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Freo aims to stand tall
Mar 8th
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon is preparing to unveil a three-pronged tall forward line against Port Adelaide on Saturday, with the new structure likely to be implemented for the start of the 2012 season.
Captain Matthew Pavlich will return to face the Power after being rested against Richmond last Saturday night, and he will be joined in attack by marking targets Kepler Bradley, Jack Anthony and Chris Mayne.
With a resting ruckman also likely to be deployed forward at times during the 2012 season, Lyon said Fremantle would have a tall set-up in attack, similar to that used to great effect by West Coast in 2011.
“It’ll be nice to start seeing Mayne, Bradley, Anthony and Matthew [Pavlich] together, with [Matt] de Boer and [Josh] Mellington,” the coach said on Thursday.
“[We'll have] Stephen Hill and [Nat] Fyfe going through there and maybe a [Hayden] Ballantyne at the right time.
Preview: Power v Freo
Mar 8th
WHERE AND WHEN: Encounter Bay Oval, Saturday March 10, 3.40pm
LAST TIME: Port Adelaide 14.6 (90) defeated by Fremantle 21.16 (142) round 9, 2011 at AAMI Stadium
TV, RADIO AND BETTING: Click here for broadcast guide
THE FOUR POINTS
Port Adelaide
1. The Power have shown far more fight already in 2012 and look to have heeded coach Matthew Primus’s call to stay competitive throughout matches. With a host of their best players back this weekend, the return of experience and class could be enough to get them through.
2. Young ruckman Jarrad Redden wants Port’s No. 1 ruck spot. Fremantle’s Aaron Sandilands is unlikely to play but with Jonathan Griffin and Zac Clarke sharing the ruck duties, Redden will have his work cut out for him if he’s to impress.
3. John Butcher impressed in his four games at the end of last season and has done so again in the NAB Cup. After five goals in three quarters last week, he looks set for a huge season and is sure to cause Fremantle’s backline a few headaches.
Strong team picked for Victor Harbor encounter
Mar 8th
Ross Lyon is sticking by his plan to get minutes into the players’ legs before round 1, selecting a strong team to play Port Adelaide at Victor Harbor in South Australia on Saturday.
Matthew Pavlich will travel to his home state after being rested for last weekend’s match against Richmond at Patersons Stadium.
Key defenders Antoni Grover and Alex Silvagni are in line for their first appearances of the pre-season, as is hard-at-it midfielder Nick Lower.
New recruits Hayden Crozier, Sam Menegola and Haiden Schloithe could also potentially play their first games in a Freo jumper.
The 29-man squad for the NAB Cup round 3 match includes stars Luke McPharlin, Nat Fyfe, Stephen Hill and Greg Broughton, although Aaron Sandilands was not named after pulling out after the warm-up last week.
Neale firms for Dockers’ opener
Mar 6th
Fremantle draftee Lachie Neale is firmly in the frame for a round-one debut after several impressive performances throughout the pre-season, according to teammate Greg Broughton.
Neale has been one of the surprise packets of the off-season. Recruited with pick 58 in last year’s national draft, Neale has jumped over the three players that Fremantle chose ahead of him to play every pre-season game.
The Dockers have stuck with a stable team in the first two rounds of the NAB Cup so the players can prepare for the home-and-away season, which bodes well for Neale.
He has handled the pace of AFL level and played close to goal and further up the field. Broughton said he was a strong chance to make his debut if he maintained his form.
“He’s a youngster. He knows what he’s got to work on with the team structures. He played well again so I think he’d be pushing for round one,” Broughton said.
Fremantle appoints GM strategic projects
Mar 6th
The Fremantle Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Brad Paatsch to the position of general manager of strategic projects.
Paatsch is currently general manager of Coffey Sport and Leisure, a Melbourne-based sports management consultancy firm.
Paatsch’s primary areas of responsibility at Fremantle will include progressing the club’s plans for a new training and administration facility and acting as the club’s representative on the Football Working Group for the new Perth Stadium on the Burswood Peninsula.
Paatsch’s extensive experience in sports management has covered responsibility for the planning and delivery of new training and administration facilities for a range of AFL clubs, including St Kilda’s new facility at Seaford, Carlton (VISY Park), North Melbourne (Aegis Park), Melbourne (AAMI Park) and Geelong (Kardinia Park) as well as extensive experience with the planning and design of several stadia across Australia.
He is due to start at Fremantle in April.
Up in the air
Mar 6th
Tony Modra was a full-back’s nightmare.
His high-flying aerial ability combined with the rarest of goal sense drew adoring crowds countrywide.
Yet on reflection, Modra doesn’t hesitate to rate the atmosphere of country football as better than that of a packed MCG.
He began his career on ovals surrounded by honking cars and passionate locals, and that’s where he ended it.
“It’s the people that you’re playing with – they’ve all got respect for you – and it doesn’t end after the game,” Modra said of his love for country football.
“Back in the change rooms having a quiet beer and then venturing into the opposition rooms and talking about the game is something I think we tend to miss a lot now with AFL.
“You can’t beat that.”
Freo’s old men ready to roll
Mar 6th
Fremantle defender Luke McPharlin believes the club’s senior stars should play at least one full practice match before the season opener against Geelong, after being nursed through the opening rounds of the NAB Cup.
McPharlin made his return from a minor ankle injury against Richmond last Sunday night, but the 30-year-old was substituted out of the game at half time.
Captain Matthew Pavlich and star ruckman Aaron Sandilands, who was a late withdrawal against the Tigers with calf tightness, have also made low-key starts to the pre-season competition.
McPharlin said there were many positives in the way Fremantle performed without its senior core on Sunday night, but playing a full match before round one would be ideal for the important trio.
“I think it’s good to get close to it… you want to know that you can certainly hit round one fully confident that you can run out four quarters,” McPharlin said on Tuesday.
Hot for spots in back six
Mar 6th
The hot competition for spots in Fremantle’s backline this season is keeping the club’s defenders on their toes, which is a good thing according to Michael Johnson.
The arrival of Zac Dawson from St Kilda has given senior coach Ross Lyon no shortage of choices for his back six, which could also potentially feature talls Luke McPharlin, Antoni Grover, Alex Silvagni and Peter Faulks.
Johnson, who has been relishing the opportunity to play a settled role off half-back, said all of the clubs defenders understood that winning a spot in the team wasn’t going to be easy.
“If you’re doing the right thing out on the field and in training, you’ll get a gig in Ross’ back six,” he said.
“Whoever gets the chance to play round 1 will have to play exceptionally good to hold their spot.
“But that’s good for the team and the backline.”
Fyfe can only get better
Mar 6th
The scary news for opposition clubs is that Nat Fyfe, one of the stars of Freo’s round 2 NAB Cup win over Richmond on Sunday, says he’s yet to hit peak fitness.
Fyfe, who had 25 possessions before being subbed off at three-quarter-time, was dominant in the second and third terms after a slow start.
He said an interrupted pre-season had left him slightly behind most of the group in terms of fitness.
“Obviously the guys that have been able to train all of the way through the pre-season are a little bit ahead of me,” he said.
“I’m hoping that a bit more match time next week and in the weeks to come will bring me up cherry-ripe for round 1.”
Fyfe said Sunday’s performance, in the absence of stars like Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands and David Mundy, showed Freo was in good shape heading into the start of the home and away season.
“It’s really healthy, we’ve got a lot of depth at the moment, and with those guys back I think we’re going to be quite a strong force this year.”
Lyon calm after Sandi scare
Mar 4th
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon is adamant star ruckman Aaron Sandilands will be fit to face Geelong in round one after he was forced to sit out Sunday night’s NAB Cup win over Richmond with a tight calf.
Sandilands, who was named to face the Tigers at Patersons Stadium, was a late withdrawal after complaining of calf tightness early in the warm-up.
Lyon said it was a precautionary move to rest Sandilands, who has enjoyed a near flawless pre-season, and he was pleased to see how the team functioned with Jon Griffin and Zac Clarke sharing ruck duties in the 38-point win.
“Aaron we planned to play, he just tightened up in his calf,” the coach said. “We just tapped him out [so] there was no risk.
“I don’t think he got through his warm-up. He got out, trotted around and we’re certainly at them to communicate if anything changes.
“It’s really a high priority to get through unscathed and he’s really important to us.
