Review Positives and Negatives vs Saints

[Snuffaluphagus]

Darcy while limited around the ground is actually immovable in the ruck and in and aerial contest. Doesn’t flat out lose many if any aerial contests

So excited for him from his last 3 quarters of footy, hopefully gets up for next week and keeps building

 

[Rhysswans13]

As a neutral, one of the games of the year in my opinion. Lots of heart from Freo to fight back from 36 points down and the Saints were playing good footy as well. Caleb Serong looks like he is going to be a good player for you guys. Fyfe and Walters heavily involved, and you can see when they get going that you're whole side is up and about.

I think the Dockers spot on the ladder is a little deceiving, as you guys have had some tough games to start the season and have been competitive in pretty much all of them. Promising signs from a young side and definitely a chance to knock over the Eagles next week.

 

[Unique Name]

Lobb back to his best today.

 

[masai]

I think this game proves to me, that we play better with less rotations.

Maybe players are able to settle into their position, and gain confidence. At times it appears players are ripped off just as they are starting to get warm.

 

[FreoMonocle]

Darcy was on track for his best game. Was monstering Marshall and marking everything.

+1 I was watching thinking, crikey! there are never that many rucks who are so good around the ground. I thought he almost single handedly brought us back into the game.

 

[wahooo]

So many positives today, was great to see.

The big negative is bloody Walters' brainfades in the first and last, going the wrong way and that fifty. Made Tabs look ultra composed.

Just to clarify, hardly knocking Walters, played well but bloody hell he kept us on our toes

 

[Boppo]

At one point we had 3 mids chasing the Satints ball carriers out of defence. Two stopped running when the ball got past them but not the third. Its the difference between a top draft pick an a depth player.

 

[Barrysballs]

So Fyfe injured or on reduced minutes ? Not even in the middle for the last bounce.

Fyfe is fine, coach put him where he needed him most

On SM-A205YN using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Taylor]

We lost a marking tall forward when Darcy was out and Lobb moved to the ruck. Fyfe forward spooks people too because they usually line a medium defender up on him.

 

[Glaucus]

Positives
• Seeing Longmuir’s game style starting to gel. A great way to finish Hub Life.
• Winning 2 games in a row without Fyfe in the middle. Maybe an MJ/Phil Jackson moment.
• Having more than 3 players that can kick to advantage.
• Backline holding up.
• Aish and Acres fitting in seamlessly.
• Darcy/Lobb combo taking shape.
• Hill playing consecutive games.
• Walters winning the last 2 clearances on 1 leg.
• 78% disposal efficiency.... 78%!

Negatives
• not today old friend

 

[FreoMonocle]

For me, of all the games we should never have won, this belongs in the pool room above the mantel piece. I'll take great pleasure in re-watching this match over the next few years.

+ve
* JLO and the leadership group. We played q1 like we'd given up before we'd started, our headology was nerfed. That turn around in attitude and competitiveness, even though we were so far behind and a rotation down on the bench, can't be understated - it was mighty.
* Running the game out until the last 5 minutes (we stopped sustaining the effort and that gave the Saints a window of opportunity) with 2 players down and a lot of young crew still developing their tank - a great mental effort.
* Shulz. Had another great game, but particularly liked his soccer through for a goal. He had someone running up behind him, but he carefully matched pace with the ball so that he could control it - most players run hard at it and try to kick the skin off the ball. A fierce competitor, doesn't get spooked and always give "good effort".

-ve
* Q1. But particularly, Brayshaw and Cerra after such a great game for them last week were missing when they were needed. Oh well, they're still young and youngsters are flakey, time fixes it.
* Unnecessary head high contact. While it all looks so easy on camera, once you commit it's hard to change what you are doing in just a second, so I'm not going to flog Ben Long. I'd like to think that he had enough time and should have had the presence of mind to try and change the bump on Darcy, Kingy is right, intentional should be given a bigger suspension to properly act as a deterrent - also so that the penalty can fit the crime as you don't know if the opponent ends up concussed or with a broken jaw/cheek/nose and possibly weeks/months out of the game (or with repeated concussion, an early end of career).

 

[Lach72]

For me, of all the games we should never have won, this belongs in the pool room above the mantel piece. I'll take great pleasure in re-watching this match over the next few years.

+ve
* JLO and the leadership group. We played q1 like we'd given up before we'd started, our headology was nerfed. That turn around in attitude and competitiveness, even though we were so far behind and a rotation down on the bench, can't be understated - it was mighty.
* Running the game out until the last 5 minutes (we stopped sustaining the effort and that gave the Saints a window of opportunity) with 2 players down and a lot of young crew still developing their tank - a great mental effort.
* Shulz. Had another great game, but particularly liked his soccer through for a goal. He had someone running up behind him, but he carefully matched pace with the ball so that he could control it - most players run hard at it and try to kick the skin off the ball. A fierce competitor, doesn't get spooked and always give "good effort".

-ve
* Q1. But particularly, Brayshaw and Cerra after such a great game for them last week were missing when they were needed. Oh well, they're still young and youngsters are flakey, time fixes it.
* Unnecessary head high contact. While it all looks so easy on camera, once you commit it's hard to change what you are doing in just a second, so I'm not going to flog Ben Long. I'd like to think that he had enough time and should have had the presence of mind to try and change the bump on Darcy, Kingy is right, intentional should be given a bigger suspension to properly act as a deterrent - also so that the penalty can fit the crime as you don't know if the opponent ends up concussed or with a broken jaw/cheek/nose and possibly weeks/months out of the game (or with repeated concussion, an early end of career).

I’m really not sure what game you were watching if you have Brayshaw and Cerra as negatives

 

[Greenery]

For me, of all the games we should never have won, this belongs in the pool room above the mantel piece. I'll take great pleasure in re-watching this match over the next few years.

+ve
* JLO and the leadership group. We played q1 like we'd given up before we'd started, our headology was nerfed. That turn around in attitude and competitiveness, even though we were so far behind and a rotation down on the bench, can't be understated - it was mighty.
* Running the game out until the last 5 minutes (we stopped sustaining the effort and that gave the Saints a window of opportunity) with 2 players down and a lot of young crew still developing their tank - a great mental effort.
* Shulz. Had another great game, but particularly liked his soccer through for a goal. He had someone running up behind him, but he carefully matched pace with the ball so that he could control it - most players run hard at it and try to kick the skin off the ball. A fierce competitor, doesn't get spooked and always give "good effort".

-ve
* Q1. But particularly, Brayshaw and Cerra after such a great game for them last week were missing when they were needed. Oh well, they're still young and youngsters are flakey, time fixes it.
* Unnecessary head high contact. While it all looks so easy on camera, once you commit it's hard to change what you are doing in just a second, so I'm not going to flog Ben Long. I'd like to think that he had enough time and should have had the presence of mind to try and change the bump on Darcy, Kingy is right, intentional should be given a bigger suspension to properly act as a deterrent - also so that the penalty can fit the crime as you don't know if the opponent ends up concussed or with a broken jaw/cheek/nose and possibly weeks/months out of the game (or with repeated concussion, an early end of career).

Brayshaw and Cerra were big when the game was on the line

 

[A New Hope]

I’m really not sure what game you were watching if you have Brayshaw and Cerra as negatives

Not in the first quarter tho like FreoMonocle said.

 

[FFC4ME]

Epic comeback, so unfremantle.

Correction, so un-RossLyonFremantle. That's not really a sledge, because at our peak we would always get 20-30 points in front in most games in a quarter and a bit anyway so we rarely had to come back - but it is equally true that Ross' game style was so rigidly structured that if we got more than 3 goals behind in a match we just never had the method (or the players never had the freedom) to reel it in.

So today was a bit of a throwback to the pre-Lyon days when such things were sometimes possible. In fact, for the first time I could see a Longmuir style beginning to emerge, after several rudderless matches which really did have me scratching my head about our direction. As we know, sometimes it just takes a while before things start to click when embedding a new plan and it can suddenly happen rather unexpectedly.

After many years of becoming hopelessly stuck at defensive 50 on the boundary and often resorting to a slow useless switch which would inevitably stuff itself up due to poor skills, it is a subtle shift to see short kicks to the half bank flank and not breathe into a paper bag - but you can see we either go safely up the line (to Lobb / Taberner / Hogan / Darcy / Fyfe for a contested mark) or ideally look for the 45 degree kick to a runner who breaks the field open. It doesn't always work at the moment, but you can now demonstrably see the superior kicking ability.

Given the injury misfortune just keeps going, I thought the entire team did particularly well to turn the tide today and have just enough left in the tank to hold on. We have had several false dawns in recent years, and things won't just magically get better from here, but this is the kind of win that could mark the new chapter for the club that it really has become needful of...

 

[Dockeroo]

Gerard Healy is such a biased w***er. Anyone else think max king was pretty damn ordinary? They love blowing smoke up the ass of their Melbourne private schoolboys - he has a long way to go in my view. His direct opponent Ryan was arguably BOG.
eventually Healy gave up about king but his excuses for the late hit by Marshall and the silence from him initially when long hit Darcy said it all.
he also kept saying Schultz is “normally an excellent goal kicker”
News to me because that’s been Lachies biggest knock as a small forward. These guys see us as an irrelevance so very nice to stick it up to them.

 

[ImperialPurple]

Positives -
- BHill getting 11 disposals for $900k

$53K for that game alone. Roughly $5K per disposal. 63% disposal efficiency = $8K for each that went in the vague direction of St Kilda’s goal.

 

[BettercallSaul]

Gerard Healy is such a biased w***er. Anyone else think max king was pretty damn ordinary? They love blowing smoke up the ass of their Melbourne private schoolboys - he has a long way to go in my view. His direct opponent Ryan was arguably BOG.
eventually Healy gave up about king but his excuses for the late hit by Marshall and the silence from him initially when long hit Darcy said it all.
he also kept saying Schultz is “normally an excellent goal kicker”
News to me because that’s been Lachies biggest knock as a small forward. These guys see us as an irrelevance so very nice to stick it up to them.

This is one reason why I mute them. Normally Healy isn’t too bad but the complete lack of homework by “special comments” commentators on players out side of Vic is laughable.

 

[Ducky Tie]

Well done on the win. Amazing fightback. Life as a saints fan never gets easier.

What did you think of B Hill? He's clearly not playing well and you guys would know more about him than us. Look like a work rate thing? Game style maybe?

Enjoy the week.

 

[Boppo]

Anyone know if the AFL webiste runs Coaches Pressers anymore? So much sh1t video on there I cant find any post match coach reports. Maybe they aren't doing them?

 

[ImperialPurple]

Positives
• Seeing Longmuir’s game style starting to gel. A great way to finish Hub Life.
• Winning 2 games in a row without Fyfe in the middle. Maybe an MJ/Phil Jackson moment.
• Having more than 3 players that can kick to advantage.
• Backline holding up.
• Aish and Acres fitting in seamlessly.
• Darcy/Lobb combo taking shape.
• Hill playing consecutive games.
• Walters winning the last 2 clearances on 1 leg.
• 78% disposal efficiency.... 78%!

Negatives
• not today old friend

I read a stat this morning showing Freo with equal highest disposal efficiency in the comp at 74%. Add in 78% today and we inch a bit higher in our overall efficiency. Not bad.

 

[Greenery]

Good to see banfield and Schultz stepping up with big goals at the end. Pretty sure it was banfield who set it up for Schultz too.
The composure of the younger players and hitting targets in key moments a massive improvement.

 

[E Shed]

Well done on the win. Amazing fightback. Life as a saints fan never gets easier.

What did you think of B Hill? He's clearly not playing well and you guys would know more about him than us. Look like a work rate thing? Game style maybe?

Enjoy the week.

Hill doesn't like too much attention. If he's left with plenty of space he will hurt the opposition all day but can be tagged out.
He can often run a tagger into the ground and find space later in games, not sure whether Freo rotated players off him today or if Hill himself was given a job rather than simply free ranging which seems to be what he does best.
I guess Freo know a lot about how he works in games and I imagine there was a specific plan to deal with him which certainly seemed to work.

 

[E Shed]

Here's the presser for those looking for it

How do you feel after that win?
Really proud. Really proud of the effort. Really proud of their ability to get back on task and get the game played our way, how we wanted it played. Clearly the first quarter wasn’t what we came in trying to do. We didn’t get it right, but the way they adjusted, the way they stuck to their task, to get us in front, and then when it was level again, our ability to execute and do the basics well, I couldn’t be any prouder.

What did you say at quarter time?
It’s a pretty basic game, footy. If you don’t get it done around the contest then there’s no real point discussing any other points of the game so we reinforced contest, changed a few things with our structure. Really, it was just about settling them down and making sure they knew what they needed to do to execute. What we went into the game with. Once we started winning the contest, and getting it played in our front half, A: we were really safe from them scoring and B: our forwards were able to go to work and put enormous pressure on create opportunities for ourselves so… it’s a pretty basic game sometimes.

Was the reason for Nat Fyfe staying in the goal square the entire second half injury management or tactical?
It was more tactical because clearly we lost (Sean) Darcy and we were short down there and they’ve got some good interceptors. Cleary Fyfe drags a good defender and he never loses a contest, and he is able to hit the scoreboard, and clearly we’ve got a lot of mids in our side at the moment so we were able to cover him in the midfield. I didn’t think, especially after quarter time, the midfield wasn’t the issues it was probably going to be whether we could generate enough scores so, he did his part.

Were you tempted to put him back in the middle that last quarter when the Saints were coming back?
Yes, you’re right. I still felt the centre-bounce wasn’t working for us most of the day but I felt like we were getting our hands on it, it was just a little bit of execution. Sonny kicking it the wrong way early, we fumbled, and the biggest thing with centre bounce was we gave away so many free kicks. We always knew we were going to be undersized, and that was the case, so I thought our mids toiled manfully all day. We’ve got a lot of mids in our team at the moment, it’s just how our list is shaped, so we were comfortable with Fyfey forward.

He wasn’t the main man but he still played an important role?
He understands he can impact the game wherever he is played. The issue probably for me and our coaching staff, and has probably been the issue for a while, we would love Nathan to play forward more but how we are we going to get it there enough to warrant him being forward. So I think today we showed that we can get him good supply when he’s forward and he can have an impact on the game for us down there and the other mids can get it done.

What did you learn about the team today?
It just reinforced that we’ve got real ticker. We’ve got a lot of players who just never give up. We’ve showed that pretty much all season but it was just reinforced today when our backs were against the wall at quarter time, we just never gave up.

Can you update us on the injuries?
(Hayden) Young looks like he has rolled his ankle, we will get it scanned and hopefully it’s not a bad one. We will see, it’s a bit hard to tell sometimes. Sean was just, well you saw what happened, he was rattled and the docs wouldn’t allow him to go back on so, make of that what you want to make of it.

Was he officially concussed?
I haven’t heard that officially but it’s not a good sign when the doctors say you can’t come back on. He seemed fined in the rooms just then, he’s not dazed or anything like that so if he was knocked out, he’s recovered pretty well.

Just back on Fyfe, is that something you’d like to go for longer stretches of games or is that just situational?
Well it’s situational, clearly. He’s still our best midfielder so we’ll keep playing around with what the balance of that looks like. We felt as a coaching staff that we were getting good supply, we were short down there with (Rory) Lobb having to go into the ruck. He gives us a bit more aerial presence, he never loses a contest down there and he was still our most likely to hit the scoreboard. Two goals and eighteen possessions playing mostly forward is a great result.

What happened with Brennan Cox?
He got through training and pulled up a bit sore. The physios were on the fence about playing him and decided it was too big of a risk to take. Give him another week to recover and he’ll be right for next week.

What about Sturt, is he a chance?
Yes he’s a chance, he rolled his ankle at training, he’s been a bit unlucky and when you do it two days before a game it doesn’t give you much time to get up. It would be nice for him to get up for this week and be available for selection.

Was it the same ankle he hurt previously?
No, it was a different ankle. It’s just one of those innocuous situations at training that happens sometimes in a contested situation, there wasn’t much to it but when you do it two days out it doesn’t give you a lot of time.

Do you have any more info on the other guys that are injured?
No, not at this stage. We just need to get back to Perth with Griff (Logue) and allow a little bit of time to see how it settles. It looks like (Jesse) Hogan might miss a couple of weeks.

How have the five weeks been up here?
We’ve loved it. It’s my first year of coaching this group so I’ve gotten to know them really well, a lot better than I would’ve at home. I’ve gotten to know our staff and couldn’t be more proud of the way the club has approached it. To get two wins to go home with, I think is just reward for effort and I’m really proud of the whole footy club.

It will be a good plane ride home now?
Yes, we didn’t come up here to win one game. We really set ourselves for St Kilda and we finally got there, the first quarter it looked like we were still packing our bags but after quarter time we really dug in and had a crack, so it was good.

What do you think the week is going to be like leading into the RAC Derby?
I don’t know yet, it’s going to be a bit different. Every week has been different this year, we haven’t had a normal week, we’re not going to have a normal week. I’ve just been really happy and proud of the way the club has embraced everything that’s been thrown at us. The next couple of weeks in quarantine is going to be no different but one thing I do know about our footy club is that we are really connected, we’re on the same page and everyone’s going in the right direction.

You don’t expect to go home and play against a team you’ve been living with, has the relationship changed with you and West Coast these past five weeks?
I’m not sure, I’m not sure what our players think or what our staff think. I’m probably a bit different to the rest of us because I’ve spent seven years at the footy club, so I’ve got some close relationships there and I learnt a lot working there. It’s going to be a unique week.

 

[ImperialPurple]

Can we all please remember this over the next three weeks as we play WC, Collingwood and Geelong. We’re most definitely tracking in the right direction, so let’s not s**t all over everything and everyone if we don’t do so well these next three rounds.