Positives.

[Roundhouse]

To be honest, after I heard that Hase was a late omission I thought we were in for an absolute flogging. In the end, we were down in a few areas but there were some goods signs. Things that stick out...

Warnock - He was recruited with a late draft pick as a long term project and nobody realistically expected him to play until 2008. His ruck work yesterday suggested he will make it. When he won the tap, he hit to advantage more often than not, and he also made a good contest around the ground. He will only get better!

Defense - Our bigger backmen (Grover and McPharlin and to a lesser degree Dodd) held Geelongs key forward admirably. Mooney and N. Ablett were both in great form coming into the game but had little impact. With Thornton and Haddrill waiting in the wings, our key backmen stocks are looking in good shape.

We ran out the game well - For the second week in a row we have shown the capacity to run harder than the opposition in the second half. Running out of legs was a huge part of our downfall in the first few games. With running players like Peake and Schammer set to resume in the next few weeks, plus a fresh Farmer after the break, we won't be as prone to a mid/late season fitness slump the likes of which derailed Geelong and St Kilda's campaigns last season (and may do again).

Bell's form - After a decent game last week and a huge effort yesterday, he looks to have turned the corner formwise.

We have been completely written off - This is only gonna make our charge in the last half of the year all the more enjoyable.

Rest assured folks, after the finals campaign last year our whole pre-season workload was tailored around assuring players would be peaking in the last half of the year. Sure we have had some bad luck with injuries and the MRP, and as a result we have been a little off pace and dropped a couple of games that we shouldn't have. Of the other top four sides from last year Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide have also been a little off thier best but are starting to, or will start to come good. The Weagles have started well (not great) but they are starting to show some definite signs of wear and tear. Just remember it's a long season, and the teams who make it into the last few weeks in the best shape are the only ones that can win the flag. Every single game is winnable from here on in.

 

[krustyman]

Freo have a huge pool of talent of rucks and key position players, dont know why they are doing so poorly this year. maybe a good quality mid fielder is the only thing missing.

 

[malpaso]

Freo have a huge pool of talent of rucks and key position players, dont know why they are doing so poorly this year. maybe a good quality mid fielder is the only thing missing.

Accountability.

 

[Kenny_01]

We need a Bartel type player, and some quick wingers.

Positives

- Warnock
- Soloman
- Continued form of Hayden/Dodd etc in backline

 

[BuffaloClub]

Another positive is that the horrible visit to Sleepy Hollow is behind us and we'll win our next seven home games (10 wins) - look at the draw - and we'll get Peake and Farmer back; plus a couple of very winnable away games, the Eagles being one of them.

Top six here we come.

 

[Ysaye]

Freo have a huge pool of talent of rucks and key position players, dont know why they are doing so poorly this year. maybe a good quality mid fielder is the only thing missing.

McPharlin, Johnson, Pavlich and Tarrant is close to the best spine in the AFL ATM.

But I think we are missing more than one quality midfielder.

 

[kane249]

I might say i was impressed by Warnock yesterday and thought his all round game was heaps better then Sandilands. Went after the hard ball a few times and was prepared to fly for the ball and contest in the forward line which i think is a good sign for the future for you guys.

Sandliands on the other hand... well i think he's still got work to do on his game. Winning the ruck knocks is one thing, hitting them to your players is the key. One contest in the Freo forward 50 stood out for me, instead of hitting it to advantage he hit it to 3 Geelong players who easily swept the ball out of defense as a result. His around the ground work and marking needs more polish as well.

From an outsiders point of view i'd give Warnock a lot more game time as he could provide you the areas Sandilands still struggles to provide you guys with at times.

 

[pistol17]

Accountability.

Exactly, piss the zone crap off. We are no good at it. Play man on man and make our guys accountable for their opponent. Im sick of watching a wave of free opposition players streaming through the midfield with no one on them.

 

[dockertor]

I might say i was impressed by Warnock yesterday and thought his all round game was heaps better then Sandilands. Went after the hard ball a few times and was prepared to fly for the ball and contest in the forward line which i think is a good sign for the future for you guys.

Sandliands on the other hand... well i think he's still got work to do on his game. Winning the ruck knocks is one thing, hitting them to your players is the key. One contest in the Freo forward 50 stood out for me, instead of hitting it to advantage he hit it to 3 Geelong players who easily swept the ball out of defense as a result. His around the ground work and marking needs more polish as well.

From an outsiders point of view i'd give Warnock a lot more game time as he could provide you the areas Sandilands still struggles to provide you guys with at times.

There is an ongoing problem with our ruck setups. Sandi is dominant but always seems to hit it to one stationary player who is out numbered by the opposition. The end result is they clear the ball easily. How about we stack one side and then rely on winning the tap. I just dont understand how we expect to win at the contests the way we set up now.

 

[Dr Ralph Dagg]

We ran out the game well - For the second week in a row we have shown the capacity to run harder than the opposition in the second half. Running out of legs was a huge part of our downfall in the first few games. With running players like Peake and Schammer set to resume in the next few weeks, plus a fresh Farmer after the break, we won't be as prone to a mid/late season fitness slump the likes of which derailed Geelong and St Kilda's campaigns last season (and may do again).

I reckon this point is hard to justify when you are down by 30 points or so. The other teams are a bit more spent but have the points on the board. They would have eased off a fraction.

Its way harder to catch up to teams and requires considerably more effort. That's why you often see a momentum change fail -- a losing team kicks 2 or 3 to pput pressure on but can't sustain the effort, and are spent. The team in front lifts and seals the deal with 2 or 3 goals.