Anything and Everything Fremantle
Archive for March, 2011
Sandilands unconcerned by winless pre-season
013 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands says winning will remain a secondary consideration in the club’s final pre-season hit-out against West Coast this Saturday.
Fremantle is yet to notch a win this pre-season following its 30-point loss to the Western Bulldogs in Bunbury, and it will close its preparations with a NAB Challenge derby against West Coast this Saturday.
Sandilands, who made an impressive return with limited ground time against the Bulldogs, said tuning up for a round one clash with the Brisbane Lions would be the side’s main focus on Saturday.
“We haven’t had [a win] so far but we’ve been trying a lot of different things,” Sandilands said from Fremantle Oval on Wednesday.
“You go out there every game to try and win, but it’s not the be-all and end-all [during pre-season].
“We’ve got a lot of game time into some of our younger players, which we’re going to need over the course of the season.
Freo, Eagles push for own WAFL teams
013 years
West Coast and Fremantle will make a joint submission to the WA Football Commission by the end of this month outlining why they should have stand-alone teams in the WAFL as early as next year.
Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett confirmed last night he and Dockers counterpart Steve Rosich were heading a working party compiling the bid, which he said had been requested by the WAFC.
And in a further push, the AFL Players’ Association will make a separate submission at the same time to the WAFC strongly supporting the position of WA’s AFL clubs. It is expected to be finalised later this week.
AFLPA player relations manager Ian Prendergast told The West Australian last night the concept was “ideal” and reflected how players felt about their development amid significant recent changes in the game’s professionalism at the elite level.
Freo Dockers to play West Coast at Fremantle Oval
013 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
The AFL has today advised Fremantle that the club’s NAB Challenge round three game will be against West Coast at Fremantle Oval on Saturday at 11.00am.
Fremantle chief executive officer Steve Rosich said that due to the venue’s limited crowd capacity, the club was encouraging members and supporters to arrive as close possible to the gate opening time of 9.30am.
“We are satisfied that we do not have to travel interstate, and that we are playing in Perth in front of our home crowd,” he said.
Bounce down: 11.00am
Gates Open: 9.30am
Ticketing Arrangements: Fremantle members, AFL members and West Coast members admitted free. General admission tickets available via Ticketmaster from 12 noon, Tuesday 8 March.
Undermanned Freo falls to Dogs
013 years
by DockerNow.com
in Match Results
FREMANTLE 5.7 6.7 9.12 9.14 (68)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 0.3 7.11 7.11 14.14 (98)
GOALS
Fremantle: Crowley 3, Palmer 2, Sandilands, McPhee, Bradley, Johnson
Western Bulldogs: Skinner 4, Hill 2, Tutt 2, Howard, Veszpremi, Hahn, Jones, Hooper, Minson
BEST
Fremantle: Sandilands, Suban, Crowley, Palmer, Mzungu, Johnson, Fyfe
Western Bulldogs: Skinner, Stack, Moles, Hill, Wallis, Cross, Addison, Tutt
INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, Stewart, Dalgleish
Crowd: 4000 (est.) at Hands Oval in Bunbury
Harvey backs young talent to build
013 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
Fremantle coach Mark Harvey goes head-to-head with The West’s chief football writer Mark Duffield.
Mark Duffield: What is achievable in 2011?
Mark Harvey: To try and maintain momentum, building on the previous year, really. To see improvement from individuals and then from the team. It is always a great challenge for a young group. They have had a taste of playing in finals and it is whether they can handle it again. If you have a look at the demographics of our team, you would like to think there is significant improvement just from maturity. The interesting phase for us is whether our younger players can go to the next level.
Harvey hits back
013 years
by DockerNow.com
in Miscellaneous
Fremantle coach Mark Harvey has hit back at claims from Terry Wallace and Chris McDermott that the Dockers lack depth in key positions.
Speaking after Fremantle lost to Adelaide by 74 points in last Saturday’s NAB Challenge match, Former Adelaide skipper McDermott said he didn’t believe Jonathan Griffin and youngster Zac Clarke were capable of carrying the ruck after Aaron Sandilands’ retirement.
And Wallace echoed those comments, saying the eventual retirements of veteran defenders Luke McPharlin and Antoni Grover would leave Fremantle with an undersized defence led by Alex Silvagni and newcomer Peter Faulks.
Time running out for Freo, warns Wallace
013 years
by DockerNow.com
in Miscellaneous
Fremantle’s premiership window will shut at the end of next year because of a lack of quality key-position players behind the Dockers’ ageing stars, according to former Western Bulldogs and Richmond coach Terry Wallace.
Wallace also warned Dockers coach Mark Harvey to end Matthew Pavlich’s midfield stints and leave the captain as a permanent forward or risk his burn-out.
With Chris Tarrant having returned to Collingwood, Wallace believed Fremantle had few key defensive options outside Luke McPharlin and Antoni Grover, who will turn 30 and 31 this year.
Wallace said Alex Silvagni (191cm) and VFL recruit Peter Faulks (192cm) were not big enough to tackle the AFL’s most imposing forwards.
Wallace’s comments come on the back of claims by Adelaide great Chris McDermott that Fremantle’s suspect ruck stocks under Aaron Sandilands could derail their premiership hopes.
Midfield duo almost right
013 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
Fremantle coach Mark Harvey admits key midfielders David Mundy and Stephen Hill have not had ideal pre-season campaigns, but he is confident the pair will find form quickly ahead of round one.
Mundy has been restricted by groin tightness this pre-season, while Hill has been on a restricted program since returning from the Christmas break after experiencing shin soreness.
Both have been left out of Fremantle’s NAB Challenge squad to face the Western Bulldogs in Bunbury on Saturday and will play their first pre-season matches next week.
Harvey said ideally the pair would have played two practice matches ahead of round one.
“Effectively they’re missing a game [but] at the moment in training, we’re having match simulation, so they’re still getting parts of that anyhow,” the coach said from Fremantle Oval on Thursday.
Subs a penalty: Harvey
013 years
by DockerNow.com
in Miscellaneous
Fremantle coach Mark Harvey believes the AFL’s new interchange rules could hurt frequent-travelling teams that have become accustomed to rotating heavily on the road.
With the interchange bench reduced to three players and one substitute this season, clubs are readying for an inevitable drop in rotations by preparing fitter, more versatile players.
Harvey said the bench would be a key tactical ground in 2011 but he was wary of the impact it would have on clubs such as Fremantle, which travels at least 10 times in a season.
“The interesting thing about travelling on the road is the limit on the rotations and whether that adds to the difficulty of winning on the road,” Harvey said.
“That’s an important point, because we’re about to find out about that. I see it as another restriction of travel.”
Fremantle’s rotations on the road peaked at 143 in round 17 last year against the Western Bulldogs, but the club rotated slightly more at the expansive Patersons Stadium, averaging 130 rotations at home and 123 when travelling.
Freo stars return for Bunbury NAB Challenge match
013 years
Fremantle has recalled some key names for its NAB Challenge hitout with the Western Bulldogs at Hands Oval, Bunbury on Saturday.
Aaron Sandilands returns, while Hayden Ballantyne and Nathan Fyfe have been named for their first matches of the pre-season.
The club’s highest draft pick Jayden Pitt will also make his first appearance.
