THE FREMANTLE FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FREE KICKS by The Oracle

They were never going to influence the final outcome of the game because Fremantle were simply far too good. But the three sight-impaired gentlemen in the spiffy bright green and grey gear certainly welcomed our interstate visitors with a red carpet reception and rained free kick after free kick upon them early in the game so that they got the start they wanted. At one stage the Dockers had 5 free kicks to none and 15 inside 50s before the Demons went forward. It was all so Schmitt House.

The Dees were appalling of course and by the time they were ready to play, they were a trifle shell-shocked. There was a brief interlude in the second term when Melbourne was competitive but a few mishaps, obtuse bounces and no luck whatsoever saw Fremantle rack up five goals in six or seven minutes in mid quarter and it was all over red and blue rover. Still, the Demons might have won the quarter had Shannon Byrnes' shot after the siren hit the mark but, let's face it, he kicked 1 goal from six shots last week and the only pass of his that hit someone's chest today found a purple and white jumper.

Talk about bad bounces and rotten luck. By half time, Melbourne had lost Sam Blease (subbed off with an ankle injury) and a minute or two later James Strauss was in the dug out with a shoulder injury.

And so it came to pass that after the break, Freo was too strong, fast and fit for the Dees who didn't have enough men to rotate and their crowning achievement was to avoid losing by 100 points but that was a feat that failed to keep many of the 13,768 fans at the ground for the duration. The football special to Sandringham was half empty when it departed Richmond Station with at least half of the passengers having come from other parts. You could tell the footy goers. They wore the colours red and blue and their faces were hidden by cupped hands all the way home.

Strangely enough, the free kick stats almost evened up by the end of the day but the reality was that the stuff Melbourne got late in the game was insignificant and was never going to make any difference.

Jack Viney put his hand up for a NAB Rising Star nomination (although Brodie Grundy will probably get it because he's Collingwood and they have 80k members). Jack Trengove stood up well and Lynden Dunn was good. Most of the rest had rings run around them.

The midfield coach and the fitness people would be looking over their shoulders when the reshuffle comes and when the Demons next come back to the MCG in March or April, 2014 its likely that things will be a little different. And if Melbourne doesn't qualify for a priority pick at the end of the season, the AFL is not serious.

Melbourne 0.2.2 4.5.29 5.7.37 5.8.38

Fremantle 4.5.29 9.6.60 14.11.95 20.13.133

Goals

Melbourne Davis Fitzpatrick Howe Kent Viney

Fremantle Ballantyne Pavlich 4 Hill Mayne 2 Clarke Fyfe D Pearce Sandilands Sheridan Silvagni, Spurr Walters

Best

Melbourne Viney Trengove Dunn McKenzie Sylvia Watts

Fremantle

Clarke Mundy D Pearce Pavlich Ballantyne, Crowley

Sandilands (cut left eye/concussion), Dawson (left elbow), Ballantyne (right arm)

Injuries

Melbourne Blease (ankle) Garland (jaw) Spencer (cut elbow) Strauss (shoulder)

Fremantle Sandilands (cut left eye/concussion), Dawson (elbow), Ballantyne (arm)

Changes

Melbourne Nil

Fremantle Nil

Reports

Melbourne Nil

Fremantle Nil

Umpires Fila Burgess Schmitt

Official Attendance 13,768 at the MCG

  On 18/08/2013 at 05:44, Demonland said:

THE FREMANTLE FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FREE KICKS

Futile.

We scored 1goal 5 points in 3 quarters of football.

Says it all really.

I only saw bits and pieces and as rubbish as Melbourne were the umpiring really seemed to suck any confidence that was there out of the players.

Also, the tackling coach who was there in the pre-season should never return.

Was Watts getting the bronx from the crowd today? couldn't quite tell from the tv..

Viney: ..... nuff said

Kent: Lots of promise

Strauss: defiantly something there

Sylvia: must stay on

Captains: need full preseasons

...That's about it

Ross Lyon must be comcerned his team are not getting sufficiently hard games for its finals preperations.

Had a crack but just no good at all. 7 years no finals. Patience gone. Next year better be much improved.

If Freo didn't score after the 12:00 mark of the second quarter, they still would have won. Says a lot really.

We need to keep Sylvia and Watts.

I apologise to anyone I've ever argued with in regards to Sam Blease.

I think I get caught up with his pace and potential.

But, I will admit that I am 100% wrong and I'm happy if the club floats Blease up for trade.

Players I like going into 2014... Viney, Terlich, Sylvia, Jones, Watts, Kent.

I think we need to keep that core.

I'd a-hole players like Blease, Strauss and anyone else who thinks we are waiting on them to get a kick.

So happy with Terlich, Jones and Kent this year, Todd Viney deserves his props.

  On 18/08/2013 at 05:48, Clintosaurus said:

Had a crack but just no good at all. 7 years no finals. Patience gone. Next year better be much improved.

I've barracked for Melbourne for 30 years and can honestly say if we didn't have Jack Viney, I'd no longer support Melbourne.

But, If Jack Viney is on board, I am on board.. Todd Viney and Andy Lovell got me through some tough times and Jack Viney now carries that mantle.

Dean Terlich is the best value pick up for our club in the past decade as well, thanks Todd.

Funny...said to SWMBO I wonder whether it will be a 50 or 100 pointer. I know now

Best 2 things out of today viney 28 disposals and ballantines injury Steve Johnson has already rang to buy Tom mc a beer

Watts- weak as [censored] and finally lost me

Viney- a reason to keep going

  On 18/08/2013 at 05:50, ThreeOneSix said:

We need to keep Sylvia and Watts.

I apologise to anyone I've ever argued with in regards to Sam Blease.

I think I get caught up with his pace and potential.

But, I will admit that I am 100% wrong and I'm happy if the club floats Blease up for trade.

Players I like going into 2014... Viney, Terlich, Sylvia, Jones, Watts, Kent.

I think we need to keep that core.

I'd a-hole players like Blease, Strauss and anyone else who thinks we are waiting on them to get a kick.

So happy with Terlich, Jones and Kent this year, Todd Viney deserves his props.

Are you happy when Terlich turns it over, which he does frequently and let's his man run riot like Ballantyne did today. Roos said exactly the same OTC a couple of weeks back.

It's easy to get seduced by possessions.

He has potential but needs to work on his deficiencies.

I agree he, Kent, M. Jones and Clisby have been good late picks.

Worst team of the modern era. Those involved should be ashamed they let it plummet to this embarrassing disgrace of a football team.

On yet another pointless game:

Sylvia gets praise but he stills makes DUMB decisions with the footy for a senior player.

Watts is gone, and frankly I won't miss him. Hopefully we get something decent.

Umpiring for the most part was horrendous, and part of me thinks it was the umpires overcompensating after Melbourne were deemed to get off easy for tactics on Ablett last week.

Second quarter was okay in patches but it was a huge mismatch from the outset. Freo were ordinary and won by 100. If they got out of first gear it would've pushed 200.

we will surelyget a Priority pick

if they dont give it to us then scrap them all together cos we are the worst team of all time

today would not help craig again, another big loss, id say a PP is nearly certain now

I'm really annoyed about this negative game style Craig is employing.

Flooding the backline, refusing to play Watts up forward, always with just one or two or no forwards.

Who cares if we lose by 88 or 130 points? I'd rather play to be competitive when we finally get the ball. We had some good ball movement today that resulted in nothing because there was nobody to kick to.

It saps the confidence from the players and is completely pointless.

Craig is doing himself no favors with this rubbish.

  On 18/08/2013 at 06:01, Jaded said:

I'm really annoyed about this negative game style Craig is employing.

Flooding the backline, refusing to play Watts up forward, always with just one or two or no forwards.

Who cares if we lose by 88 or 130 points? I'd rather play to be competitive when we finally get the ball. We had some good ball movement today that resulted in nothing because there was nobody to kick to.

It saps the confidence from the players and is completely pointless.

Craig is doing himself no favors with this rubbish.

Spot on.

I know I harp on this, but seriously annoys the s#%t out of me every week. MANNING UP IS NOT STANDING 10 METERS FROM YOUR MAN!!! Being there to stand the mark when your opponent takes an uncontested mark is not helping. Deprive the ball holder of available go to options, and we may actually start to force a team to make "unforced" errors. Since the Neil Daniher days we have been a shocking defensive unit.

Better still, while we seem to do nothing about opposition uncontested possession, we can't/won't run to give options for our own players when we do have the ball. Is it a lack of of motivation and desire to work together as a team? Surely it can't be fitness, unless Dave Misson has lost whatever mojo he had working with Sydney?!

Don't get how, from one coach to the next to the next to the next, not one of them is pushing hard running and defensive pressure? Or is it just a super soft playing group who are happy to accept the losses at the expense of truely running their guts out and leaving everything on the park?. Or are they just not smart enough to get the message?

Sorry for the rant, just get so an annoyed watching the same lack of competitiveness week in week out.

  On 18/08/2013 at 06:01, Jaded said:

I'm really annoyed about this negative game style Craig is employing.Flooding the backline, refusing to play Watts up forward, always with just one or two or no forwards.Who cares if we lose by 88 or 130 points? I'd rather play to be competitive when we finally get the ball. We had some good ball movement today that resulted in nothing because there was nobody to kick to.It saps the confidence from the players and is completely pointless.Craig is doing himself no favors with this rubbish.

Agree. Craig's style is negative. Similar to Neeld.

that was awful.. only slight positives:

-nobody ever mentions the fact that we are missing our FB, ruck, CHF and FF. Obviously that is significant.

-we have Toumpas, Hogan and yet another top 5 pick to come in next year

-today we were down to 20 men before half time

-we actually outplayed them in the 2nd qtr

-after qtr time it was 34 inside 50s to 45, at least we were getting it in there a decent amount

-Viney: 28 touches in his 11th game, in a 95 point loss is a really great effort.

it has to be said though that Viney was the only bloke who won his position today, not a good sign at all. Joggin' Jack Watts can go F himself, you'd think that after putting himself under the burner during the week you might come out play a bit less limp-wristed and lazy than that.

  On 18/08/2013 at 06:01, Jaded said:

I'm really annoyed about this negative game style Craig is employing.

Flooding the backline, refusing to play Watts up forward, always with just one or two or no forwards.

Who cares if we lose by 88 or 130 points? I'd rather play to be competitive when we finally get the ball. We had some good ball movement today that resulted in nothing because there was nobody to kick to.

It saps the confidence from the players and is completely pointless.

Craig is doing himself no favors with this rubbish.

yepp

probably knows hes a goner too . Epitomises the whole club...Glimpses only

To use a slightly altered quote:

"So I was sitting at the football today, and I realized, ever since I started going, every single game has been worse than the one before it. So that means that every single game that you see me at, that's on the worst day of my life."

Points if you can guess the movie.