Remove this Banner Ad

Opinion Selection Integrity

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

gungho

Premiership Player
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Posts
3,535
Reaction score
6,310
AFL Club
Fremantle
Here are some questions related to team selection this year.

  • Does Darcy stay in the team (if not performing)?
  • Does Amiss stay in the team (if not performing)?
  • Does JOM come straight back into the team? (At the expense of someone performing)?
  • Does Freddy come straight back into the team (at the expense of someone performing)?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes then we are not a ruthless enough footy team.

We are all chips in at this point.

Reputations should mean nothing. Draft order should mean nothing. Contracts should mean nothing and even experience (to a lesser extent) should mean nothing. If JL and the decision makers at Freo have any integrity they should make decisions based on 2 metrics.

1. Form
2 Fitness.

The uncomfortable truth is Sonny and Fyfe should not have been automatic selections in 24/25 (like they were) and we need to be ruthless if we want to achieve something that has never happened in the history of our club.

I’m still not convinced JL is bold enough to make the unpopular calls at this point.
 
Educate me on this...genuine question. Does JL have overall decision on game selections, or does someone else on the match committee have the final decision? So for example, they may take into consideration, draft order, contract, standing in the club, keeping them happy re contract negotiations, etc
 
Here are some questions related to team selection this year.

  • Does Darcy stay in the team (if not performing)?
  • Does Amiss stay in the team (if not performing)?
  • Does JOM come straight back into the team? (At the expense of someone performing)?
  • Does Freddy come straight back into the team (at the expense of someone performing)?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes then we are not a ruthless enough footy team.

We are all chips in at this point.

Reputations should mean nothing. Draft order should mean nothing. Contracts should mean nothing and even experience (to a lesser extent) should mean nothing. If JL and the decision makers at Freo have any integrity they should make decisions based on 2 metrics.

1. Form
2 Fitness.

The uncomfortable truth is Sonny and Fyfe should not have been automatic selections in 24/25 (like they were) and we need to be ruthless if we want to achieve something that has never happened in the history of our club.

I’m still not convinced JL is bold enough to make the unpopular calls at this point.

This take is THE most frustrating take atm.

Reeks of supporter bias.

JL has made a tonne of massive calls.

Lets start with just this season.

1. Didnt select Lule Ryan round 1.

2. Gave Scerri a very unexpected debut.

3. Selected Dudley round 1.

People cried about Erasmus not being selected DESPITE being a high draft pick.

JL selects Darcy over 35 year old Mason Cox for a few rounds while Darcy gains fitness playing 40% game time (which a lot of clubs are doing with the 5th sub) and people are melting.

He hasnt even picked Jaeger yet and people are pre loading the melt despite Jaeger doing just as well as some of our other wing options...

Amiss is playing third tall, who else do you want to play that role? Mason Cox? Our forward line has been on fire ffs..

Freddy had our second most combined goals and assists last season, and people are pre loading a melt that hasnt even happened yet.

JL has made a tonnenof big calls in the past, particularly ones that upset the fan base. He has given round 1 debuts, he has given unexpected debuts, he has brought back a teenage key forward after 2 months out in to an elim final, he has not selected players the fan base and media were attacking him over.

I Havent seen a single fan on this board put their hand up and go:

"You know what i apologise JL, i was wrong, Reidy should never have been picked"

Or

"JL turns out you were right about Brody, he cant even get a gig in a pre season game for Port"

JL might get things wrong no doubt about that, but this take of him being scared of big calls needs to die.
 
I think it’s pretty hard line to get right.
There are multiple angles to selection of any position, based over multiple timelines, and I’m not sure you necessarily want the hard line of, you need to play well this week or the bloke playing well in the WAFL will have your spot next week - because,

  • ironically, there’s a good chance that will impact negatively on an individuals performance - and
  • potentially to the teams detriment, as players will start chasing stats, instead of doing the team thing which goes unnoticed by fans
 

Log in to remove this Banner Ad

It's truly exhausting reading people talk about how X should be dropped or not included.

JOM had good form prior to his injury (in the SoO), so now that he is fit would he not be an inclusion under your scenario.

Yes, Darcy has been poor to start, but let's give him at least 3 games before we drop him, it's hard to suggest he's even in poor form when he's played 2 games. I'm sure I could find 10 other high caliber players who have started the year with 2 bad games, should they be dropped too.

Sonny and Fyfe are a different story altogether, people seem to forget that Sonny's last ever game (the pre-season game against Melbourne) he looked good. Fyfe was cooked but I don't think he was dragging the team down last year and his inclusion was stopping an elite A-Grader from playing (as a sub).

Keen to hear about all the ruthless clubs that are constantly making 4 changes per week in winning teams (that aren't just bringing the coaches favourites back in).

Let me lurk rage free!!
 
This take is THE most frustrating take atm.

Reeks of supporter bias.

JL has made a tonne of massive calls.

Lets start with just this season.

1. Didnt select Lule Ryan round 1.

2. Gave Scerri a very unexpected debut.

3. Selected Dudley round 1.

People cried about Erasmus not being selected DESPITE being a high draft pick.

JL selects Darcy over 35 year old Mason Cox for a few rounds while Darcy gains fitness playing 40% game time (which a lot of clubs are doing with the 5th sub) and people are melting.

He hasnt even picked Jaeger yet and people are pre loading the melt despite Jaeger doing just as well as some of our other wing options...

Amiss is playing third tall, who else do you want to play that role? Mason Cox? Our forward line has been on fire ffs..

Freddy had our second most combined goals and assists last season, and people are pre loading a melt that hasnt even happened yet.

JL has made a tonnenof big calls in the past, particularly ones that upset the fan base. He has given round 1 debuts, he has given unexpected debuts, he has brought back a teenage key forward after 2 months out in to an elim final, he has not selected players the fan base and media were attacking him over.

I Havent seen a single fan on this board put their hand up and go:

"You know what i apologise JL, i was wrong, Reidy should never have been picked"

Or

"JL turns out you were right about Brody, he cant even get a gig in a pre season game for Port"

JL might get things wrong no doubt about that, but this take of him being scared of big calls needs to die.
It's amazing what being a below average public speaker can do to your public perception. Sam Mitchell is a genius who has outperformed Freo slightly during his tenure, everything that goes right is on him, everything that goes wrong is because they are missing Will Day.

JL stutters a few times and he's a conservative idiot who won't take us to the promised land. Despite the fact that he's had to contend with more struggles than any other club (opening round oppo 3 times in a row, most travel in the comp, media having a hate boner for him, etc.) Even when we win it's because of everyone but him.

I thought our slow starts were because he and Pearce are boring people. Does that mean the fix has been that they've got some new hobbies? I'm not sure but I haven't heard anyone mention that.

I enjoy a back and forth discussion about the merits of the players/coach and the team but the constant desire to shit on JL for literally everything is an unfortunate stain on what can be a pretty interesting board.
 
This take is THE most frustrating take atm.

Reeks of supporter bias.

JL has made a tonne of massive calls.

Lets start with just this season.

1. Didnt select Lule Ryan round 1.

2. Gave Scerri a very unexpected debut.

3. Selected Dudley round 1.

People cried about Erasmus not being selected DESPITE being a high draft pick.

JL selects Darcy over 35 year old Mason Cox for a few rounds while Darcy gains fitness playing 40% game time (which a lot of clubs are doing with the 5th sub) and people are melting.

He hasnt even picked Jaeger yet and people are pre loading the melt despite Jaeger doing just as well as some of our other wing options...

Amiss is playing third tall, who else do you want to play that role? Mason Cox? Our forward line has been on fire ffs..

Freddy had our second most combined goals and assists last season, and people are pre loading a melt that hasnt even happened yet.

JL has made a tonnenof big calls in the past, particularly ones that upset the fan base. He has given round 1 debuts, he has given unexpected debuts, he has brought back a teenage key forward after 2 months out in to an elim final, he has not selected players the fan base and media were attacking him over.

I Havent seen a single fan on this board put their hand up and go:

"You know what i apologise JL, i was wrong, Reidy should never have been picked"

Or

"JL turns out you were right about Brody, he cant even get a gig in a pre season game for Port"

JL might get things wrong no doubt about that, but this take of him being scared of big calls needs to die.
You are right. The tear bags are ready to engage!
 
This take is THE most frustrating take atm.

Reeks of supporter bias.

JL has made a tonne of massive calls.

Lets start with just this season.

1. Didnt select Lule Ryan round 1.

2. Gave Scerri a very unexpected debut.

3. Selected Dudley round 1.

People cried about Erasmus not being selected DESPITE being a high draft pick.

JL selects Darcy over 35 year old Mason Cox for a few rounds while Darcy gains fitness playing 40% game time (which a lot of clubs are doing with the 5th sub) and people are melting.

He hasnt even picked Jaeger yet and people are pre loading the melt despite Jaeger doing just as well as some of our other wing options...

Amiss is playing third tall, who else do you want to play that role? Mason Cox? Our forward line has been on fire ffs..

Freddy had our second most combined goals and assists last season, and people are pre loading a melt that hasnt even happened yet.

JL has made a tonnenof big calls in the past, particularly ones that upset the fan base. He has given round 1 debuts, he has given unexpected debuts, he has brought back a teenage key forward after 2 months out in to an elim final, he has not selected players the fan base and media were attacking him over.

I Havent seen a single fan on this board put their hand up and go:

"You know what i apologise JL, i was wrong, Reidy should never have been picked"

Or

"JL turns out you were right about Brody, he cant even get a gig in a pre season game for Port"

JL might get things wrong no doubt about that, but this take of him being scared of big calls needs to die.
Magnificent piece of work. Sir/Madam, I applaud you. I dips me lid to you.
Chapeau.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
And as a post script, remember, that haters will always hate. They know no other way they will talk about wanting to see us , Fremantle fc, succeed. But hey you numb nuts, WE ALL want that, but your uninteligable comments DO NOT help in any way.
 
Last edited:
This take is THE most frustrating take atm.

Reeks of supporter bias.

JL has made a tonne of massive calls.

Lets start with just this season.

1. Didnt select Lule Ryan round 1.

2. Gave Scerri a very unexpected debut.

3. Selected Dudley round 1.

People cried about Erasmus not being selected DESPITE being a high draft pick.

JL selects Darcy over 35 year old Mason Cox for a few rounds while Darcy gains fitness playing 40% game time (which a lot of clubs are doing with the 5th sub) and people are melting.

He hasnt even picked Jaeger yet and people are pre loading the melt despite Jaeger doing just as well as some of our other wing options...

Amiss is playing third tall, who else do you want to play that role? Mason Cox? Our forward line has been on fire ffs..

Freddy had our second most combined goals and assists last season, and people are pre loading a melt that hasnt even happened yet.

JL has made a tonnenof big calls in the past, particularly ones that upset the fan base. He has given round 1 debuts, he has given unexpected debuts, he has brought back a teenage key forward after 2 months out in to an elim final, he has not selected players the fan base and media were attacking him over.

I Havent seen a single fan on this board put their hand up and go:

"You know what i apologise JL, i was wrong, Reidy should never have been picked"

Or

"JL turns out you were right about Brody, he cant even get a gig in a pre season game for Port"

JL might get things wrong no doubt about that, but this take of him being scared of big calls needs to die.
I will give you Scerri as a bold move but Luke Ryan was sick, and the Dudley selection was not that bold (he’s a goal kicking small forward that played 15 games last year).
 
This take is THE most frustrating take atm.

Reeks of supporter bias.

JL has made a tonne of massive calls.

Lets start with just this season.

1. Didnt select Lule Ryan round 1.

2. Gave Scerri a very unexpected debut.

3. Selected Dudley round 1.

People cried about Erasmus not being selected DESPITE being a high draft pick.

JL selects Darcy over 35 year old Mason Cox for a few rounds while Darcy gains fitness playing 40% game time (which a lot of clubs are doing with the 5th sub) and people are melting.

He hasnt even picked Jaeger yet and people are pre loading the melt despite Jaeger doing just as well as some of our other wing options...

Amiss is playing third tall, who else do you want to play that role? Mason Cox? Our forward line has been on fire ffs..

Freddy had our second most combined goals and assists last season, and people are pre loading a melt that hasnt even happened yet.

JL has made a tonnenof big calls in the past, particularly ones that upset the fan base. He has given round 1 debuts, he has given unexpected debuts, he has brought back a teenage key forward after 2 months out in to an elim final, he has not selected players the fan base and media were attacking him over.

I Havent seen a single fan on this board put their hand up and go:

"You know what i apologise JL, i was wrong, Reidy should never have been picked"

Or

"JL turns out you were right about Brody, he cant even get a gig in a pre season game for Port"

JL might get things wrong no doubt about that, but this take of him being scared of big calls needs to die.
Name a big name player in the last 5 years that has been dropped?

A coach like Luke Beverage has no qualms doing it.
 
It's amazing what being a below average public speaker can do to your public perception. Sam Mitchell is a genius who has outperformed Freo slightly during his tenure, everything that goes right is on him, everything that goes wrong is because they are missing Will Day.

JL stutters a few times and he's a conservative idiot who won't take us to the promised land. Despite the fact that he's had to contend with more struggles than any other club (opening round oppo 3 times in a row, most travel in the comp, media having a hate boner for him, etc.) Even when we win it's because of everyone but him.

I thought our slow starts were because he and Pearce are boring people. Does that mean the fix has been that they've got some new hobbies? I'm not sure but I haven't heard anyone mention that.

I enjoy a back and forth discussion about the merits of the players/coach and the team but the constant desire to shit on JL for literally everything is an unfortunate stain on what can be a pretty interesting board.
I couldn’t care less about public speaking. I’m talking about bold decisions made on form and fitness rather than reputation.

Pretty sure Mitchell selected Dear over Lewis last year because Dear was in better form. That is what I am talking about. It’s the same as Bevo selecting young guys over Treloar, or McRae not offering Mitchell a contract or Clarkson trading out Lewis and Hodge.

These are all unpopular decisions that have nothing to do with reputations and everything to do with what puts the club in a better position to succeed.

If Clarkson was coaching Freo in the last few years Fyfe and Walters would not have been automatic selections.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Magnificent piece of work. Sir/Madam, I applaud you. I dips me lid to you.
Chapeau.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
And as a post script, remember, that haters will always hate. They know no other way they will talk about wanting to see us , Fremantle fc, succeed. But hey you numb nuts, WE ALL want that, but your uninteligable comments DO NOT help in any way.
Nothing anybody says on here makes any difference to the club. It’s a place to share thoughts and opinions. Sometimes they will be negative or critical.

You can always create the “Glaze Fremantle Thread” and silo yourself in that echo chamber if it makes you feel better?

JLo has objectively made some bad selection decisions, as all coaches have before him, we shouldn’t just ignore that.

(Whether or not that’s worthy of a specific thread to discuss is another matter entirely)
 
You mean like the CHB that Bevo now has on his own team?
So who is the big name Freo player that JL has dropped?
and don’t give me Luke Ryan round 1 (who was sick anyway)
Or Fyfe for having to play a game at Peel (who was coming back from long term injury anyway).
 
The problem with discussion selection integrity is ultimately integrity against what?

Each coach (and their coaching team) will have a broad selection philosophy on how to best reach elite peeformance, for example providing a productive environment and sufficient security to try and fail vs ruthless.
History has shown approaches across that whole spectrum can work.

In addition as some further points;
  • Measuring performance - we can measure disposals and sometimes get insights into other statistics (ground covered, different rating systems, etc.etc.), but we will always see this different to the selection committee because we're not measuring the same things (performance of assigned role, much more data, etc.)
  • Team vs individual - the easiest thing to see is how an individual goes, however the goal is for the team to have the best chance of winning, which means a "better" player could be left out
  • Game plan - closely related to the above two, but different game plans require different roles and put emphasis on different attributes, and therefore different selections
  • Short vs long term - decisions have to be made about prioritising winning the specific game vs the ultimate goal for that season (development, reaching finals, winning the cup as some examples depending on where a team sits)
 
Name a big name player in the last 5 years that has been dropped?

A coach like Luke Beverage has no qualms doing it.
So who is the big name Freo player that JL has dropped?
and don’t give me Luke Ryan round 1 (who was sick anyway)
Or Fyfe for having to play a game at Peel (who was coming back from long term injury anyway).

Luke Beveridge is a clear example of someone who operates with quite a different selection philosophy than many other coaches.

It's also clear JLo doesn't necessarily use a "big name dropping" as a key tool, and you can criticise that if you think it's wrong. He has made some selection calls that are bold outside of the top 10 players which have already been listed.

Ruling out Luke Ryan as an aside I don't agree with because JLo had signposted that a long way out, and Ryan wasn't an automatic inclusion, he only came in once Walker couldn't get up for the game.
 
Last edited:

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Me too. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.
I can’t figure out whether you are expressing agreement with this comment, or expressing disagreement with the comment by ironically expressing agreement with it, or agreeing with the comment as an ironic expression of disagreement with what it literally says, or disagreeing with the comment as an ironic expression of disagreement with what it literally says by ironically expressing agreement with what it ironically says.

But seeing as you tend to have a few intelligent things to say, I’m going to assume that you agree with me, and leave the question as to what it is we agree over unanswered.
 
It’s the inconsistency that confuses me. Choosing not to play Ryan, whether down to fitness or form, was a good step in the right direction. But why are we continuing to play a clearly unfit Darcy, and what was the point in the recruitment of Cox if not for periods like this where Darcy is still well off the pace? And then Ryan comes in and is one of our best, while Darcy has been comfortably one of our worst the past 2 weeks. It doesn’t make sense.

Where did this idea come from that the only way Darcy can get match fitness is the AFL? We had WAFL preseason last week, this week and then R1 the week after. Why do we continue to sacrifice a spot in the main team, for him to play 40-50% game time as a glorified sub, and for him to have little-to-no impact, often negative impact? Is that really the most efficient use of Darcy and the extra interchange spot?

JL is a structure/system over everything guy so guys like Darcy and Amiss can have 10 games in a row of no impact or negative impact and they’ll keep their spots, but what about Sharp? Had multiple <10 disposal games last year and people were saying his role was to be a decoy and guard space, until he was permanently dropped midway through last year and has yet to return. What happened there?

There’s different standards for different players and it doesn’t really make sense.
 
It’s the inconsistency that confuses me. Choosing not to play Ryan, whether down to fitness or form, was a good step in the right direction. But why are we continuing to play a clearly unfit Darcy, and what was the point in the recruitment of Cox if not for periods like this where Darcy is still well off the pace? And then Ryan comes in and is one of our best, while Darcy has been comfortably one of our worst the past 2 weeks. It doesn’t make sense.

Where did this idea come from that the only way Darcy can get match fitness is the AFL? We had WAFL preseason last week, this week and then R1 the week after. Why do we continue to sacrifice a spot in the main team, for him to play 40-50% game time as a glorified sub, and for him to have little-to-no impact, often negative impact? Is that really the most efficient use of Darcy and the extra interchange spot?

JL is a structure/system over everything guy so guys like Darcy and Amiss can have 10 games in a row of no impact or negative impact and they’ll keep their spots, but what about Sharp? Had multiple <10 disposal games last year and people were saying his role was to be a decoy and guard space, until he was permanently dropped midway through last year and has yet to return. What happened there?

There’s different standards for different players and it doesn’t really make sense.
I'll just elaborate on Sharp and I assume that it is more or less the basics for the others.

I think there is no doubt that Longmuir and co wanted Sharp as our long-term winger. He had already had some development but wasn't the finished product. To get him there they invested games into him, but clearly he didn't progress to the required level. As a systems based coach it is fundamental.

I also think every coach/club would have that going on to some extent.

  • Ryan seems to have been asked to adapt. Slow the game down less especially.
  • Big Cox may have had the same requirement to adapt his game, or they don't want him to roll forward. And clearly they regard Darcy as the better option.
  • Amiss is playing in a firing forward line, which is a tick for the structure.
  • banking on Scerri over a known quantity would be brave, but that's what happened. Switkowski has been mentioned several times as mentoring players.
 
This is far from an issue IMO.

People lose their sh** on here when a player plays one or two bad games in row and act like said player has been sh** for the whole season when they were in our top five players three games ago.

I don't agree with selection of Darcy but without the power of hindsight I wouldn't change much else, especially noting Ryan didn't play any level of footy in round one.

If anything I would've selected Murray instead of Dudley and then again instead of Scerri.

Would've 100% selected Amiss and Switta and still would do it again if we hadn't played a game yet.

Almost everyone on here would do worse than those actually selecting the team.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Remove this Banner Ad

🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.

Back
Top Bottom