2 hours ago, DeeZone said:

To be fair deegirl it’s game two of the rest of their careers post Clayton and Tracc, our big stars that these boys were subservient to since they joined the club. Let’s see how they look in 10-15 rounds, to give them time to step up into those vacant roles. They have to find the real belief that says yes we can stand up, “if it has to be, it must be Me”.

I’m not expecting them to step into those vacant roles because sadly, they’re not up to it

Edited 18 hours ago18 hr by deegirl

Voss should not just have been fined for his childish hair rubbing etc but also for his unnecessary and potentially dangerous lift of Lingers.

I cant believe the reaction of most commentators who seem to think it was ok to manhandle him in that way. At one point Lingers head and most of his body was pointing headfirst towards the ground, a slip in the oaf's hold and we have a serious neck injury. In my view that action should have been met with a far more serious sanction.

16 hours ago, Greg Schneider said:

It’s not really a knock on Windsor, he’ll be a good player, but we reached on draft night by 3-4 positions. No one is taking him over Curtin Caddy or O’Sullivan

Show me data not theories

9 hours ago, deegirl said:

I’m not expecting them to step into those vacant roles because sadly, they’re not up to it

I am.😁

1 hour ago, Robbie57 said:

Voss should not just have been fined for his childish hair rubbing etc but also for his unnecessary and potentially dangerous lift of Lingers.

I cant believe the reaction of most commentators who seem to think it was ok to manhandle him in that way. At one point Lingers head and most of his body was pointing headfirst towards the ground, a slip in the oaf's hold and we have a serious neck injury. In my view that action should have been met with a far more serious sanction.

$1000 fine was a joke for the Petty stuff as well.

Edited 8 hours ago8 hr by Bowserpower

Any idea how long Turner will miss with a broken hand?

15 hours ago, Kev said:

Most of the game involved us holding the boundary line, with little looking inside for a central corridor, or spread to find space. If you can't get the ball it is difficult to manage the tempo/momentum. Freo sat on us waiting for our errors as we guarded the grass. It looked like we were hoping to get turnovers and then swarm the contest. We started fumbly and they were just too good, and our confidence fell.

There was no plan to change tempo or momentum. Would have liked us to chip it round a bit, get each other into it without the opposition rushing us. Need to make space and time, and that inability affected our ability to play to our plan.

Where was our change of strategy change up, when it would have made a difference?

Where was our handball game?

We couldn't create, didn't swarm or make overlaps. Looked like more fun in the last, where we seem to have a licence to take it on. Hopefully that fits us well, more of that as we take on the Blue.

We seemed to be too far off our opponent when they had the ball and didnt create space when we had the ball, Both of those features were noticeable last week.

We burnt ourselves when all going forward when turnover happened with poor handball or missed target

26 minutes ago, waynewussell said:

I was frustrated at the number of free kicks that were not paid (to either team). there were 27 paid in our game and roughly even allocation.

There were 43 paid in Hawks v Sydney (Hawks got 26) and 41 paid in Adel v Dogs (Dogs got 23)

The non-paying of the obvious leads to some scrappy pack work and I’m afraid we were overpowered in close

2 hours ago, Robbie57 said:

Voss should not just have been fined for his childish hair rubbing etc but also for his unnecessary and potentially dangerous lift of Lingers.

I cant believe the reaction of most commentators who seem to think it was ok to manhandle him in that way. At one point Lingers head and most of his body was pointing headfirst towards the ground, a slip in the oaf's hold and we have a serious neck injury. In my view that action should have been met with a far more serious sanction.

And to see KATH and the boys standing around after having a big laugh about it post game .

Gee Freo have a great draw. 13 games in WA. Have a feeling the AFLs ‘Good for the game, good for Dill’ policy will kick in, seeing them cruise through to a Prelim.

On 21/03/2026 at 22:21, Dannyz said:

The lack of midfield depth was scary. Windsor looks a mile off it, and Langford further behind than him.

And some question why we still need JV.

Rivers is our best option in there

Criminal Goodwin ignored him and now King doing the same

7 minutes ago, Deez21 said:

Rivers is our best option in there

Criminal Goodwin ignored him and now King doing the same

🤔🤔🤔

10 minutes ago, Deez21 said:

Rivers is our best option in there

Criminal Goodwin ignored him and now King doing the same

Isn’t it well known he doesn’t have the tank for it?

8 minutes ago, BW511 said:

Isn’t it well known he doesn’t have the tank for it?

Rivers is a trier but doesn’t have any of the skills or smarts to hold down a midfield position

1 hour ago, JOHNNY DEE said:

  On 21/03/2026 at 23:31, waynewussell said:

  4 hours ago, Robbie57 said:

Voss should not just have been fined for his childish hair rubbing etc but also for his unnecessary and potentially dangerous lift of Lingers.

This about that bully Voss ^^^

The club should go after him that behaviour surely can't be tolerated in any way shape or form in today's game.

29 minutes ago, Deez21 said:

Rivers is our best option in there

Criminal Goodwin ignored him and now King doing the same

It’s early days, he will get his shot.

I actually think it’s really hard to take a lot from this game - in terms of what we really learned. Obviously Kingy was right about our inability to be clean, which will always be a problem against anyone at the top level.

But, I remember 2024, when they essentially flogged us twice, and then we rolled them last year when we looked like a bottom 2 side going into the game.

Essentially what I’m saying is that Freo are so wildly inconsistent that it makes it hard to know. They are a tails up side, and when they are on they go. They have a top 4 list. They might just have beaten anyone on Saturday, which makes it harder to take a lot from it. As opposed to someone like the Swans, who seem to have consistent effort, regardless of talent at their disposal.

Freo seem to ‘click’, or not. They clicked and we looked miles off it. I think part of it is to do with youth, where it’s difficult to ask for consistency. This week I think we will learn more again.

I’m really enjoying the opportunity to see what we want to be each week though. That’s fun.

On 21/03/2026 at 21:39, Go Lordie said:

And who would you put in there? Petracca? Oliver? Oh, wait...

I get your point, but in order of preference from those playing. (Viney id have above these)

Rivers. Bigger body. More years in the system. Has more of a defensive mindset, Brayshaw and Bolton were given way too much rope.. Could easily average 25 touches as a mid. Had 3 CBA.

Langford. Ultimately the future. Good hands in tight. Had a bad day with fumbles but he will be a top 30 afl midfielder in time. Had 1 CBA.

Chandler. He isnt everyones cup of tea. But he is very good below his knees and above average with ball use. Had 3 CBA

I see what King is trying to do.. Lots of run, either speed and/or endurance across the ground. But i think we need at least 1 nore bigger body and better ball use to do the grunt post clearance and on transition. Steele had 30, but his disposal let him down (he ordinarily is not that poor).

Also worth nothing the flu tore through the club last week and still impacted us on the weekend. More important how we respond against Carlton

2 hours ago, BW511 said:

Isn’t it well known he doesn’t have the tank for it?

No, only one way to build a tank. Look at guys like Richards who started at half back and made the transition. He already has the advantage of seeing the defensive side of the game. HIs 2024 in the middle was very decent.

1 hour ago, The heart beats true said:

Essentially what I’m saying is that Freo are so wildly inconsistent that it makes it hard to know. They are a tails up side, and when they are on they go.

Fair point.

1 hour ago, The heart beats true said:

They have a top 4 list.

And people have been saying this for a very very long time. I remember Cerra being part of a midfield combination that many thought was unbeatable. Even less effusive praisers are certain that Perth will be a fortress for them and it never really is (at least not compared to West Coast before they were a basketcase).

Sometimes clubs have to go through some not-quite-yet pain before it clicks - Brisbane springs to mind.

But Fremantle haven't finished higher than sixth in the Brayshaw/Serong/Young era. They haven't finished in the top four (after finals) since Pervy Ross.

Interesting to see if everything comes together this year or they remain the underachievers they've been since... forever.

10 minutes ago, Deez21 said:

Also worth nothing the flu tore through the club last week and still impacted us on the weekend. More important how we respond against Carlton

Must have caught it from St Kilda.

On 21/03/2026 at 22:21, Dannyz said:

The lack of midfield depth was scary. Windsor looks a mile off it, and Langford further behind than him.

And some question why we still need JV.

Very true. Question for DL - When do you generally see a-grade talent start to come through? Put aside Ablett Jnr, Naicos etc. Is it generally in 3rd, 4th or 5th year?

Langford, did show some snippets in 2-3 games last year, but largely has many games where is ineffectual or even noticeable. To me his fitness, getting from stoppage to stoppage and burst speeds are his biggest physical issues; skill wise, handballing and ball-gets are areas he needs to improve. Is he on track to be Melbourne's next weapon? I think he'll be good, but star-level good ? i have some reservations.

XL, is a bit of an enigma. Has good pace, ball-use and fitness. To me he does lack a bit of game sense, but probably has the most upside of the three. Will get good in the next 2-3 years i think, a bit of a late bloomer. May not get to a-grade stardom, but will be a solid player nonetheless.

Windsor, athletically gifted, reasonable ball user and impressed a lot in his first year. We all know last year was a write-off so in a sense this year is his second year. Early days yet but i think he needs confidence and more time on ball. With good development, we can use him off the back of the pack, that can burst through stoppage and set up play... a bit like a QB. Biggest question mark is on his own ball winning ability and foot skills.

1 hour ago, Deez21 said:

No, only one way to build a tank. Look at guys like Richards who started at half back and made the transition. He already has the advantage of seeing the defensive side of the game. HIs 2024 in the middle was very decent.

I’m not so sure it works that way but we can agree to disagree.

Ed Richards has a few more strings to his bow than Riv.

1 hour ago, Deez21 said:

Also worth nothing the flu tore through the club last week and still impacted us on the weekend. More important how we respond against Carlton

True or a pisstake?