40 minutes ago, DubDee said:

Game 2 of a mini rebuild and complete game style shift!

Is it a mini or full rebuild???

I hope we've read the room right on this but I fear we're a year late.

5 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Unfortunately this is correct

Even with Windsor we reached for him whilst the likes of Dan Curtin and Nate Caddy were still available.

Connor O’Sullivan would be perfect for us right now as well. Think is and GWS were the only teams to rate Windsor where we ended up picking him. My gut tells me he’ll only ever be a nice winger.

5 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

How the hell can Freo pluck such an exciting SPP prospects in Isiah Dudley and Christian Scerri who mind you dominated last night on debut with his speed and zip alongside his 20 possessions yet we continue to add scrubbers like Henderson and McAdam.

Yep it’s frustrating, but credit to Freo, they’ve built an incredible list. Treacy another gem from the rookie draft

1 hour ago, Little Richard said:

Big issues between the two since 2024.

And the club backed Richo?

14 hours ago, Tom Dyson said:

It has to be said as well that Patrick Voss is a horrible waste of perfectly good oxygen.

What an embarassing, self centred, egotistical individual.

He reminds me more than a little of Maynard; although I have to say I enjoyed the flash back to the old World Championship Wresting, when he lifted Langdon above his head…all we needed was Jack Little on commentary. Both players had a good laugh about it… the security guard however, looked a bit unsure of how it would end.

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by hardtack

1 hour ago, Gator said:

Do I assume you're new to football or the MFC ?

Oliver won a best & fairest in his second year playing most of the season as a teenager.

1 hour ago, Gator said:

Do I assume you're new to football or the MFC ?

Oliver won a best & fairest in his second year playing most of the season as a teenager.

Supporter since 72, I know he’s achievements , but comparing them isn’t fair as different game style with contested brand plus the last 2 yrs Oliver & trac were in theses positions, I know 1 thing their kicking is superior, let’s be patient

We need to find a first use beast and fast to replace Vines and to a lessor degree Claz (the pre-23 version). Obviously they don't grow on trees.

Not that you would have him in all that often but surely Tom Campbell was a fairlu likely 'IN' last night if fit?

How far off is he is wonder? Track watchers?

13 hours ago, Go Lordie said:

Don't start with that mindless rubbish. How were you performing in the second week of your current job?

Time to turn on those ‘Sarcasm Detectors’.

1 hour ago, pitmaster said:

On yesterday’s effort at Whitten Oval best you don’t hold your breath. Plenty of gym hours needed there.

Ah right. I thought when he was drafted there might have been "ready to go" talk. Obviously not.

2 hours ago, The heart beats true said:

I didn’t realise Riv had such low centre square attendance. Possibly we decided we needed more help behind the ball once Disco went down.

I think this is very likely right. He's decent overhead and has lots of experience as a defender - he's had good games as an attacking rebounder and as an interceptor, or both. We don't have too many mature players who can do this. It may also be the case that the FD just don't see him as a midfielder.

Finally had a chance to sit and reflect on last night's game. More frustrated than disappointed, and as many others have noted above, we are in a season of discovery to find our next best 23, align to a new game plan, and become a single focused game day entity.

I love how hard and quick we press forward when we gain possession, but our fumbling and skill level means we are fully exposed on transition. Over and over again. Also, our positioning around stoppages is ordinary as we are rarely getting first possession, and players on the outside are too close to the stoppage to feed the ball out to. Steele can't manage this alone. We need Viney to return and for Langford, Rivers, Sparrow, Windsor, Kozzie etc...to adjust their positioning.

I feel sorry for our defenders being burnt by constant turnovers n the middle, but some experienced defenders are also playing nowhere near their peak. We miss Steven May so much bit that is water under the bridge and we need to develop, draft or trade a big bodied defender. Turner going off hurt us badly.

Really, the first quarter showed us up. We looked slow and unready for action. After that we matched them for the most part.

Not sure about Freo even though I have them top 4 by the end of the H&A season. For us to match them for 3 quarters must be a warning sign for them.

I hate footy thuggery but I have marked the name of Patrick Voss.

It's been said before but Lindsay is not a defender

And Langford has some worrying traits. He's hanging around packs a lot and hasnt been winning his own ball. Maybe that's his instruction but 2 weeks running he looks miles off it.

And Windsor dropped his colours big time today. Particularly when it got physical.

Freo was hard at us knowing they could disrupt our fast play. They executed very well and we crumbled. We lacked some solid bodies more like Steele that could take some hits but gain some control. So many of the mistakes were of our own doing

Wasn't expecting a lot this game but we were taught a lesson.

31 minutes ago, Demonsone said:

Supporter since 72, I know he’s achievements , but comparing them isn’t fair as different game style with contested brand plus the last 2 yrs Oliver & trac were in theses positions, I know 1 thing their kicking is superior, let’s be patient

I didn't compare anyone. You asked, ''How many seasons did Oliver, Trac take before they started dominating ??''

Seemingly, you had zero idea that Oliver won a B&F in his second year playing (mainly) as a teen.

4 minutes ago, Maldonboy38 said:

I feel sorry for our defenders being burnt by constant turnovers n the middle

I don't think this is being said enough.

By all means criticise the defenders in instances when the Fremantle ball movement was slow and the contest work after the inside 50 wasn't good enough, but there were very long stretches of the game where Fremantle absolutely walked through the zone between 100 and 50 metres from their goal often uninhabited by Melbourne players. When this happens you either need 2021-22 Steven May doing miracle work, or you just have to accept even an adequate kick inside is leading to a shot at goal.

I'd look way more closely at two-way running and the positioning of midfielders and high half forwards after a turnover than I would at defenders (although a composed mid-sized back with dash and bravery in the air would be really handy at the moment).

5 minutes ago, The Taciturn Demon said:

I'd look way more closely at two-way running and the positioning of midfielders and high half forwards after a turnover than I would at defenders (although a composed mid-sized back with dash and bravery in the air would be really handy at the moment).

Really agree, especially with this part. Even though we beat the Saints, it was a glaring system fault against them also. Some focused midfield/high half forward training needed over a series of weeks to evolve the change required.

8 minutes ago, Gator said:

I didn't compare anyone. You asked, ''How many seasons did Oliver, Trac take before they started dominating ??''

Seemingly, you had zero idea that Oliver won a B&F in his second year playing (mainly) as a teen.

I know what Oliver won & also he was part of the poor culture …. My post was based on others having a crack at our young players, unfair as Oliver & trac were contested and games changed since then, plus current players couldn’t get a chance on these positions ax they were both watching 13& 5 butcher the ball inside 50

Any team with a half decent midfield is gonna tear us apart. We just don't have the players.

We copies what Lyonsaid the Saints did against us (except we were worse). Dropped marks and handball receives and fumbled ground balls.

We were worse because we failed to make position and we appeared on many occasions not be be competitive.

Another lesson for the players.

14 hours ago, Go Lordie said:

Don't start with that mindless rubbish. How were you performing in the second week of your current job?

I think u will find that was a sarcastic comment made by @DistrACTION Jackson .

We are all aware of where we r at as a club.

I don’t think the sky is falling. We knew we’d have ups and downs this year. Last week was marvellous. This week was a genuine ‘learning’ (sorry). The positive for me was the ability to fight back, to some degree, and not be completely embarrassed. Melbourne sides of the past wouldn’t have done that.

I have a few concerns though. Mainly with the plateauing of some young talent. Windsor, Lindsay and Langford were all poor last week and again last night.

Then there is the elephant in the room. Pickett x2. One has personal issues that may be affecting his output. His head doesn’t seem in the game for the full four quarters. We are paying a lot for a bloke who seemingly has a few cameos and the occasional match winning game. Then there is his cousin, who we spent a very high pick on, who bolted up the draft after playing a handful of SANFL games. It’s looking like he may be capable of the freakish, but his general skill level is poor. That’s a high price to pay for Harlem globetrotter cameo stuff. And, I think the question is fair - did Kozzy wield influence over the list management team as part of his contract. If so, that’s poor. I hope both of them shine in the rest of the season, but right now, neither look as if they are turning our fortunes around. Kozzy needs to win the ball in the middle more often and use it. Caught between reaching in and trying to extract it in razzle dazzle fashion and waiting on the outside for someone else to extract and give it to him in space

4 minutes ago, Trident22 said:

I don’t think the sky is falling. We knew we’d have ups and downs this year. Last week was marvellous. This week was a genuine ‘learning’ (sorry). The positive for me was the ability to fight back, to some degree, and not be completely embarrassed. Melbourne sides of the past wouldn’t have done that.

I have a few concerns though. Mainly with the plateauing of some young talent. Windsor, Lindsay and Langford were all poor last week and again last night.

Then there is the elephant in the room. Pickett x2. One has personal issues that may be affecting his output. His head doesn’t seem in the game for the full four quarters. We are paying a lot for a bloke who seemingly has a few cameos and the occasional match winning game. Then there is his cousin, who we spent a very high pick on, who bolted up the draft after playing a handful of SANFL games. It’s looking like he may be capable of the freakish, but his general skill level is poor. That’s a high price to pay for Harlem globetrotter cameo stuff. And, I think the question is fair - did Kozzy wield influence over the list management team as part of his contract. If so, that’s poor. I hope both of them shine in the rest of the season, but right now, neither look as if they are turning our fortunes around. Kozzy needs to win the ball in the middle more often and use it. Caught between reaching in and trying to extract it in razzle dazzle fashion and waiting on the outside for someone else to extract and give it to him in space

I agree, and further to the older cousin’s output is that his disposals are often haphazard whereas they used to regularly be almost centimeter perfect

There's talk of penalties for taunting on the back of the antics of that DH last night. I think American sports have something similar which is the only reason the AFL need to bring it in. Personally I'll take a leaf out of the American League in MLB and introduce a designated 'hitter'. Had he not agreed to 'retire' we could have nominated Maysie to knock ten bells out of the cocky [censored].

4 minutes ago, Rab D Nesbitt said:

There's talk of penalties for taunting on the back of the antics of that DH last night. I think American sports have something similar which is the only reason the AFL need to bring it in. Personally I'll take a leaf out of the American League in MLB and introduce a designated 'hitter'. Had he not agreed to 'retire' we could have nominated Maysie to knock ten bells out of the cocky [censored].

Or could look at a penalty for “unsportsmanlike behaviour”. Only a [censored] of the highest order would incur this penalty…… enter the F Wit Voss.

For a player who has done SFA in afl his main achievement is his big mouth. Something Freo must be proud of.

2 hours ago, Gator said:

In other words, you do have to reference their age/experience every time you reference them.

That's utter nonsense.

I suspect I'm different to 99% of Demonland posters. Langford has lacked intensity his entire, albeit small (just for you), career. He's nowhere near hard enough at the contest and never has been. And you don't need age or experience for that.

Your statement may or may not be true, but I thought Lindsay looked very tentative last night !

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by picket fence

Everyone saying that we miss May so much, is it the 2021 version or his current reality?

Last year he was slow and immobile. He would struggle with this new game plan given his age and injuries

49 minutes ago, Ugottobekidding said:

Any team with a half decent midfield is gonna tear us apart. We just don't have the players.

Yep I don't have the faith that some appear to have in the development and 'coming on' of potential mids like Langdon, Riv, Kolt & Leb.

From those four i can potentially see Kolt developing into a first use clearance player after another pre-season or so in the gym + experience IF the brains trust sees him in such a role vs his present run-with HHF type assignments.

Culley is another that i hold very slim hopes for through the middle but so far he looks a long way off. Don't confuse that with me writing him off though. Displays genuine abilities as a likely winger drifting forward who can take big grabs and score on occasions. If he builds a serious AFL tank and works alot harder in his ability to get from contest to contest and improve his craft there also, then he might become a decent asset around stoppages.

Steele's a handy pick up but it's too much to ask from one player in a brute 'inside' clearance sense. Yes Vines will come back at some point but too late for 2026 and well past his peak now.

We're easily another three quality mid rotations away from being competitive IMV. And where are they coming from in the near term? Tassie coming into the mix also mucks us (and others) here.

Edited 26 minutes ago26 min by Demon Dynasty