Archive for June, 2012
Lyon’s love for the game gets him to 300
0As his 300th official match as a player and coach approaches, Ross Lyon says it’s the love for the game that has kept him involved in the system for so long.
This Saturday against Collingwood at the MCG, the Fremantle senior coach qualifies for AFL Life Membership for a career comprising 129 home and away matches as a player for Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears, 17 pre-season matches as a player for Fitzroy, one State of Origin match, 133 premiership and 19 pre-season matches as a coach for St Kilda and Fremantle.
“Fundamentally, if you don’t love football you couldn’t work in a manner to keep you involved,” Lyon said.
“It’s something you have to work hard every day to be a part of and I’m really respectful and grateful of the opportunities the game has given me.”
Lyon said he had never taken his position in the game for granted and felt “privileged” to have an honour such as AFL Life Membership bestowed upon him.
Broughton looks forward
0Greg Broughton says he enjoyed his new role as a forward against Essendon last Saturday night and would be happy to continue playing there, should his coaches require him to.
The 25-year-old has played his entire AFL career as a defender and a midfielder, but he said the shift into attack had been in the works over the past month.
“I’d played there in spurts in the last couple of games against Adelaide and Richmond, and the coaches thought I could play a role up there against Essendon,” he said.
“I played all four quarters up there in a bit of a defensive role on Dustin Fletcher.”
Broughton, who played as a forward for Subiaco in the 2007 WAFL season, was pleased to register two goals against the Bombers in his new role.
“I’ve played a couple of quarters up there in the previous two games and hadn’t hit the scoreboard yet, so I was lucky enough to get on there with a couple on the weekend,” he said.
Up for the fight
0Fremantle faces one of the toughest road trips in football at the weekend, a week after fading to a dispiriting loss at home to Essendon in round 13.
But forward Chris Mayne says his team will tackle Collingwood at the MCG with confidence despite Saturday night’s defeat against Essendon.
Mayne said the last quarter fade-out against the Bombers was different to other lapses that have cost the team this season.
Fremantle failed to kick a goal in the final term against the Bombers, who outran thehome team after three-quarter time to notch their first win in Perth since 2008.
It was the sixth time Fremantle has kicked no more than one goal in a quarter this season (including twice against Carlton and West Coast).
However, Mayne said the players gave “great effort” in the final quarter and they should be encouraged ahead of a daunting trip to face ladder-leaders Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday.
Being dropped hurt: Ibbotson
0Garrick Ibbotson says the hurt of being dropped earlier in the season is spurring him on to perform for Fremantle and keep his spot in the team.
Ibbotson was omitted for the round 9 Carlton Mid Derby against West Coast after what he admitted was below par form leading into the game.
“I wasn’t performing to the best of my ability,” he said.
Following his exclusion from the team , the 24-year-old spoke with coach Ross Lyon, who set him some targets.
“Ross set a few simple things for me, mainly to maintain 100 per cent effort the whole time,” he said.
“That was the main thing he tried to drill into me.
“He said if I maintain the effort for the entire game, the results will come.”
After the Derby, Lyon asked Ibbotson what watching the game from the sidelines felt like.
Lyon positive despite defeat
0Fremantle coach Ross Lyon says his team “ticked a lot of boxes” in Saturday night’s fighting loss to Essendon at Patersons Stadium, adding improvement would come with key players set to return next week.
After building a 17-point lead late in the third quarter on the back of a strong midfield performance, Fremantle conceded six unanswered goals to lose by 24 points against the top-four Bombers.
Lyon was optimistic key players Stephen Hill (ankle) and Zac Dawson (knee) would be available for next Saturday’s clash with Collingwood at the MCG, while Hayden Ballantyne returns from suspension.
He said Saturday night’s fourth-quarter fadeout was not as disappointing as other 30-minute lapses that have cost his team this season.
“No one’s more disappointed than the playing group and myself at the minute – we’re not sort of glowing in defeat here, we’re really hurting,” the coach said on Saturday night.
NAT FYFE: Shouldering the burden
0Fremantle star Nat Fyfe writes exclusively for The Weekend West on dislocating his left shoulder, going for surgery and the long road back.
Rnd 3 – Dislocation
Immediately after I’d hurt my shoulder I came to the bench and pulled the joint back into place. As much as I tried not to think about the consequences, I knew I’d undone all the rehabilitation from last year’s shoulder operation. I was thinking it was worse this time around, but as all players do you try to push through the pain and get back out there. The decision was made to substitute me out of the game. The next 48 hours were a confusing time. That night I spoke to our physios, doctors and briefly to coach Ross Lyon about what action to take. It was a mental roller coaster. I’d convince myself that I was fine and able to play on — no worries. But each time reality would hit and I’d be flat again. I had the scan first thing in the morning and it revealed what we had all expected. I’d re-damaged all of what I had fixed from the last surgery. However, like last year, there was still a chance I could play on.
Fadeout proves costly
0FREMANTLE 6.1 8.2 14.4 14.5 (89)
ESSENDON 5.2 10.4 13.5 17.11 (113)
GOALS
Fremantle: Mayne 4, Pavlich 3, Clarke 2, Broughton 2, Barlow, Griffin, de Boer.
Essendon: Hurley 6, Monfries 2, Dell’Olio 2, Crameri 2, Heppell, Ryder, Hille, Melksham, Watson.
BEST
Fremantle: Pavlich, Barlow, Mayne, Ibbotson, Clarke, de Boer, Lower
Essendon: Hurley, Watson, Myers, Howlett, Ryder, Crameri, Carlisle
INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
Essendon: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Fremantle: Jayden Pitt replaced Jesse Crichton at three-quarter time.
Essendon: Nathan Lovett-Murray replaced Angus Monfries in the third quarter.
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Schmitt, Meredith, Bannister
Official crowd: 34,567 at Patersons Stadium
Griffin – Giving his all as lead ruck
0Jonathon Griffin is happy to be playing AFL – let alone leading the Fremantle Dockers’ ruck brigade.
The 26-year-old former Adelaide Crow was thrust into the role of lone ruckman in round 11, when Aaron Sandilands went down with injury early in the game.
Griffin played well and was a factor in Freo’s big win over Richmond at the MCG.
The lifelong Fremantle fan will again take charge this Saturday night against Essendon.
He said he was always looking to do the best he could every time he stepped out onto a footy ground.
“It’s just great to be playing alongside the boys,” he said.
“Regardless of where I’m playing, I just want to do the best I can and contribute to the team’s success.”
Griffin hoped to continue improving his game, which he said was always a work in progress.
WAFL Watch – Part 3: Rucks and Forwards
0WAFL Watch – Part 3 – Rucks and Forwards
Zac Clarke (EP) – 26 disposals (13 kicks, 13 handballs), 8 marks, 6 tackles, 18 hitouts, 1 goal
Zac started deep forward and looked very dangerous when one on one. He used his body really well in aerial contests, where he took some strong marks. He kicked the goal of the day in the first quarter, but ended up kicking 1.4, so conversion is obviously a focus for him. He rotated with Johnson in the ruck, which worked well. A good game from Zac.
Kepler Bradley (WP) – 18 disposals (10 kicks, 8 handballs), 5 marks, 10 hitouts, 1 goal
Kepler played a mixture of high and deep forward and had some short stints in the ruck as well. He saw a lot of the ball early and looked comfortable close to goal. He showed some really long 80-metre-plus leads to receive the ball on half-back and work it forward. He looked dangerous as a deeper forward and his positives were his work rate and his leading patterns. Kepler is really starting to find some consistency after coming back from injury.
WAFL Watch – Part 2: Defenders
0WAFL Watch – Part 2 – Defenders
Jack Anthony (S) – 17 disposals (11 kicks, 6 handballs), 3 marks, 6 tackles
Jack played in defence for Subiaco, both deep and across the arc. He was one of the better defenders on the ground and showed great effort in the physical contests, both at ground level and in the air. He worked off his opponents to spoil in marking contests several times and had a real impact. His tackling was good and he showed real energy and aggression playing in defence. It was a really positive step for Jack.
Alex Silvagni (C) – 18 disposals (15 kicks, 3 handballs), 7 marks
Alex played key back in the Foxtel Cup against Mount Gravette. Claremont dominated the game winning by 14 goals. Alex’s ball use was good and he was very decisive with his kicking. He found himself on different type of opponents and positioned very well behind the ball. He was in the two or three best players on the ground, which was pleasing.