Stick Fat Guys n Gals

[Darcy 2 Fyfe]

Facts-

• Freo have been in a slump for 5 weeks
• Freo are 12-2 on top of the ladder
• Teams rarely hold form for 27 weeks
• Footy fans are fickle
• Clarke 2 Fyfe has faith

Unknowns-

• Will we improve
• Will the others drop off
• Do you have faith?

 

[Sweetback]

Our forward line is a real problem against the top sides with decent defences, like the Hawks, like Richmond. We need to make structural changes around that. Once Dawson and Johnson are back, they will help with the defence so we can try A Pearce up forward, but that's still an unknown. I think, if we're serious about winning the flag this year, we have to play Fyfe forward more and work on the balance of the midfield from there. Ballas or Mayne have to be told explicitly to kick goals as a KPI for the rest of the year or else one of them has to go for Crozier or Weller.

 

[Darcy 2 Fyfe]

Our forward line is a real problem against the top sides with decent defences, like the Hawks, like Richmond. We need to make structural changes around that. Once Dawson and Johnson are back, they will help with the defence so we can try A Pearce up forward, but that's still an unknown. I think, if we're serious about winning the flag this year, we have to play Fyfe forward more and work on the balance of the midfield from there. Ballas or Mayne have to be told explicitly to kick goals as a KPI for the rest of the year or else one of them has to go for Crozier or Weller.

I agree to keep A Pearce in and push him forward, he's a first 22 lock. We just can't get caught up in the hype. I think today we were up against it with the location / conditions. I'm not making excuses, I was there for the Geelong final at Skilled but I truly believe we are a lot better than today. The umpires stalled our forward thrusts for the first hour and we lost belief.
This side is made of sterner stuff and as you say we have some quality to return.
I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the review with the players. Theres a real opportunity this year, Ross knows it he just need to make the players realise.

 

[rodney hoo]

It's good advice but f..k I'm shattered. Thanks the Wimbledon men's is on later to take my mind off it. The crap we will cop from others supporters will be tragic.

 

[Sweetback]

I agree to keep A Pearce in and push him forward, he's a first 22 lock. We just can't get caught up in the hype. I think today we were up against it with the location / conditions. I'm not making excuses, I was there for the Geelong final at Skilled but I truly believe we are a lot better than today. The umpires stalled our forward thrusts for the first hour and we lost belief.
This side is made of sterner stuff and as you say we have some quality to return.
I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the review with the players. Theres a real opportunity this year, Ross knows it he just need to make the players realise.

I think the last six games of slogging it out has taken its toll but it doesn't explain how crap we were from the outset of this game. We just let them bully us. Mitchell and Hodge both know how to press our buttons.

I don't think the opportunity is going to come from the players this year, it's down to Ross. Failure is feedback, he likes to say. As was mentioned during the game, one of the few good things about losing so badly in round 14 is that we have time to change tack.

 

[Darcy 2 Fyfe]

It's good advice but f..k I'm shattered. Thanks the Wimbledon men's is on later to take my mind off it. The crap we will cop from others supporters will be tragic.

We've dealt with that for years. Freo are hunters and do not hunt well themselves. We need adversity and right now we have it in spades and we're 12 wins and 2 losses. You couldn't script it better for a blue collar club. STICK FAT!

 

[simpsonwillo]

A week is a long time in footy. There's another 8 weeks left of the regular season.

 

[Lost_Deputy]

Good thread! I'm bloody gutted but we have a window, abeit small, to turn this thing around. Hard calls needs to be made, cliche's need to be heeded instead of just being recited and most of all we need some strong leadership.

We are still in a position to do this. Teams have had hiccups of epic proportions and gone on to win. BUT we gotta move, right bloody now as the finals are only one chapter away.

 

[Seppo]

"Nothing is ever bad or as good as it seems to be."

 

[Lithium]

Port went through a similar patch last year and then went on to miss the Grandfinal by 3 points. We also had a poor couple of games that we lost around the same stage. Your current form doesn't mean to much.
Your still a game clear, and if you recapture early season form you will be right back in the mix.
Remember, we flogged you guys at the G early last season, then you nocked us off on your home deck. No reason why that couldn't happen again this year.

 

[Darcy 2 Fyfe]

Good thread! I'm bloody gutted but we have a window, abeit small, to turn this thing around. Hard calls needs to be made, cliche's need to be heeded instead of just being recited and most of all we need some strong leadership.

We are still in a position to do this. Teams have had hiccups of epic proportions and gone on to win. BUT we gotta move, right bloody now as the finals are only one chapter away.

I agree, when the Turks stormed the trenches the Anzacs didn't turn turtle, they stood up. We have a very serious chance at this. The fact people now know we're beatable helps us in an ironic way. Our players need to earn their spots.
For me some tough calls need to be made. For starters-
Ballantyne our, Crozier in
Clarke out Griffin in
DeBoer out Gray in

These blokes may earn their way back but at the moment they aren't earning $h!t except match payments. Play your way in, play your way out.

 

[Scatter]

Love the thread. I really think Ross has immense respect for Clarksons coaching and didnt want to show much today. I'm not saying he tanked or the players didn't try, but I still have faith that he has some tricks up his sleeve that he didn't want to reveal today. And everything went the Hawks way today as well.

 

[TheInjuryFactory]

We've dealt with that for years. Freo are hunters and do not hunt well themselves. We need adversity and right now we have it in spades and we're 12 wins and 2 losses. You couldn't script it better for a blue collar club. STICK FAT!

This. Bravo Clarke 2 Fyfe. it's easy to go the negative with such great expectation, hats off for having the gumption to look to the positive side of the coin so quickly and to lead the rest of us in that respect. We have absolutely dealt with it for years, and we've developed pretty thick skins I reckon.

However a loss like today is depressing and we can afford ourselves some slack in that regard, we have just received a fairly acute audit of where we are at and it has left a bitter taste in most Freo mouths it's fair to say. Some changes need to be made and made quick, but we have a lot to be proud of this group for, and at the very least we will see where our list is really at over the last third of the year. Out of adversity comes opportunity. There are plenty of blokes on the list who are waiting in the wings to take their chance, it might be time to reward them.

 

[ilikepotatoes]

We only have to beat the Hawks once this year.

 

[FreoGirl]

Today was predictable yet still disappointing. We've had an awesome start to the season yet hit a slump. Can't wait for Johnson to come back!