Anything and Everything Fremantle
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Pavlich primed to power forward
Feb 22nd
Fremantle champion Matthew Pavlich says he is relishing his return to the power forward role but knows the nature of the position had changed significantly since he last played there in 2008.
Pavlich, who played in Fremantle’s Sunday romp against Essendon in round one of the NAB Cup before sitting out the defeat to West Coast, was speaking at Nulsen Primary School, in Esperance, today as part of Fremantle’s community camp.
Freo pleased with progress on game plan: Mellington
Feb 20th
Young forward Josh Mellington says Fremantle is satisfied with the progress it has made adjusting to new coach Ross Lyon’s game plan following the mixed result in yesterday’s NAB Cup triangular series against Essendon and West Coast at Patersons Stadium.
Freo defeated the Bombers by 36 points in the first game but fell to a 20-point loss against the Eagles.
Mellington said the side’s structures put Essendon under a lot of pressure in the first fixture.
“The pressure in the forward half was immense,” he said.
“It put them under the pump which forced errors and turnovers, which created scoring opportunities.”
The 19-year-old said the shoe was put on the other foot in the second game, with West Coast’s press proving too good.
“West Coast locked the ball in their forward 50 so we struggled with that pressure,” he said.
Neale stands up for Fremantle
Feb 20th
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon has praised draftee Lachie Neale after the teenage midfielder made an impressive start to his AFL career in Sunday’s NAB Cup matches against Essendon and West Coast.
Neale, who was selected with pick No.58 in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft, has been one of Fremantle’s standout performers this summer and he took that form onto Patersons Stadium for the club’s opening pre-season matches.
The South Australian kicked two goals in his team’s 36-point win over Essendon before a quieter match against West Coast and Lyon said he had slotted in well against AFL opposition.
“He did (look comfortable),” the coach said on Sunday night. “I suppose we’ve been a little bit bullish about him.
“In the second game he faded, but that was to be expected and it would have been easy to sub him out but we just kept him going.
“He’s just put another step in the right direction.”
Fremantle downed by Eagles
Feb 20th
FREMANTLE 0.0.1 0.1.4 (10)
WEST COAST 0.1.5 0.4.6 (30)
GOALS
Fremantle: Mellington
West Coast: Cox 2, Weedon, Shuey
BEST
Fremantle: Duffield, McPhee, Pitt, Crowley, Broughton
West Coast: Hurn, Cox, Masten, Stevens, Stevenson, Shuey
INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
West Coast: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Farmer, Dalgleish, McPhee
Official crowd: 27,581 at Patersons Stadium
Freo starts with a bang
Feb 20th
ESSENDON 0.2.1 0.3.2 (20)
FREMANTLE 1.2.5 1.7.5 (56)
GOALS
Essendon: Hille, Monfries, Dell’Olio
Fremantle: Neale 2, Suban (super goal), Duffield, McPhee, Pearce, Pavlich, Mellington
BEST
Essendon: Jetta, Dell’Olio, Hibberd, Carlisle, Monfries
Fremantle: Neale, Ballantyne, Fyfe, Hill, Pavlich, Sandilands
INJURIES
Essendon: Nil
Fremantle: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Farmer, Dalgleish, McPhee
Crowd: 27,581 at Patersons Stadium
Dockers’ Fyfe pain free and primed
Feb 19th
Last year, a simple overhead mark or laying a strong tackle would make star Fremantle midfielder Nat Fyfe wince in pain.
But after undergoing shoulder surgery and doing months of rehab during the summer, Fyfe is finally pain free and primed for a big AFL season.
Fyfe’s shoulder popped out of its socket several times last year, leaving the 20-year-old in massive pain and restricted in some of his movements.
Amazingly, Fyfe still managed to feature in 21 of Fremantle’s 22 games, averaging an impressive 25 possessions and booting 18 goals to only narrowly miss out on All-Australian selection.
The 186cm winger made it through last week’s intra-club hit-out unscathed, and his shoulder will get another good test in Sunday’s NAB Cup games against West Coast and Essendon at Patersons Stadium.
Early depth test for Freo
Feb 19th
Fremantle forward Matt de Boer says the club will have its depth tested early in the NAB Cup, with a host of key players set to miss Sunday’s opening matches against West Coast and Essendon.
Midfielder Michael Barlow has soreness in the leg he broke more than 18 months ago and is not expected to play until later in the pre-season, while David Mundy (ankle) is in doubt for the club’s season opener against Geelong on March 31.
Other key players not selected for Sunday’s NAB Cup triple-header are Luke McPharlin, Alex Silvagni, Anthony Morabito, Kepler Bradley, Antoni Grover and Jon Griffin.
New recruits Lachie Neale, Tom Sheridan, Hayden Crozier, Lee Spurr, Haiden Schloithe and Sam Menagola have all been named, meanwhile, and will be given opportunities.
“The younger boys are jumping out of their skin to get out there,” de Boer said from Patersons Stadium on Friday.
“We’ve got a lot of good talent and it’s good to test our depth so early and on a big stage here at home.
Barlow’s leg still sore
Feb 17th
Michael Barlow was a surprise omission from Fremantle’s squad for Sunday’s round one NAB Cup clashes against West Coast and Essendon after suffering soreness in the leg he broke.
He could miss up to three weeks of pre-season matches as the Dockers adopt a safety-first approach with his rebuilt left leg.
“He has got some soreness in his leg,” football manager Chris Bond said last night.
“It is nothing major. We are expecting to take things easy with him for two to three weeks.
“We are expecting him to play at some point later in the NAB Cup.”
The Dockers named a 30-man squad for their first hit-outs of 2012, with star veterans Matthew Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands set to play in the two shortened games.
Kepler Bradley and Alex Silvagni, both with sore calf muscles, and Jesse Crichton (toe) were left out.
Banished Docker answers Lyon’s challenge
Feb 17th
Suspended Fremantle forward Michael Walters has wiped almost 40 seconds off his best 3km time trial time, but his battle with skinfolds is likely to see him banished from the club until late in the NAB Cup.
Fremantle sent Walters back to his WAFL club Swan Districts on January 20 after he failed to heed warnings about his fitness and weight.
Coach Ross Lyon said the 21-year-old’s training performances had improved but he still had other work to do before he’d be welcomed back.
“There’s a uniform benchmark that every club would use,” Lyon said. “If you don’t meet it, we give you all the support and encouragement but there comes a cut-off date where you’re not getting there, like young Walters that went back to Swan Districts.
“We certainly support all our people but we challenge the behaviour and the door is open for everyone to conform to the expectations.
Lyon names first squad
Feb 17th
Ross Lyon’s first official match as Fremantle coach could see up to seven players pull on the purple jumper for the first time.
The 30-man squad for Sunday’s NAB Cup round 1 fixture against West Coast and Essendon at Patersons Stadium includes former St Kilda defender Zac Dawson.
He has been named along with draftees Lachie Neale, Hayden Crozier and Tom Sheridan, and rookies Lee Spurr, Sam Menegola and Haiden Schloithe.
The onus of leading the backline will fall on Dawson and second-year player Peter Faulks in the absence of key defenders Luke McPharlin, Antoni Grover and Alex Silvagni.
There’ll still be plenty of star-power and experience out on the park for Freo, however, with captain Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands, Stephen Hill, Hayden Ballantyne and 2011 sensation Nat Fyfe all named in the squad.
Freo will play two shortened matches against the Bombers and Eagles comprising of 20-minute halves across a three-hour window.
