3 such legends of the club all finish on exactly the same number of games played.
Although strategic list management might suggest it is perhaps a sign that any player on game 244 should play exactly 3 minutes and then be subbed straight off, no warm ups (and don't bloody let Vossy get anywhere near them with his head high high fives!!).
According to the same AI that says we give out Free-Ups and salute 3 duckies, 244 is also:
- 244Pu is an isotope of plutonium with a half-life of 81.3 million years - so Fyfey will be around for a while yet;
- In the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australian Standard Classification of Occupations, 244 is the code for "Natural and Physical Science Professionals".
This broad category includes professionals who perform analytical, conceptual, and practical tasks related to environmental factors, agricultural production, chemical and physical properties of the universe, mineral extraction, and life sciences.
Sounds like they created the category for Fyfey! - But really we all know the 244 curse has come about because in 2014 the NASA boffins ignored the scrolls of doom and named an intergalactic exo-planet after Kepler Bradley. Yep, behold Kepler244c Kepler Bradley Planet
For the record, my original preview was going to be built around the fact that against the Swans Fyfe has a literally 50% record - 9 wins, a draw and 9 losses - and the same at the SCG - 4 wins, a draw and 4 losses. So this would have been his career tiebreak game at the same venue Fyfey first exploded onto the AFL scene...
The Swans are the team Fyfey has averaged the most 1%s, most clearances (also most clangers) but most impressively the most hitouts!! He had 12 hitouts at the SCG alone!
FYFEY TO THE RUCK!!!!!!!
I'll miss ya Fyfey, and so will the SCG, you are one of the most consistent and impactful performers of visiting players at the SCG.
The Last Word - Volume Up
Let's leave the last word to the bloke who had the concert that turfed the SCG turf, along with his Australian offsider Tina Arena (you just had to know it was a 90s Aussie pop veteran that helped Andrea Bocelli junk the SCG turf):
And if you have read this far - in case you think I hate Bocelli, or that he would ever have knowingly let his performances damage a sports playing surface - watch this, and tell me if you don't see his absolute love for sports of any kind.
Hopefully this isn't the theme song for Fyfey's season, and we get a few more games for Fyfey to remind us all of the great he is..
BpG
