Anything and Everything Fremantle
Archive for May, 2012
Settled Duffield ready for game 100
012 years
Paul Duffield, who is set to play his 100th AFL game this Saturday, credits a full pre-season and a settled role for his solid form in 2012.
The 27-year-old said reaching the 100-game milestone was an achievement he was very pleased with.
“When you’re growing up, to play one game of football is a dream come true,” he said.
“So to come off the rookie list and take two or three years to work my way into playing some games of AFL football, and get my name on the locker, is something I’m really, really proud of.
“I’ll look back on it when I’m finished and be really proud of that achievement.”
Duffield admitted that a compromised pre-season last year left him doubting his own abilities as the game of AFL picked up a level in 2011.
“I didn’t have such a great pre-season last year, and in my mind I wasn’t able to compete to the level I wanted to,” he said.
Where Freo is going wrong
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in Miscellaneous
1. Their engine room is short on match fitness
On first glance, Fremantle’s list looks pretty healthy. Nat Fyfe (shoulder) is the only significant out besides Anthony Morabito (knee), who is working his way back through the WAFL and should be available after the bye. But interrupted pre-seasons to the likes of David Mundy, Michael Barlow and Aaron Sandilands means the bulk of Fremantle’s engine room is struggling to get traction. Mundy and Barlow are battling to run games out and lack the pace needed to launch the counter-attacks that are so crucial to Ross Lyon’s game plan. Sandilands is not right either and will probably make way for Jonathon Griffin every now and again in order to keep from overburdening himself.
Midfield reconstruct
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
Senior coach Ross Lyon says Fremantle will reconstruct its midfield in order to compete with the AFL’s elite and signalled the likes of Matt de Boer and Chris Mayne as candidates for a new role.
Fremantle was “obliterated” by West Coast’s midfield in Sunday’s Carlton Mid Derby, losing the inside 50 count 64-30, including just seven entries in the second half.
Lyon said the midfield had struggled for depth this season and admitted it had been the club’s weakness.
“We haven’t fully recovered, with David Mundy still building, noFyfe, no Morabito, and Barlow still working his way back,” he said.
“We just haven’t got that depth so were going to have to look at players like de Boer and Mayne and reconstruct a midfield to give us a chance to compete against the best AFL teams.”
Lyon said a host of players had done well to plug the gaps in the middle this season, but ultimately the club needed to build a midfield that could compete against class units like West Coast’s.
Fremantle need Saintly speed
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in Miscellaneous
By SportsNewsFirst
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon’s urgent need for speed in his adopted outfit’s midfield is pointing directly at potential recruitment of at least one of his former club’s stars.
It is understood that a handful of Lyon’s former St Kilda dominators Brendon Goddard, Leigh Montagna and Nick Dal Santo are in the firing line for a possible reunion with their old coach over in the west.
The re-modelled Dockers under Lyon have made it abundantly clear they are searching for a power forward and have been linked with attempts to lure brute force Collingwood gun Travis Cloke for next year.
Dockers search for AFL midfield answers
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in Miscellaneous
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon will start filtering out his team’s weakest links over the coming weeks as he attempts to revitalise the AFL club’s underperforming midfield.
The Dockers are reeling from back-to-back thumpings, with the club posting their lowest ever score at Patersons Stadium in Sunday’s 48-point loss to arch rivals West Coast.
Lyon conceded his midfield was “obliterated” in the 11.18 (84) to 5.6 (36) loss, and immediately put his charges on notice.
Of most concern to Lyon is the midfield group, who have failed to capitalise on the dominance of ruckman Aaron Sandilands this season.
Freo’s failure comes down to talent
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in Miscellaneous
Fremantle’s finals hopes are in disarray but the dire situation they find themselves in runs much deeper than any alleged issues with Ross Lyon’s game plan.
Much of the criticism directed towards the Dockers in the first nine games of the Lyon era has suggested they can’t win because their new coach is too defensive and restricts the players’ natural freedom.
But their abysmal effort in a 48-point loss to West Coast on Sunday should show that the issue is the playing group’s lack of talent, not the game plan.
The Eagles midfield humiliated Fremantle. The Dockers were several classes below the likes of Matt Rosa, Matt Priddis and Luke Shuey and it wasn’t because of a dour structure.
Five Talking points from round 9
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in Miscellaneous
1. A tale of two halves
Scores were level following a ferocious first half punctuated by Freo’s intense attack on the ball and lockdown on the Eagles’ stars. What transpired over the next two quarters was an inexplicable drop-off from the team in purple that left its coach and fans bewildered. Ross Lyon has preached the importance of a four-quarter effort all season and Sunday’s Jekyll and Hyde performance didn’t leave him pleased at all.
2. Defence stands tall
If there could be any positives taken from the disappointing Derby result, it’s the performance of the club’s key defenders. Impenetrable in the first half, Luke McPharlin and co were simply overwhelmed by the quantity of ball West Coast’s forwards saw in the second. Often the receptor of unfair criticism, Zac Dawson stood tall all day, as he has all season, while Alex Silvagni showed why he’s so popular among the fans by competing bravely in his first game of the season.
Silvagni’s Derby disappointment
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
Despite a solid individual effort in his first AFL game of the season, a blunt Alex Silvagni gave a harsh evaluation of his own and the team’s performance in the 48-point Carlton Mid Derby loss to West Coast on Sunday.
The 24-year-old key defender, who battled hard matched up on in-form Eagle Jack Darling, said he was glad to be back playing AFL.
But he wasn’t giving himself any plaudits for his efforts.
“It’s always good to play footy with the boys, but it’s disappointing in games like these. I’m disappointed in myself and just as a team as well,” he said.
“I was disappointed that I got beaten in a couple of contests.
“I really hate being beaten and, at the end of the day, we got beaten on the scoreboard, so it’s really disappointing.”
After playing for WAFL side Claremont so far this season, Silvagni said the jump to AFL level was “massive”.
Lyon sharpens the axe
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in News
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon says the midfield is his team’s Achilles heel after West Coast “obliterated” his onballers in Sunday’s one-sided Derby at Patersons Stadium.
In a frank post-match assessment following Fremantle’s lowest score at home, Lyon acknowledged he had team balance issues to address and took responsibility for the side’s method in Sunday’s 48-point loss.
He said the decision to play an extra ruckman and tall defender had made the team “cumbersome”, and said Fremantle had a lot of work to do this season before it could compete with the competition’s best.
The coach indicated he would make tough selection decisions and “filter out” players who weren’t willing to work at the standard required to improve.
“From here we’ll push forward and try to expose our youth,” Lyon said on Sunday night.
“Those players that want to be a part of the solution and work really hard we’ll support, and try and filter out those that don’t want to work to the standard that we need.
The goal – a happy ending
012 years
by DockerNow.com
in Miscellaneous
Watching Fremantle leaves you frustrated and confused. The Dockers opened up the season beating reigning premier Geelong in a brutal contest that had it all. The Dockers were in the Cats’ faces, taking it up to them in the physical stakes and on the scoreboard when they kicked the first six goals of the game.
The Dockers took the game on with hard running, physical tackling and free scoring, kicking more than 100 points in that match, which was the only time they have achieved that this season.
That was March 31 and that was the last time we’ve seen Freo play in that fashion over four quarters.
