Todays press...

[Lach72]

Thought I'd get all the bashing articles in the one place

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rf...emonise-dockers/2008/05/18/1211049069792.html

FREMANTLE'S season of near-hits and agonising misses continued at Subiaco yesterday when the demons of the past two matches came back to terrorise it in a gut-wrenching final few minutes of the match against the Western Bulldogs.

The Dockers led by 19 points early in the last term before old stager Jason Akermanis and the multi-skilled Adam Cooney orchestrated a fightback that left the Dockers' season in the gutter.

In the white-knuckle final few minutes, Fremantle's Heath Black and Michael Johnson were caught in possession as the frantic Dockers tried to free the ball up across half-back.

The Dogs, though, had the Dockers under lock and key in the final five minutes after Chris Tarrant, Jeff Farmer and Matthew Pavlich all had scored goals to give the Dockers the biggest lead of the match.

Big margins, though, are something Dockers fans never feel comfortable about.

Yesterday, in the 17.12 (114) to 17.9 (111) loss, was no exception.

Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade, vocal and animated during the first-quarter break, provided the matchwinning move in the last term when he swung Akermanis into the midfield and Cooney to full-forward.

Aka was a jet. He continually won the ball from the centre square, and his delivery was better than Australia Post.

With skipper Brad Johnson relatively quiet, Cooney's aerial strength and mobility worried Luke McPharlin and the Bulldog's two goals — the 15th and 16th — were key components of the victory.

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey watched on helplessly as Fremantle's Groundhog Day played out before 35,000 fans.

While the Bulldogs remain unbeaten, they were far from convincing, apart from the last term when the big guns wielded an influence.

It was another tragic end in a tragic season for Fremantle but the Dockers took heart from the club debut of Kepler Bradley, who appears almost to be an accidental hero at times, and the continued excellence of Rhys Palmer and good work of Garrick Ibbotson.

Michael Johnson and Roger Hayden were outstanding in defence, while Tarrant has rarely had a greater influence on a game.

But, for all that, some critical errors at crucial times — none more so than when Steven Dodd's senseless push on Lindsay Gilbee caused the umpire to overturn a 50-metre penalty — proved fatal.

Both teams made changes to the announced line-ups, with Tom Williams replacing Tim Callan for the Dogs, while the Dockers swung Brett Peake in for Andrew Foster. Peake started on the bench but had an impact with his running capacity in the first half while Williams' game was blighted by a few howlers in defence.

He was no orphan. Cameron Wight's shanked pass across goal fell into the grateful arms of Pavlich, who goaled from the square.

Fremantle's first three goals came from defensive lapses from the Bulldogs, who received a blast from Eade at quarter-time.

The third-placed Bulldogs were a point up but played with far less authority than they have all season, fumbling and showing little of the flair that has buoyed supporters.

As expected, Ryan Crowley tagged Brownlow Medal fancy Cooney, while Shaun McManus had a run-with role on Ryan Griffen.

The pair had an influence through the midfield but the Bulldogs' prime movers came in attack, where Akermanis and Robert Murphy troubled the Dockers' defence.

Murphy kicked two goals on Dodd in the first term, while Akermanis also booted two in the first half. While some around him struggled with their skills on a cloudless Perth day, Akermanis invariably chose the right option at the right time and executed brilliantly.

The Dogs took a 13-point lead midway through the second term but hard running from Hayden in defence, along with in-and-under efforts from Palmer and Peter Bell, provided Fremantle with enough possession to make a surge.

The Dockers' sometimes-maligned recruits were especially prominent, with Tarrant booting two first-half goals and his pass just before the half-time siren found Pavlich, who goaled. It gave the Dockers a one-point lead at the big break and the home team grabbed the momentum in the third as the conditions started to tell on the Dogs.

Palmer and Hayden continued to break the lines, while Peake, not known for his kicking, booted two goals on the run to give the Dockers a three-goal cushion at three-quarter-time.

Tarrant and Pavlich both booted their third goals for the term under the strong ruck dominance of Aaron Sandilands.

Murphy slotted his third for the term, while Brad Johnson kicked his first but the skipper had little impact on the game.

Fremantle made the first surge in the final term but it seems no lead is big enough for the Dockers.

W BULLDOGS 6.3 9.4 11.8 17.12 (114)
FREMANTLE 6.2 9.5 14.8 17.9 (111)

GOALS Western Bulldogs: Murphy 3, Akermanis 3, Giansiracusa 2, Cooney 2, Welsh 2, Hudson, Hahn, Minson, Eagleton, Johnson. Fremantle: Tarrant 4, Pavlich 4, Peake 2, Palmer, Ibbotson, Bradley, Solomon, Mundy, Crowley, Farmer.

BEST Western Bulldogs: Akermanis, Murphy, Cross, Cooney, Griffen. Fremantle: Palmer, Tarrant, Sandilands, Bell, Pavlich.

INJURIES Fremantle: Drum (hamstring).

UMPIRES James, Jeffery, Keating.

CROWD 35,624 at Subiaco Oval.

BEFORE THE BOUNCE Both teams made late changes. Fremantle replaced Andrew Foster with Brett Peake while Tom Williams came into the Bulldogs' line-up after Tim Callan injured a calf. Ryan Crowley tagged Brownlow Medal favourite Adam Cooney.

OUTSTANDING Jason Akermanis reminded everyone of why he won a Brownlow Medal. His use of the ball was first-class and ensured the Dogs had chances to score. The former Lion kicked three goals, set up two more and also had 19 disposals in a best-on-ground performance.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT Chris Tarrant repaid the faith shown in him by Fremantle's coaching staff with four goals. The All-Australian forward kicked a major in each quarter. He kicked soccer goals, bananas and set shots. Tarrant also set up two goals for Matthew Pavlich in his best game for some time.

OUTLOOK The Dockers head to Victoria for a match against Carlton at Telstra Dome on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs have seven days to prepare for a clash with North Melbourne at Telstra Dome on Sunday evening.

 

[Lach72]

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/ne...tives-from-loss/2008/05/18/1211049074487.html

FREMANTLE'S dismal 2008 campaign plummeted to a new low yesterday when it capitulated yet again, this time to the Western Bulldogs by three points, but captain Matthew Pavlich last night denied the Dockers were mentally scarred after coughing up significant leads in their past three games.

Fremantle blew a 51-point lead against Melbourne in round seven to lose by a goal and lost to Geelong by a point in round six, despite holding a 39-point lead during the second term.

"Yes, we've had leads in all of the games but two of those teams we've played are very good teams. We always knew that they'd come again," Pavlich said.

"But I felt as though we've had the game in our grasp in all three games and to not come out with four points in any of the games is bitterly disappointing.

"There was still plenty of time to play in the last quarter (at the 12-minute mark), so it probably wasn't all over. But I felt as though we might have a bit of momentum from that stage on to go on with it and at least hold them at bay.

"I think the guys taking risks was fine. We needed to take more risks, as it turned out. We were obviously down, so we needed to play with some freedom and move the ball as quickly as possible. We needed to really play on and move it into our open forward line because everyone had pushed up the ground."

While besieged Dockers coach Mark Harvey lamented yet another heart-breaking result, Western Bulldogs counterpart Rodney Eade praised his charges' character and leadership as they continued to stalk runaway premiership fancies Geelong and Hawthorn and retain their unbeaten status.

Eade revealed that at team meetings last week, the Bulldogs had spoken about Fremantle's inability to play a sustained four quarters and sensed the home side was vulnerable even when the Dockers had a three-goal lead at the last change.

"We played our get-out-of-jail card because we were outplayed for three quarters," Eade said. "Our first three (quarters) were terrible, our skills and our decision-making was the worst I have seen all year. We were shocking. But I thought we could lift because we have proved it in other games this year. And in most of the games we have been challenged (in), we have been able to answer that challenge.

"Statistics can lie, but the fact is they are the worst fourth-quarter team in the competition … so that was some comfort for some guys," Eade said.

Despite staying on the coat-tails of Geelong and Hawthorn, Eade said his side did not yet deserve to be ranked with the competition trailblazers.

"Geelong are the premiership side and they are undefeated, so it is a fair chance they are the No. 1 side, and Hawthorn are playing fantastic footy," Eade said.

Harvey denied the season, which again promised a great deal but has produced precious little, was a disaster and that his charges had forgotten how to win, even though their sole victory was in the round-three western derby.

"You forget how to win if you get beaten by big margins regularly," Harvey said. "We're right in the forefront of games and that's a credit to the way they play the game. They just don't show enough composure in the last quarter, that's what's happening to us.

"I'm disappointed for the group. It can be hard to take at times. We've just got to find that way to overcome the problem that we've got at the moment. We are (concerned at our last quarters), it would be fair to say.

"Once again, it's a top-four side we played and we get beaten by a small margin, so that's where we're at."

Fremantle held the whip-hand for the most part against the Bulldogs and stretched its lead to 19 points early in the final quarter.

But Eade's decision to move Adam Cooney forward and Jason Akermanis into the midfield during the last quarter sparked the visitors, who kicked four of the last five goals, including the final three, to triumph 17.12 (114) to 17.9 (111).

The defeat leaves the Dockers 1-7 and in 14th position and comes after a difficult week at the club where the spotlight continued to shine on departing chief executive Cameron Schwab, who has upset some of his senior staff by talking to AFL heavyweights about a potential position next year while remaining involved in Fremantle's strategic planning beyond this season.

Schwab still believes it is viable to remain in his post until October 31, but that appears increasingly unlikely.

Fremantle's woes might not be confined solely to the scoreboard. High-priced forward Chris Tarrant played a starring role yesterday, kicking four goals in one of his best performances for the club, but his first-quarter contact with the head and neck region of Daniel Cross will be looked at by the AFL match review panel.

Harvey said a hamstring injury to Marcus Drum had affected the team's rotations, as had the heavy personnel alterations at selection, suggesting he would make only the bare minimum of changes for next Saturday's game against Carlton at Telstra Dome.

 

[Docker Clint]

Seems like a reasonably fair article under the circumstances.

 

[Lach72]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23720411-19742,00.html

THE Bulldogs' confidence has bubbled towards boiling point after a come-from-behind victory against Fremantle at Subiaco yesterday. The Dogs maintained their unbeaten charge toward their first top-four finish in a decade, kicking six goals to three in the last quarter to win by three points.

Fremantle, in yet another stunning collapse, led by 18 points 12 minutes into the last term when Matthew Pavlich kicked a booming goal from outside 50m.

But the Dockers did not score again as the Bulldogs further underlined their claims of being a genuine premiership contender with the fighting spirit central to the league's best blue-collar outfit.

Adam Cooney kicked two goals and Scott Welsh one for the visitors in the final 15 minutes, while Ryan Griffen and Daniel Cross were outstanding all day when many of the Dogs' other matchwinners were down.


Fremantle's surrender, keeping it rooted at the foot of the AFL table, earned the jeers of its supporters as players trudged off the field like shattered men.

The lead changed 10 times before three-quarter time but only once in the final term, when the Bulldogs pinched the ascendancy at the 22-minute mark and were not headed.

The Dockers broke the game open by kicking five goals to two in the third quarter and looked like sailing towards their second win of the season.

While Chris Tarrant and Matthew Pavlich played leading roles throughout, young Rising Star favourite Rhys Palmer, 19, was inspirational, igniting the Dockers' midfield run.

The Bulldogs' work rate has been the key to their glittering start to the season, but they were clearly outworked for most of yesterday.

The Dogs made an indecisive start and were lucky to emerge up by one point at the first change.

Essendon discard Kepler Bradley, playing in the ruck in his first match for Fremantle, enjoyed a standout 10-possession opening term to provide plenty of forward supply.

But the Dogs, leaning almost entirely on Robert Murphy up forward, were able to counter the flow, kicking seven goals from their first 10 inside-50s.

However, the viper-like strike rate masked some confused and stuttering play from the usually fluid Dogs.

Brownlow Medal favourite Cooney bounced back in the second term from a quiet start and Griffen soon asserted his authority with customary class to keep them in the hunt.

Griffen gave Shaun McManus an early touch-up in the centre and helped bring Jason Akermanis into the contest, playing a direct hand in two goals.

He bobbed up again with his third goal in the last term to get the Dogs within six points.

Midway through the second term, Akermanis threaded the eye of the needle from the boundary line, before setting up Will Minson in the goalsquare with a perfect pass.

But the Dogs' 13-point lead was quickly turned into a one-point deficit at the main change as Chris Tarrant began to have an influence across half-forward for the Dockers.

The much-maligned forward, who has battled rumours of homesickness, showed the athleticism and marking power that made him such a mouthwatering recruit.

Showing no signs of the kicking yips that regularly plague him, Tarrant kicked his second goal with a beauty from the pocket. His passes also hit the mark.

He and Pavlich kicked another goal each to push the Dockers further ahead in the third term, as the Subiaco Oval crowd found its voice.

Eade's men have been the third-best contested-possession side this season and the Dockers the second-worst, but those roles were reversed for most of yesterday.

Johnson, who had been convincingly beaten by Luke McPharlin and hardly had a touch all day, took a timely mark in the goalsquare to keep his side within reach.

But two goals to Brett Peake - one of the biggest disappointments for Fremantle this season - late in the third term gave the home side an 18-point final-change buffer.

What followed would gladden the hearts of Bulldogs fans, while confirming the Dockers' reputation as the league's basket case.

 

[Lach72]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/1,9191,23719905-19742,00.html

RODNEY Eade has told how his troops were fully prepared for Fremantle to fold like a deck of cards late in the Dogs' miraculous comeback win at Subiaco yesterday.

While delighted his team fought back from 18 points down midway through the last quarter to pull off its most spirited win of the year, Eade was adamant his unbeaten side was not yet closing the gap on Hawthorn and Geelong.

The Western Bulldogs coach conceded his team was ordinary for the first three quarters and needed a get-out-of-jail free card to record the three-point thriller at Subiaco Oval.

But Eade provided fascinating insight into their match planning, saying the team was well placed to secure the audacious win after holding mid-week talks about Fremantle's trend of fourth-quarter failures.

"We spoke during the week about what they were like as a fourth-quarter side, but we didn't mention that at three-quarter-time," Eade said.

"Stats sometimes do lie, but the fact is they are the worst-performed fourth-quarter team in the competition and I think we are either the best or second-best, and that was some comfort for the guys.

"But I think it was more comfort knowing that we have also been challenged during the past seven weeks and we were able to answer that challenge."

The Dogs' fightback, which stunned the Subiaco Oval crowd and leaves Fremantle gasping with one win from the first eight games, sealed the Bulldogs' second straight interstate victory.

But Eade refused to listen to his own team's hype, saying the Dogs did not deserve to be rated up with the ladder-leading Cats and Hawks.

"No, not yet, it's too early in the season. They are obviously the standouts and Geelong is the premiership side and they're undefeated, so it's a fair chance they are the No. 1 team in the competition," he said.

"And Hawthorn are playing fantastic footy. We are still a young side and we've got a long way to go. We didn't play well today."

Even for Fremantle, which has surrendered massive leads against Geelong (39 points) and Melbourne (51 points) this season, the Dockers' surrender was staggering.

Coach Mark Harvey put a positive spin on the result, pointing out the Dockers had lost their past three games by a combined 10 points.

"It seems to be a common trend with us," Harvey said.

"They just don't seem to show enough composure in the last quarter."

Some good news for Fremantle was the shining form of Essendon discard Kepler Bradley in his first Dockers match and a four-goal return from Chris Tarrant.

 

[sumavich]

Seem fair to me !
Got to many selfish players at Freo. Always have had, probably always will have !!

 

[Chops_a_must]

The defeat leaves the Dockers 1-7 and in 14th position and comes after a difficult week at the club where the spotlight continued to shine on departing chief executive Cameron Schwab, who has upset some of his senior staff by talking to AFL heavyweights about a potential position next year while remaining involved in Fremantle's strategic planning beyond this season.

Schwab still believes it is viable to remain in his post until October 31, but that appears increasingly unlikely.

It's that sort of stuff that makes me want to punch Ripper, simply because of his avatar.

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

Just kidding.

But seriously, ____ OFF SCHWAB!