The Clubs
Fremantle Dockers
Conceived in 1994, played their first game in 1995 season. Either the AFL felt the good people of W.A. deserved an alternative to the drug ridden, sociopathic Eagles, or they saw a market opportunity.
It was an abject lesson in how not to create a football club:
-a dirge of a club song ( the worst in the AFL)
-a cluttered, messy strip of 4 colours
-a coach who believed only in attack
-a nickname whose intellectual property was held by a USA company
-poor recruitment ( missed Andrew McLeod )
They stumbled through the following years, reaching a high point in 2013 with a grand final loss to Hawthorn (could happen to anyone). They began a decline, accelerated by a persistent, heavy injury burden, and a coach whose commitment to defence caused a Dementorsuck of souls from supporters. A penchant for trading in broken, culturally damaging players ( Hogan, Bennell, McArthy,) often at stupidly high trade cost, didn’t help.
They brought in a marketing guy as CEO ( what could possibly go wrong??). and became a stepping stone for executives to progress their careers, with FFC being incidental damage. Then, something happened!
They brought in Peter Bell, as Football Manager. Then Simon Garlick as CEO. They prioritised good culture over reputation. They brought in a new coach, a club legend who had acquired experience as an assistant at multiple successful clubs. There was competence. Their fans are still in shock.
Their recent drafting has been good. Their crackajack drafting years have been 2016 (Darcy, Cox, Brennan), 2017 (Brayshaw, Cerra, Meek ,Switkowski) and 2019 (Serong,Young, Henry). And Gold Coast has been a gold mine, with two first round picks for Lachie Weller, and Will Brodie as a salary cap dump they were almost paid to take. So, you can see, their rebuild is a couple of years ahead of ours. Brodie, Aish, Acres, Colyer, Clark, Lobb are all improved valuable imports.
Sydney Swans
What can you say about the Swannies?
Foundation club, first of the VFA, then, in 1897 a foundation club of the VFL. They won premierships in1909, 1918, 1933, then the famous 2005 and 2012 victories. We have greats such as Bobby Skilton, Paul Kelly and Adam Goodes. We have come to expect success, with a 2 year absence from the finals endured as an aberration.
2020 was a brilliant draft year for us, with McDonald, Campbell and Gulden. Paddy McCartin in the SSP draft has been a gift, though one that keeps us with our hearts in our mouths for him. Heeney and Mills should be in their prime, though both are held back a little by injury.
The Coaches
Well, if you believe Channel 9, John Longmire coaches both teams simultaneously. Clever guy! Both are: country boys, forwards who retired due to injury, decent, likeable blokes who don’t disrespect their opposition or bag their own players.
The Teams
Freo’s defence is their major strength. They are both talented and well-drilled, with good depth. Luke Ryan and Brennan Cox are smart and tough. They like the ball in Hayden Young’s hands, as he is a great long kick.
Their midfield, mainly led by hard-working Andrew Brayshaw, has improved with the addition of big-bodied Will Brodie. Meanwhile, the evergreen David Mundy ( 18 months older than our Lance) , offers some more protection to the lighter Serong and Brayshaw. Working out how to fit Fyfe into an effective midfield is a continuing issue. Sean Darcy is one of the comp.’s best rucks, giving good service to the mids.
Their forward line is their vulnerability. Taberner is often injured , and although he runs hard,, he can do some Haywardesque stuff-ups. They have depended on their small forwards-Schulz, Colyer, Fredericks and Walters .The Swannies backline hasn’t been the rock of previous seasons. Dane’s been struggling. Tom McCartin’s evolving into a good CHB, and Paddy is a great intercept defender. Our lack of a giant defender probably isn’t the problem vs Freo, although Lobb could cause problems.
Tom should take Tabs and rearrange when Lobb’s forward.. But our small defenders haven’t been great either. Harry C. should take Shulz, but I don’t know who has the speed for Fredericks and Colyer. Do we sacrifice Juzzy’s attacking flair? Can Errol’s smarts negate the access ?Our mids are inconsistent. Freo’s mids aren’t overly fast, but they can move the ball quickly. We are going to need first hands or defend really rapidly. Would you tag Brayshaw?
Overall
Freo has the wood on us in consistency and depth this season. If we can pressure the distribution of the ball inside their 50- by Young, Clark, and their wings then we can win. If they bring their pressure game, and we just bomb it in, we’re in trouble.
Both sides are coming off big wins against Victorian pretenders. Freo hope to break into the top two. Swannies to make top four.
Here’s hoping for a glorious Perth winter’s day, no injuries and a high quality game, with an insane Isaac Heeney mark and goal to win.
Fremantle Dockers
Conceived in 1994, played their first game in 1995 season. Either the AFL felt the good people of W.A. deserved an alternative to the drug ridden, sociopathic Eagles, or they saw a market opportunity.
It was an abject lesson in how not to create a football club:
-a dirge of a club song ( the worst in the AFL)
-a cluttered, messy strip of 4 colours
-a coach who believed only in attack
-a nickname whose intellectual property was held by a USA company
-poor recruitment ( missed Andrew McLeod )
They stumbled through the following years, reaching a high point in 2013 with a grand final loss to Hawthorn (could happen to anyone). They began a decline, accelerated by a persistent, heavy injury burden, and a coach whose commitment to defence caused a Dementorsuck of souls from supporters. A penchant for trading in broken, culturally damaging players ( Hogan, Bennell, McArthy,) often at stupidly high trade cost, didn’t help.
They brought in a marketing guy as CEO ( what could possibly go wrong??). and became a stepping stone for executives to progress their careers, with FFC being incidental damage. Then, something happened!
They brought in Peter Bell, as Football Manager. Then Simon Garlick as CEO. They prioritised good culture over reputation. They brought in a new coach, a club legend who had acquired experience as an assistant at multiple successful clubs. There was competence. Their fans are still in shock.
Their recent drafting has been good. Their crackajack drafting years have been 2016 (Darcy, Cox, Brennan), 2017 (Brayshaw, Cerra, Meek ,Switkowski) and 2019 (Serong,Young, Henry). And Gold Coast has been a gold mine, with two first round picks for Lachie Weller, and Will Brodie as a salary cap dump they were almost paid to take. So, you can see, their rebuild is a couple of years ahead of ours. Brodie, Aish, Acres, Colyer, Clark, Lobb are all improved valuable imports.
Sydney Swans
What can you say about the Swannies?
Foundation club, first of the VFA, then, in 1897 a foundation club of the VFL. They won premierships in1909, 1918, 1933, then the famous 2005 and 2012 victories. We have greats such as Bobby Skilton, Paul Kelly and Adam Goodes. We have come to expect success, with a 2 year absence from the finals endured as an aberration.
2020 was a brilliant draft year for us, with McDonald, Campbell and Gulden. Paddy McCartin in the SSP draft has been a gift, though one that keeps us with our hearts in our mouths for him. Heeney and Mills should be in their prime, though both are held back a little by injury.
The Coaches
Well, if you believe Channel 9, John Longmire coaches both teams simultaneously. Clever guy! Both are: country boys, forwards who retired due to injury, decent, likeable blokes who don’t disrespect their opposition or bag their own players.
The Teams
Freo’s defence is their major strength. They are both talented and well-drilled, with good depth. Luke Ryan and Brennan Cox are smart and tough. They like the ball in Hayden Young’s hands, as he is a great long kick.
Their midfield, mainly led by hard-working Andrew Brayshaw, has improved with the addition of big-bodied Will Brodie. Meanwhile, the evergreen David Mundy ( 18 months older than our Lance) , offers some more protection to the lighter Serong and Brayshaw. Working out how to fit Fyfe into an effective midfield is a continuing issue. Sean Darcy is one of the comp.’s best rucks, giving good service to the mids.
Their forward line is their vulnerability. Taberner is often injured , and although he runs hard,, he can do some Haywardesque stuff-ups. They have depended on their small forwards-Schulz, Colyer, Fredericks and Walters .The Swannies backline hasn’t been the rock of previous seasons. Dane’s been struggling. Tom McCartin’s evolving into a good CHB, and Paddy is a great intercept defender. Our lack of a giant defender probably isn’t the problem vs Freo, although Lobb could cause problems.
Tom should take Tabs and rearrange when Lobb’s forward.. But our small defenders haven’t been great either. Harry C. should take Shulz, but I don’t know who has the speed for Fredericks and Colyer. Do we sacrifice Juzzy’s attacking flair? Can Errol’s smarts negate the access ?Our mids are inconsistent. Freo’s mids aren’t overly fast, but they can move the ball quickly. We are going to need first hands or defend really rapidly. Would you tag Brayshaw?
Overall
Freo has the wood on us in consistency and depth this season. If we can pressure the distribution of the ball inside their 50- by Young, Clark, and their wings then we can win. If they bring their pressure game, and we just bomb it in, we’re in trouble.
Both sides are coming off big wins against Victorian pretenders. Freo hope to break into the top two. Swannies to make top four.
Here’s hoping for a glorious Perth winter’s day, no injuries and a high quality game, with an insane Isaac Heeney mark and goal to win.
