Preview Round 21 - Fremantle vs Brisbane Lions • Sunday 6 August 2023 • 4:40 PM • Optus Stadium

[Dalions]

I don't know if he's physically ready for that yet, and honestly is such a good wingman I'm not sure I want to change what's working.

Needs to put on some size before that happens anyway.
Couple of years maybe.

 

[Mighty Lions]

I’m going to the game this weekend. I’m very excited, I haven’t seen a live game since the 2017 international rules series at Subi Oval. I cant remember the last live AFL game I went and saw. Last footy game at an eliteish level I saw was the WAFL GF when South Freo won the premiership with Jeff Farmer playing in 09.

Me 2. Looking forward to it also. Went last year so I hope we turn the tables this time. Enjoy Optus Oval....one of the best stadiums of the world in my opinion.

 

[McIvor]

But don’t you think if he was given more opportunity he probably wouldn’t panic under pressure and would adapt to the speed of the game at AFL level?
My issue, and I believe others as well, is that he (and some others) don’t get the same luxuries as other players, are dropped based on form when others aren‘t despite similar or worse form. But then in the other breath, when the pressure was really on last year and it was finals time, Dev came straight in for a player who hadn’t been performing but had been given 10+ mulligans.
While I am frustrated with Gunston’s continual selection, I don’t believe he will play a final for us.

I know right.

Imagine if Dev was given the same assurance’s as Rayner that you’ll never be dropped, not ever, irrespective of how poor your form is or whether you want to turn up like he admitted this week.

I’d suspect Dev would be a hell of a player if that was the case.

Smacks of double standards at this club.

Tell me I’m incorrect.

 

[Nunez]

I know right.

Imagine if Dev was given the same assurance’s as Rayner that you’ll never be dropped, not ever, irrespective of how poor your form is or whether you want to turn up like he admitted this week.

I’d suspect Dev would be a hell of a player if that was the case.

Smacks of double standards at this club.

Tell me I’m incorrect.

You're incorrect.

 

[McIvor]

You're incorrect.

So Rayner has been dropped; when?

 

[Mighty Lions]

I know right.

Imagine if Dev was given the same assurance’s as Rayner that you’ll never be dropped, not ever, irrespective of how poor your form is or whether you want to turn up like he admitted this week.

I’d suspect Dev would be a hell of a player if that was the case.

Smacks of double standards at this club.

Tell me I’m incorrect.

Cheer up

McIvor

 

[martinson]

So Rayner has been dropped; when?

Rayner turned in some absolute shockers especially early in his career that any one of 8 or 10 other players would've been dropped for.

Not knocking Cam or our selection process but that's a fact.

I reckon the Carlton game at the MCG was the pinnacle , ball kept bouncing off his chest.

It's not his fault we picked him No 1 nor that we never dropped him.

Whether that made any difference to anything who knows.

 

[Viceregal]

Post team changes ... better for Freo...

Fremantle 74 - 81 Brisbane Lions

Perth Stadium (WA)
HGA:

+13.6 pts
Ins/Outs:

+4.1 pts


Squiggle must be a Dev fan or a Gunston hater!

 

[briztoon]

He’s only 22 years old. People were saying, with an air of confident certainty that Lester was depth at best and Keays was not up to it. Sometimes players just need a chance. Once they are assured of selection they can settle into their natural game and grow.

I've been a massive Dev fan, but he isn't getting close to the Suns best 22. And their midfield is just going to get deeper over the next couple of years with the quality academy mids they have coming through over the next 4 drafts.

 

[twhowler]

Okay i’ll go positive

Maybe will out will be the making if bailey

He looked ready to explode before his calf. Back to his best.

He has played more mid minutes this year and has steadily improved.

The one thing we lack in there is speed, he delivers it in spades.

He is also made for finals / big moments. Best set shot we have (with linc). After the siren v pies. 2 clutch goals v dees. That ripper against the dogs was in vain but wow.

Hoping he gets a good go in the midfield and rips in this week and loses me my $100 haha

If we are to somehow win a flag Bailey will have a big finals series

Quietly hoping Rayner gets a few more minutes inside mid and Zorko gets phased out

 

[KissKiss]

Rayner turned in some absolute shockers especially early in his career that any one of 8 or 10 other players would've been dropped for.

Not knocking Cam or our selection process but that's a fact.

I reckon the Carlton game at the MCG was the pinnacle , ball kept bouncing off his chest.

It's not his fault we picked him No 1 nor that we never dropped him.

Whether that made any difference to anything who knows.

Even Fagan admitted later in that year that he should have dropped Rayner from memory. But decided he would learn more in the AFL than in the seconds. It was a statement that Rayner did get more opportunities than other players did.

But we were still in the building phase compared to now being in a premiership winning phase. So theoretically selection standards could be higher now... From purely an outside view they don't look it though

 

[Warwick]

It actually shocks me that some people believe all players should be treated equally or held to the same KPIs or that a coach shouldn’t have favourites.

Truly. Shocks me.

 

[Scubaveg]

He will play 200+ games for Brisbane and will absolutely have a few elite seasons when he his his peak. Would hardly call that a waste. Not to mention, he's a person not a commodity and what he's brought to the club as a human has been part of our rise.

He might get to 200 games, but he’ll be a passenger in 190 of them. Has no appetite for the hard work.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[Squizz89]

Can I just reiterate what has probably been said countless times on this forum already? Sunday 4.40pm games are very s**t.

 

[MSB ROYS]

Not even game day yet...

 

[Dalions]

Not even game day yet...

Still over 31 hours away

 

[Elixuh]

I know right.

Imagine if Dev was given the same assurance’s as Rayner that you’ll never be dropped, not ever, irrespective of how poor your form is or whether you want to turn up like he admitted this week.

I’d suspect Dev would be a hell of a player if that was the case.

Smacks of double standards at this club.

Tell me I’m incorrect.

It would be in Rayners contract that he cannot be dropped to the twos.

Kinda like the rock, vin diesel and Jason statham having clauses that they can’t be shown to lose a fight.

It makes perfect sense if you ask me.

 

[mpal6]

It would be in Rayners contract that he cannot be dropped to the twos.

Kinda like the rock, vin diesel and Jason statham having clauses that they can’t be shown to lose a fight.

It makes perfect sense if you ask me.

 

[DevRoboGun]

I'd like to know the last time we won a sunday afternoon game... always seems a like a death wish for recent memory (crows, hawks 2022, freo 2022, bombers 2022, tigers 2022)

Maybe sydney or carlton last year?

Has there even been such an elite football team who can't win away, or on sunday?

 

[Elixuh]

This warms my heart, thank you Mr mpal6

 

[Grasshopper17]

After watching Freo run all over us last year and our obvious lack of pace compared with them this year, I cannot comprehend why we would select a team with such a slow forward line and midfield. How we could have Gunston playing on this ground instead of a quick defensive midfielder like Robertson is baffling to say the least. I can usually see the justification for selection criteria in most games but the selection of Gunston for this game on this ground is incomprehensible imo. I hope he comes out and plays a blinder and we have a great win but based on his recent form it would take a massive turnaround.

Oh boy... The toys are out of the cot!

I'd like to say the selection of this team surprises me, but no, it doesn't really.

We've really responded to what happened on Saturday by changing absolutely NOTHING. "No worries, let's just rinse and repeat." Surely 3KZ is now charging interest on his mulligans card the club seems to have taken a mortgage out on.

It's like we think Zac Bailey is gonna come in, wave his magic wand, sprinkle some fairy dust around, and everything's gonna be just dandy.

Fair dinkum.

As good a player as Zac is (at his best), swapping Lohmann for Bailey won't be the difference, especially given we have an accompanying downgrade of Prior in for Coleman.

And if it IS the difference, well, all that will do is bring into sharp focus the attitude we brought to the game against Gold Coast.

If we lead by 5+ goals with a quarter to go, I give us a fighting chance of hanging on.

Getting to that point will be the fascinating part.

One thing I do know is that I won't be there this Sunday. I've cancelled my flights, so I'll be watching from the peanut gallery (ie my living room, or the pub!) for the first time since 2021. Simply couldn't justify going all that way only for us to trot out more of what we dished up last Saturday.

Which is a shame, because Perth Stadium is simply spectacular. I took this photo at the opening bounce of the first derby held there, ANZAC weekend 2018. Somehow we ended up with seats in the very back row, smack bang on centre wing. At the time it set the record for the biggest ever attendance at a sporting event in WA.



But I digress.

Dev should be in the team in place of Gunston. Yes he has his warts as well, but he gives us another (close to) full time midfield rotation, will work hard defensively and has decent pace. More importantly it allows Rayner to play as our third tall forward, changing in the middle as the need arises.

If we roll with that, we'll beat a lot better teams than Freo in Perth let me tell you. If we don't, we'll struggle to beat a drum, and I believe we'll be exposed accordingly tomorrow arvo. Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

[martinson]

We should win. The guys have had a big reality check 4 weeks out from finals. Had a bit of a rest . Time to reflect on what they dished up last week. Maybe some of them on notice as well one would hope.

I agree with Grasshopper re the selections which are delusional but if our midfield fires up and we get it in there the way we can on this accommodating ground we will be too good for them. We've got to 3rd on the ladder. If we go down again to a team toiling in 15th spot on the ladder then we have very serious issues as far as having any impact this year.

 

[JB42]

You are a funny one Nunez. You are unswervingly positive about so many players, but not Robertson. You mention his disposal and imply that poor disposal is what is holding him back, but his Disposal Efficiency numbers aren’t that bad. This year Dev’s disposal efficiency is 70.5% which isn’t too shabby for a midfielder. Rayner’s disposal efficiency is 72.9%, Bailey’s is 71.3%, Lincoln McCarthy’s is 58.3% and Dunkley’s is 72.5%, Berry’s is 71% and McCluggage’s is 67.4%
I can’t work out why we can’t extend the same encouragement and patience to Robertson as we did with Rayner. Robertson is only 22 and he really looks like a natural footballer. He is quick, courageous and he tackles hard.

Dev's problem is he is not a one touch player and double grabs. This is the most important skill an inside mid needs. I think he can be a very serviceable role player but will not be an A grader.

 

[Nunez]

We should win. The guys have had a big reality check 4 weeks out from finals. Had a bit of a rest . Time to reflect on what they dished up last week. Maybe some of them on notice as well one would hope.

I agree with Grasshopper re the selections which are delusional but if our midfield fires up and we get it in there the way we can on this accommodating ground we will be too good for them. We've got to 3rd on the ladder. If we go down again to a team toiling in 15th spot on the ladder then we have very serious issues as far as having any impact this year.

I think calling the selections delusional is a massive overstatement. Bailey was showing some great form in the middle before he did his calf and think seeing how he fits in as the third/fourth string mid along with Hugh will be important.

The Dockers have a good midfield and will be a good test for our midfield and new rotations. Realistically, we should be winning this by 20-40 points.

If our mids lose their midfield battle, we will absolutely need to look at bringing Dev in and hope that will spell the end of the three tall setup.

 

[Kernel Kurtz]

I think calling the selections delusional is a massive overstatement. Bailey was showing some great form in the middle before he did his calf and think seeing how he fits in as the third/fourth string mid along with Hugh will be important.

The Dockers have a good midfield and will be a good test for our midfield and new rotations. Realistically, we should be winning this by 20-40 points.

If our mids lose their midfield battle, we will absolutely need to look at bringing Dev in and hope that will spell the end of the three tall setup.

Bailey through the middle is going to be so important.
Tbh it seems he Is absolutely the best at receiving the ball on the run,
But if he has to get a ball on the deck,quite often he over runs the ball trying to pickup at full throttle.
So depending on how those scenarios play out he could be a match winner.

One game this year not too many games back he was shite in this area
Hope he has a game more like his last