Anything and Everything Fremantle
Archive for March, 2012
NAT FYFE: A week in the life
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in Miscellaneous
SATURDAY/SUNDAY
I headed down south with teammates I’m pretty close to — Matt de Boer, Zac Clarke and Tendai Mzungu.
We stayed in a holiday park for a couple of nights and watched the Margaret River Pro surfing competition on the Saturday. It was some down time away from the club, a mental refresher.
It’s the last weekend off before the mid-season break in round 12 so we made the most of it to get away with our girlfriends.
I still spent time at the beach on Sunday morning to get in a light jog. I have a program set by the club and needed to do an easy flush run to tick the legs over and keep active a little bit.
I did five 500m runs with a light stretch in between, nothing rigorous, but just enough to get a light sweat up. We drove back to Perth on Sunday night.
Pavlich tested by defensive focus
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in Miscellaneous
The football world has always felt that Fremantle are the poor relation of the game in WA.
That has probably been brought on by the fact that West Coast have been so successful in their 25 years and the Dockers’ history pales in comparison.
But the reality is you can’t just compare yourselves to West Coast, you have to compare yourselves with the rest of the competition.
If it is only based on West Coast, then they have been failures. If it is based on the rest of the competition, then they have been disappointing at best.
From 1995 to the end of 2002, Fremantle went through four coaches and the highest position they finished in that whole time — their first eight years — was 12th.
Match Preview – Fremantle Dockers v Geelong Cats
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
Fremantle Dockers v Geelong Cats – 2012 Starlight Purple Haze Game
When and Where – Saturday 31 March, 4.45pm bounce down, Patersons Stadium, Subiaco
Perth Broadcast information – Live 4.30pm (WST) Fox Sports 1 and Channel 7
Past five games (2012 NAB Cup)
Freo – W L W L L
Geel – W L W L W
The medical room
Freo – Star midfielder David Mundy is at least another week away, while Jack Anthony will miss with minor calf soreness after having a strong pre-season. Key defenders Alex Silvagni and Antoni Grover have had interrupted preparations and were not selected in the 22, however Grover has been named as an emergency. Young gun Lachie Neale could not be considered because of an ankle injury but he is close to resuming.
Not flash jumping Jack out of opener
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
Jack Anthony’s bid to re-establish himself as a power forward has been stalled by a calf strain that has ruled him out of Fremantle’s team to play Geelong at Patersons Stadium tomorrow night.
Anthony, who kicked two goals in Fremantle’s last NAB Cup match against Hawthorn and looked set to play in the season opener, missed the club’s open training session on Tuesday.
Club officials were initially tight-lipped about any concern but yesterday, after the Dockers named a team with ruckman Aaron Sandilands and midfielder Michael Barlow but without veteran defender Antoni Grover (named as an emergency) and Anthony, football manager Chris Bond confirmed Anthony had a sore calf muscle.
“He was close but we didn’t want to risk him,” Bond said. “We are 100 per cent expecting he will be available to play next week.”
Broughton sets the barometer
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
From the chance he was thrown as a mature-age rookie to his latest foray in the midfield, Fremantle’s Greg Broughton has made an art form of grasping opportunities.
Recruited with pick No. 73 in the 2009 NAB AFL Rookie Draft, Broughton immediately seized his first chance, playing 15 games in his debut season to earn permanent promotion to Fremantle’s senior list.
Then, after an impressive 2010 season that saw the tough backman add 17 games, he underlined his value by finishing third in Fremantle’s best and fairest last year.
It’s been a dream result for Fremantle recruiter Brad Lloyd, but Broughton’s stocks are poised to rise further in 2012 after a pre-season spent exclusively in the midfield.
With key onballers David Mundy, Michael Barlow and Anthony Morabito sidelined through the NAB Cup, the 25-year-old has extended his stay in the centre square with impressive results.
Sandilands and Barlow set to take on Cats
012 years
The pieces of Fremantle’s vaunted on-ball jigsaw are coming together after Aaron Sandilands and Michael Barlow were named to take on reigning AFL Premiers Geelong in Saturday’s Starlight Purple Haze Game at Patersons Stadium.Zac Dawson has also been named to make his first appearance for the club, while second-year player Josh Mellington and recently elevated rookie Clancee Pearce have been rewarded for their strong pre-seasons.
The emergencies for the game are Antoni Grover, Jayden Pitt and Jay van Berlo.
Fremantle assistant coach Mark Stone said it was a difficult but pleasing task to pick a team with so many fit and available players to choose from.
“It was a challenge,” Stone said.
“I think we had around 28-30 players that were available to pick from, which is what we want.
Pearce elevated onto senior list
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
Fremantle rookie Clancee Pearce has been rewarded for his solid pre-season with elevation to the club’s senior list after the AFL granted Fremantle permission to move him off the rookie list.
Pearce, 21, is now available for selection in Saturday’s Starlight Purple Haze Game at Patersons Stadium against reigning AFL Premiers Geelong.
The spot on the senior list was only made available after the club placed Viv Michie on the long-term injury list.
Dylan Roberton impresses
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in WAFL
Fremantle is pleased with the progress of third-year player Dylan Roberton, who was Fremantle’s WAFL player of the week playing for East Perth in round 2 of WAFL action.
Roberton had 23 disposals and 13 marks in the Royals four-point loss to WAFL premiership favourites Claremont.
Assistant coach Simon Lloyd said Roberton was looking bigger and stronger this year compared to 2011.
“His body is maturing coming into his third year, which is a real positive,” Lloyd said.
The Freo assistant said a feature of Roberton’s game on Saturday was his positioning.
“It allowed him to win or outnumber when there were defensive 50 ground balls,” he said.
“He spread really quickly and ended up taking 13 marks, mostly laterally for the switch of play.”
Lloyd said the 20-year-old’s ability to play in a variety of roles fit in well with Freo’s recruiting strategy of building a versatile team.
Sandi a huge boost: Lyon
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon has declared it would take unforeseen circumstances to stop star ruckman Aaron Sandilands facing Geelong on Saturday night, but midfielder David Mundy has been ruled out of the club’s first match of the year at Patersons Stadium.
Sandilands has not played since tearing a calf almost a month ago, but the 29-year-old declared earlier this week that he was fit and available to lead Fremantle’s midfield against the reigning premiers.
While Lyon said Sandilands was close to a certainty for Saturday night’s clash, the coach will be without Mundy and faces a balancing act with midfielder Michael Barlow, who has not played this pre-season.
Barlow has been in full training for a number of weeks after battling leg soreness and Lyon said he had given himself every chance to step straight into the senior team.
The coach said he was leaning towards playing the clearance specialist, but a final decision wouldn’t be made until late Thursday.
Curley departs Fremantle
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
Fremantle assistant coach Todd Curley is leaving the club to take advantage of an opportunity to work outside of football.
Curley, who joined the club as an assistant coach in 2008, advised the playing group of his decision today after having told general manager of football operations Chris Bond at the weekend of his decision to leave the club.
The former coach of West Perth (2006-08), who played 118 AFL games including 115 with the Western Bulldogs and three with Collingwood between 1994 and 2001, told the players he had made a lifestyle decision to leave the AFL industry.
“I have a young family and after almost 20 years as a player and a coach in what is a very demanding industry, I felt it was time to explore other opportunities outside of football and also be able to spend more time with my family,” Curley said.
“The opportunity to take up a new challenge, which I am really excited about and is outside of football, only arose in the past week or so and is the reason why I am leaving the club at such short notice.
