Coach Justin Longmuir Pt 2

[freo1]

Was that the former CEO?

Anyway, every club aims to play finals, prelims etc. Frankly I would have more upset if he'd come out and said 'our aim is to struggle in the bottom 3 for the next 5 years'.

But let's be realistic - we had 2 players in their first game this week, and our 2 KPFs are 20 and 21. That's not a 'normal' Premiership formula. My guess is we won't be a seriously scarry forward line until Amiss, Treacy and Simson hit 100-150 games (and we add a couple more). And, we all know you have to be a top 4 scoring team to win a Premiership.

Simon Garlick in 2021

Fremantle unveil Strategic Plan for 2021 to 2025

The Fremantle Football Club is proud to unveil its Strategic Plan for the 2021 to 2025 period

www.fremantlefc.com.au

I'm not naive enough to hold him to this exactly - a premiership takes more than words, but I applaud him for his ambitiousness and directive.

What I want from this club statement is sustained, consistent, high-level performance, so in my eyes consistent top 6 finishes minimum and consistent performances. My concern is that in 2022 we started the journey the CEO would be happy with (we were all happy with), but then last year really fell away. This year I actually don't know what we are or where we are - time will tell if the Derby was an abomination or if we're still the same old inconsistent Freo. Even this weekend will be a strong measure of us. History shows us Fremantle teams have a good win, then lose the expected win the following week. We'll get a good indication of things this weekend. If we're as good as we think and as good as the CEO tells us we should be, this week should be a solid performance and a 30+ point win (though i'll be happy with any winning margin).

We can make all the reasons/excuses we want; injury/age/list turnover etc. but all I know is since this Strategic Plan was announced, the numbers will show we've been very inconsistent, which is quite far away from what it takes to win a flag.

As for the youth you speak of - I agree with you whole heartedly, however JLo just this pre-season clearly stated age will not be an excuse; https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/yo...-tag-with-nowhere-to-hide-for-2024-c-12797512

We need to be careful with the age of our list and just expecting us to get better as the list matures - by the time our forwards and mids are at peak age, Pearce, Fyfe, Ryan etc will be past it and those guys are currently some of our key pillars.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Simon Garlick in 2021

Fremantle unveil Strategic Plan for 2021 to 2025

The Fremantle Football Club is proud to unveil its Strategic Plan for the 2021 to 2025 period

www.fremantlefc.com.au

I'm not naive enough to hold him to this exactly - a premiership takes more than words, but I applaud him for his ambitiousness and directive.

What I want from this club statement is sustained, consistent, high-level performance, so in my eyes consistent top 6 finishes minimum and consistent performances. My concern is that in 2022 we started the journey the CEO would be happy with (we were all happy with), but then last year really fell away. This year I actually don't know what we are or where we are - time will tell if the Derby was an abomination or if we're still the same old inconsistent Freo. Even this weekend will be a strong measure of us. History shows us Fremantle teams have a good win, then lose the expected win the following week. We'll get a good indication of things this weekend. If we're as good as we think and as good as the CEO tells us we should be, this week should be a solid performance and a 30+ point win (though i'll be happy with any winning margin).

We can make all the reasons/excuses we want; injury/age/list turnover etc. but all I know is since this Strategic Plan was announced, the numbers will show we've been very inconsistent, which is quite far away from what it takes to win a flag.

As for the youth you speak of - I agree with you whole heartedly, however JLo just this pre-season clearly stated age will not be an excuse; https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/yo...-tag-with-nowhere-to-hide-for-2024-c-12797512

We need to be careful with the age of our list and just expecting us to get better as the list matures - by the time our forwards and mids are at peak age, Pearce, Fyfe, Ryan etc will be past it and those guys are currently some of our key pillars.

That was one concern from me for the weekend, I've been lambasting Adelaide and their reliance on Tex that is papering over the massive list holes they have but if we start winning games because Fyfe is back to his best we then need to have a strong enough replacement and system to cover him when he's done. I think the defensive system and games being put into Draper means we can cover Pearce (plus I think he's got 4 years in him anyway and we have a lot of young depth for the position) but Ryan is also someone who is going to be very hard to replace.

 

[DragoDelph]

That was one concern from me for the weekend, I've been lambasting Adelaide and their reliance on Tex that is papering over the massive list holes they have but if we start winning games because Fyfe is back to his best we then need to have a strong enough replacement and system to cover him when he's done. I think the defensive system and games being put into Draper means we can cover Pearce (plus I think he's got 4 years in him anyway and we have a lot of young depth for the position) but Ryan is also someone who is going to be very hard to replace.

Fyfe: Brodie, Johnson, Erasmus, (Warner)
Pearce/Ryan: Chapman, Cox, Draper, Davies, Murphy

(Chapman, because then Wagner/Worner can come into that mid size role).

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Fyfe: Brodie, Johnson, Erasmus, (Warner)
Pearce/Ryan: Chapman, Cox, Draper, Davies, Murphy

(Chapman, because then Wagner/Worner can come into that mid size role).

To be perfectly honest, I'm completely writing Erasmus off for now, it was hard enough to see what he could bring before the WC game and I know everyone was bad but after it...

Johnson I'm still higher on than a lot around here and think his best role is Fyfe's spot but there's only one Fyfe

I think Ryan will have a lot of longevity anyway given the way he plays and starting a little bit later

 

[DragoDelph]

To be perfectly honest, I'm completely writing Erasmus off for now, it was hard enough to see what he could bring before the WC game and I know everyone was bad but after it...

Johnson I'm still higher on than a lot around here and think his best role is Fyfe's spot but there's only one Fyfe

I think Ryan will have a lot of longevity anyway given the way he plays and starting a little bit later

Yeah, not saying that any will be able to be Fyfe. But as the pig on the bottom of the pile just shoveling out to Serong, Young & Bray in their prime? (+ Simpson)

 

[pK75]

Fyfe: Brodie, Johnson, Erasmus, (Warner)
Pearce/Ryan: Chapman, Cox, Draper, Davies, Murphy

(Chapman, because then Wagner/Worner can come into that mid size role).

Think you have the Fyfe ones correct, and it’s why we’ll try to keep Brodie as long as possible (hard when we don’t actually play him) to give Johnson an extra year to fill the void post Fyfe. Erasmus has a LOT of work to do to be in this conversation though.
Hard to call Cox and Chapman replacements for Pearce and Ryan when ideally we’d be playing all 4 anyway.
Pearce > Draper, Davies, Murphy
Ryan > Draper, Worner, then shuffle the magnets.

 

[WilloTree]

Simon Garlick in 2021

Fremantle unveil Strategic Plan for 2021 to 2025

The Fremantle Football Club is proud to unveil its Strategic Plan for the 2021 to 2025 period

www.fremantlefc.com.au

I'm not naive enough to hold him to this exactly - a premiership takes more than words, but I applaud him for his ambitiousness and directive.

What I want from this club statement is sustained, consistent, high-level performance, so in my eyes consistent top 6 finishes minimum and consistent performances. My concern is that in 2022 we started the journey the CEO would be happy with (we were all happy with), but then last year really fell away. This year I actually don't know what we are or where we are - time will tell if the Derby was an abomination or if we're still the same old inconsistent Freo. Even this weekend will be a strong measure of us. History shows us Fremantle teams have a good win, then lose the expected win the following week. We'll get a good indication of things this weekend. If we're as good as we think and as good as the CEO tells us we should be, this week should be a solid performance and a 30+ point win (though i'll be happy with any winning margin).

We can make all the reasons/excuses we want; injury/age/list turnover etc. but all I know is since this Strategic Plan was announced, the numbers will show we've been very inconsistent, which is quite far away from what it takes to win a flag.

As for the youth you speak of - I agree with you whole heartedly, however JLo just this pre-season clearly stated age will not be an excuse; https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/yo...-tag-with-nowhere-to-hide-for-2024-c-12797512

We need to be careful with the age of our list and just expecting us to get better as the list matures - by the time our forwards and mids are at peak age, Pearce, Fyfe, Ryan etc will be past it and those guys are currently some of our key pillars.

Agree with a lot of this. Did Simon Garlick predict we'd keep losing players to other clubs? Did anyone? I'm also pretty confident they wouldn't have known Taberner would fall off a cliff and that we'd get more games out of Cox.

That's the anomaly.

 

[Jezzitizle]

Agree with a lot of this. Did Simon Garlick predict we'd keep losing players to other clubs? Did anyone? I'm also pretty confident they wouldn't have known Taberner would fall off a cliff and that we'd get more games out of Cox.

That's the anomaly.

To be fair, Tabs didn’t have a long way to fall, his cliff wasn’t huge!

I think the anomaly is we overestimated where our young players were. And underestimated the importance of good developed forwards who kick goals.

 

[poshman]

Agree with a lot of this. Did Simon Garlick predict we'd keep losing players to other clubs? Did anyone? I'm also pretty confident they wouldn't have known Taberner would fall off a cliff and that we'd get more games out of Cox.

That's the anomaly.

Tabs drop off with injury was fairly predictable. He was starting to suffer with his back and he wasn't 22 or 23. Regarding losing players, Bell did a number on the list and to be fair to the Executives, they have begun the process of moving him on. We made mistakes with the list and we over estimated our AFLW team. And by the looks of it they are in for a rough year this year as well.

The strategic plan has failed, they should own it and there should be a review.

If we make some good decisions from here we have an amazing decade of sustained success ahead!

 

[malpaso]

That was one concern from me for the weekend, I've been lambasting Adelaide and their reliance on Tex that is papering over the massive list holes they have but if we start winning games because Fyfe is back to his best we then need to have a strong enough replacement and system to cover him when he's done. I think the defensive system and games being put into Draper means we can cover Pearce (plus I think he's got 4 years in him anyway and we have a lot of young depth for the position) but Ryan is also someone who is going to be very hard to replace.

We were winning games two years ago with Fyfe "not at his best" or even playing much. Adelaide's Tex reliance is because he's the only FF they have, pretty much how we were with Pavlich. Very different comparisons with a midfielder vs a forward line target.

 

[Paracleet]

We were winning games two years ago with Fyfe "not at his best" or even playing much. Adelaide's Tex reliance is because he's the only FF they have, pretty much how we were with Pavlich. Very different comparisons with a midfielder vs a forward line target.

I agree. You put Thilthorpe (magically with say two years more experience) at full forward for Adelaide last year instead of Tex then he's probably going to be kicking 50 / 60 goals. People might argue that's 1.5+ goals a game but the thing to bare in mind is most bags occur in games teams win easily (He kicked 26 of his 76 goals in the 3 matches last year against WCE * 2 and Port that they won collectively by 194 points).

Where class forwards make a difference is the 1 or 2 goals they get between them against good sides to turn 1 goal losses into 1 goal wins or make 2 goal leads with 2 minutes go an unassailable 3 or 4 goal lead. They're not the difference between being a bad or a good side. That's decided by the quality of your midfield / half backs and high half forwards.

Circling round to us I think to take the next step it's just as import we get improved performance from our outside mids and flankers as it is to improve our non key goalkicking forward stocks. Will that improvement come from progression from existing payers? Improved team cohesion? Trades? Game plan changes?* All four?

*Personally I'd like to see Longmuir work on a system that allows for pushing the zone up chasing turnovers a bit more often. Just a little bit more risk. I don't mind being defense first, particularly since so many other teams are going the other way at the moment, but you can go too far.

 

[dockshark]

The strategic plan has failed, they should own it and there should be a review.

The strategic plan has failed and heads should roll as they would in any mature organisation that fundamentally fails to achieve its objectives.

But in an environment where they are not placed under pressure why would you anticipate that even a review would happen as you are suggesting?

With no consequences there will be limited, or no accountability.

 

[pK75]

The strategic plan has failed and heads should roll as they would in any mature organisation that fundamentally fails to achieve its objectives.

But in an environment where they are not placed under pressure why would you anticipate that even a review would happen as you are suggesting?

With no consequences there will be limited, or no accountability.

The review has already happened, just the heads you wanted to roll didn’t, ask Bell how his “special projects” are going

 

[dockshark]

The review has already happened, just the heads you wanted to roll didn’t, ask Bell how his “special projects” are going

Bell isn’t and wasn’t a board member.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Bell isn’t and wasn’t a board member.

But he had as much impact / power as anyone at the club.

Additionally, did you see the two new board members announced? Sometime in the next 6 months, two will "step down"

 

[dockshark]

But he had as much impact / power as anyone at the club.

Additionally, did you see the two new board members announced? Sometime in the next 6 months, two will "step down"

If that is true, and a General Manager had as much power as the board then that may well explain his demotion, and more broadly speaks to the potential dysfunction of the board itself.

I did see the announcement and hopefully this is the start of a clean out. We have board members that have been sitting on that board for nearly a decade through which the club has missed finals almost every year, and failed to achieve a single one of the strategic objectives laid down in 2021.

 

[sumavich]

Reckon the Board has too may corporates, and bugger all footy crew.
Craig Carter is a smart businessman, as is Tony Grist but they are probably better on a Merchant Bank Board than a footy club.
Shauny Mac could be a good addition, or Jason Norrish?? All woke and corporate these days.
There is Clement, but he hated us and was successful at Collingwood. Weird

 

[Paracleet]

Reckon the Board has too may corporates, and bugger all footy crew.
Craig Carter is a smart businessman, as is Tony Grist but they are probably better on a Merchant Bank Board than a footy club.
Shauny Mac could be a good addition, or Jason Norrish?? All woke and corporate these days.
There is Clement, but he hated us and was successful at Collingwood. Weird

Yeah bloody woke merchant bankers.

 

[poshman]

The review has already happened, just the heads you wanted to roll didn’t, ask Bell how his “special projects” are going

I don't remember there being a review, but I did mention Bell in my post.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

If that is true, and a General Manager had as much power as the board then that may well explain his demotion, and more broadly speaks to the potential dysfunction of the board itself.

I did see the announcement and hopefully this is the start of a clean out. We have board members that have been sitting on that board for nearly a decade through which the club has missed finals almost every year, and failed to achieve a single one of the strategic objectives laid down in 2021.

A general manager should and always will have significantly more influence over the results of a footy club then anyone on the board

 

[poshman]

But he had as much impact / power as anyone at the club.

Additionally, did you see the two new board members announced? Sometime in the next 6 months, two will "step down"

Yes - the moves indicate that changes have been made. I mentioned Bell, who is essentially on the way out and at the very least had his role and power minimised. The Board additions seem like great gets for the club.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Yes - the moves indicate that changes have been made. I mentioned Bell, who is essentially on the way out and at the very least had his role and power minimised. The Board additions seem like great gets for the club.

I'm surprised more hasnt been made of them tbh, particularly the CEO of South32 (and former CFO of BHP), that is a massive addition. I dont really know the reputation of the lawyer to comment on the other appointment.

 

[dockshark]

Reckon the Board has too may corporates, and bugger all footy crew.
Craig Carter is a smart businessman, as is Tony Grist but they are probably better on a Merchant Bank Board than a footy club.
Shauny Mac could be a good addition, or Jason Norrish?? All woke and corporate these days.
There is Clement, but he hated us and was successful at Collingwood. Weird

Interesting observation. All boards need balance and the board of an AFL club has a very broad range of accountabilities. We absolutely need the right skill set and experience base to provide oversight over the commercial and financial operation of the club (which is in reality a pretty substantial business operation) but to your point, is their enough of the right skill set and experience to provide appropriate oversight on operations, and particularly football operations. Good question!

 

[dockshark]

A general manager should and always will have significantly more influence over the results of a footy club then anyone on the board

I don’t necessarily agree, but my perspective is from sitting on multiple company boards not sporting clubs. But influence and power are not the same but ultimately the board is accountable for results and strategic direction, not general management.

 

[poshman]

I'm surprised more hasnt been made of them tbh, particularly the CEO of South32 (and former CFO of BHP), that is a massive addition. I dont really know the reputation of the lawyer to comment on the other appointment.

I was stoked to hear the news about the CEO of South32. I have put some feelers out to business friends about the lawyer, one reply was that they are very sharp. I thought it was a significant step forward for the club tbh. Worthy of the optimism thread!