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We so ****ed up at the end of last year losing 3 games, kicking ourselves out of finals contention, giving away 2 first round draft picks for a hot & cold star.
Then to talk a big game.
We didn't learn a thing.
This year has just been an extension of the last 2 years mediocrity.
It's just weirdly obvious & shows how insipid Fremantle's management has become.
 
mightymouse75 said:
We so ****ed up at the end of last year losing 3 games, kicking ourselves out of finals contention, giving away 2 first round draft picks for a hot & cold star.
Then to talk a big game.
We didn't learn a thing.
This year has just been an extension of the last 2 years mediocrity.
It's just weirdly obvious & shows how insipid Fremantle's management has become.
Click to expand...
It was four in a row that we lost to end 2024: Essendon, Geelong, GWS and Port.

If we had won any of those (or even held on for 26 seconds against Essendon for the draw), JLo likely would have hit a trigger for a contract extension on the back of making finals.

With hindsight, perhaps that’s been for the best as unfortunately the evidence is building that JLo is not capable of bringing us ultimate success.

I also think that “vanilla” comment burnt alot of the goodwill he held with the supporter base. Sadly it’s been the source of much ridicule.
 
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The Round House Drunk said:
It was four in a row that we lost to end 2024: Essendon, Geelong, GWS and Port.

If we had won any of those (or even held on for 26 seconds against Essendon for the draw), JLo likely would have hit a trigger for a contract extension on the back of making finals.

With hindsight, perhaps that’s been for the best as unfortunately the evidence is building that JLo is not capable of bringing us ultimate success.

I also think that “vanilla” comment burnt alot of the goodwill he held with the supporter base.
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That vanilla comment was massively overplayed by the media, it was just a throwaway comment that when the game didn't go our way he wasn't going to throw everything at it to get on our terms.

The problem is that it looks like he's forgotten to act on plan B since then, either that or he's holding fire until finals 😅

Bold Strategy Cotton GIF by MOODMAN
 
ubiquitous226 said:
That vanilla comment was massively overplayed by the media, it was just a throwaway comment that when the game didn't go our way he wasn't going to throw everything at it to get on our terms.

The problem is that it looks like he's forgotten to act on plan B since then, either that or he's holding fire until finals 😅

Bold Strategy Cotton GIF by MOODMAN
Click to expand...
Lol no it wasn't. He said it twice and then doubled down on it when asked a follow up question.
 

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Shipping Report said:
The Bell situation is incredibly interesting, he was brought in at the tail end of the Lyon era and in an erratic, ugly period for the club. He then ended up in the coach's/coaches box and was even delivering messages to players at breaks.

Then he was shuffled sideways into various roles and then left.

It always felt like he was an outlier, like some sleeper cell or double agent.

Was he brought in to try and escalate some change and represent people who were not on the board, or was he a nuisance? People on this board are very torn but I'd love to know the story. He had both a massively hands on role while also being hugely ineffective, ultimately, and couldn't really wield any power.

Again, I would love to sit down over a beer with five or six people from that time and actually hear what the hell was going on. It would be fascinating.
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from what i've heard about him from someone within the freo house. he was bought in to clean house and suss things out. I would argue we should be very grateful and blame some of freo's current mediocrity to him.

at the end of the 2010's we had a fairly toxic culture. needed to figure out which players were a contributor to that. we shipped off harley bennell. get rid of hogan, balic, others. we got rid of ross and rositch.
there was also a perception some weren't living up to their paychecks. hence the underpaying.
Furthermore, we had been very active at the trade table. that declined to a more sustainable level once he came in. And he got rid of lloyd as the list manager. he did well from 2008-2010, 2012, 2016 &2017 drafts. but had missed on 2011, 2013-2015 and blew the 2018 super draft.

However in cleaning freo up. he rubbed some people up the wrong way. underpaid some. established a clean cut schoolboy culture. hence our current vanilla perception.

once all that was done he got moved sideways. then out.

All in all I'm kinda grateful to bell. by 2019 we couldn't make finals in a fyfe brownlow year. our youth was good but not gonna get us a flag. A reset was needed.
i would argue. 2020-2024 is our best drafting period since 1999-2003. which meant we got younger. stagnated our chances to make finals. but will hold us in good stead.
Our staff was burnt out behind the scenes from ross, we needed a reset from him.
By the sounds of things people were sick of roscich. yes garlick is annoying people on bigfooty. but apparently hes good to work for.
true replacing ross got us longmuire. who may not work out. but cleaning house was still the correct answer.
 
If there’s one thing I detest in the AFL it’s clubs and players big-noting themselves during preseason.

It’s even worse when it’s a team that has proven nothing previously.

We have been ELITE at talking ourselves up in preseason over the last few years. This year and the 2023 preseason were especially nauseating. Sadly that’s about the only part of the AFL that we have been elite in.

Senior players and figures at the club coming out with waffle, baseless weasel words about contending for premierships, trying to suck in gullible fans who mostly just swallow that crap hook line and sinker every time.

I’ll never listen to a word one of these campaigners says again in preseason about being “contenders”. Go and absolutely get ****ed. It’s outright lies.
Not to mention the arrogance and downright hubris - both traits that would never be tolerated in a real high performance organisation.

A proper serious team would put their heads down and say none of that crap until they had well and truly proven it on the footy field. It’s so fake and desperate is actually an insight into just how mentally brittle and insecure this club is. Desperate to be considered a serious team by the broader afl media, even if it’s only for a few fleeting weeks in preseason.

The only form of talk that counts now for this group is what happens on the football field. That’s it.
Judge this club solely by what we see on the field from now.
They can shove their strategic plans and shiny season launches up their asses.
 
Dockeroo said:
If there’s one thing I detest in the AFL it’s clubs and players big-noting themselves during preseason.

It’s even worse when it’s a team that has proven nothing previously.

We have been ELITE at talking ourselves up in preseason over the last few years. This year and the 2023 preseason were especially nauseating. Sadly that’s about the only part of the AFL that we have been elite in.

Senior players and figures at the club coming out with waffle, baseless weasel words about contending for premierships, trying to suck in gullible fans who mostly just swallow that crap hook line and sinker every time.

I’ll never listen to a word one of these campaigners says again in preseason about being “contenders”. Go and absolutely get ****ed. It’s outright lies.
Not to mention the arrogance and downright hubris - both traits that would never be tolerated in a real high performance organisation.

A proper serious team would put their heads down and say none of that crap until they had well and truly proven it on the footy field. It’s so fake and desperate is actually an insight into just how mentally brittle and insecure this club is. Desperate to be considered a serious team by the broader afl media, even if it’s only for a few fleeting weeks in preseason.

The only form of talk that counts now for this group is what happens on the football field. That’s it.
Judge this club solely by what we see on the field from now.
They can shove their strategic plans and shiny season launches up their asses.
Click to expand...
This is exactly why that whole “flagmantle” Monica grates on me so much, it just makes us look like a bunch of idiots. We haven’t proven a damn thing.
 
Dockeroo said:
If there’s one thing I detest in the AFL it’s clubs and players big-noting themselves during preseason.

It’s even worse when it’s a team that has proven nothing previously.

We have been ELITE at talking ourselves up in preseason over the last few years. This year and the 2023 preseason were especially nauseating. Sadly that’s about the only part of the AFL that we have been elite in.

Senior players and figures at the club coming out with waffle, baseless weasel words about contending for premierships, trying to suck in gullible fans who mostly just swallow that crap hook line and sinker every time.

I’ll never listen to a word one of these campaigners says again in preseason about being “contenders”. Go and absolutely get ****ed. It’s outright lies.
Not to mention the arrogance and downright hubris - both traits that would never be tolerated in a real high performance organisation.

A proper serious team would put their heads down and say none of that crap until they had well and truly proven it on the footy field. It’s so fake and desperate is actually an insight into just how mentally brittle and insecure this club is. Desperate to be considered a serious team by the broader afl media, even if it’s only for a few fleeting weeks in preseason.

The only form of talk that counts now for this group is what happens on the football field. That’s it.
Judge this club solely by what we see on the field from now.
They can shove their strategic plans and shiny season launches up their asses.
Click to expand...
And yet others will claim they're accepting mediocrity if they don't aim high.
 
ubiquitous226 said:
And yet others will claim they're accepting mediocrity if they don't aim high.
Click to expand...
Having high standards and big ambitions is one thing. It goes without saying that is a prerequisite for success.

Repeatedly telling everyone and anyone that will listen that you have high standards and ambitions is another thing entirely. That’s not a prerequisite for success.

I think we have sufficient evidence now over enough years that big bold talk in preseason by our footy club has no connection with actual performance, when it really matters. In fact, I’d argue it’s associated with underperformance if anything.

Maybe just once we should try a low key approach, talk down our chances - “we have a long way to go, we aren’t a get-ahead of ourselves footy club”, that sort of talk. Just maybe, that might give us better results that players and coaches drinking their own bathwater
 

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It’s awesome that Alex Pearce has kicked more goals then our “star” midfielder this season…

And Luke Ryan, well really nothing to say there. Maybe time we played Davies or a man down as an option..
 

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