Brodie had the most contested possessions and clearences on our team that game. Brodie has a quick burst of speed so he can definitely hold players accountable but for one reason or another hasn't done that this season. You have to remember our midfield coach has no clue when it comes to positioning at stoppages.
I think a big part of it comes down to Carr knew how to use him, Corey doesn't. Because the only thing in that midfield setup that changed is JOM/Mundy, and JOM is much more defensively accountable.
I think Young is that type of player who has the core strength to not go to ground.
I agree no way JOM plays wing. I thought JOM was good on weekend but for wing you need to have great endurance - whereas JOM doesn’t have great endurance and high level gut running. I just can’t see JOM being successful on the wing. At Hawks he rotated between on ball and half forward. He has a nice set shot and uses his strong body quite well to take a mark or being the ball to ground.
ThankyouAnalysis: Josh Treacy’s future within Fremantle’s forward line, after three goals against Collingwood
He’s a step above state league football but still searching for AFL consistency. ELIZA REILLY examines an equal career high three-goal outing against Collingwood to reveal Josh Treacy’s best fit for the Dockers.
4 min read
July 18, 2023 - 8:00AM
Josh Treacy is still searching for consistency in Fremantle’s AFL side but has shown attributes that could help the Dockers’ forward line. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images
When asked what Fremantle can take out of Saturday’s 46-point loss to Collingwood, young forward Josh Treacy declared: “A lot of positives”.
He should be including himself in that assessment.
Second-year forward Jye Amiss has received a lot of praise for his role in the Dockers’ reshaped forward line this season and deservedly so. In 16 games, he’s kicked 31 goals and is currently ranked equal-16th in the Coleman Medal standings.
But when Amiss had a quiet afternoon at the MCG, Treacy stepped up to the plate.
On a day when Fremantle’s attackers failed to fire, Treacy took ownership of the forward line. His leading patterns caught out Collingwood’s stringent defence and his strength was on full display, easily casting aside Nathan Murphy in a marking contest early in the fourth quarter to kick his second. He took five marks for the afternoon, two of which were contested.
Sure the game was over by half-time. But the 20-year-old kicked an equal career-high three goals against the best defence in the competition. And he achieved it from just 35 inside 50s for the game, well down on Fremantle’s average of 50 per match.
“It’s not easy when you’re going good. It’s a good challenge though,” Treacy said of the limited supply.
“I don’t think it will ever be easy playing against some of the blokes that we do. It’s an exciting challenge I look forward to every week with Jye and Jacko (Luke Jackson). I wouldn’t say it’s a tough spot to be playing.”
Treacy’s career so far can be split into three segments. He came to the club as a rookie in the 2020 draft, barely playing any football in his top-age year due to Covid-19 restrictions. But when he arrived at Fremantle, his 193cm frame had the Dockers questioning whether they’d drafted a teenager or a 50-game key forward.
After just two WAFL games, it was clear that Treacy was already a step above the state league. He kicked seven goals in his second game and made his AFL debut in round four against Hawthorn. Treacy played 16 games that season and excited Fremantle fans with his physicality around the ground and willingness to crash packs.
Phase two wasn’t as generous. Treacy played just four games in 2022, watching from the sidelines as Fremantle stormed into the finals. Injuries and a viral illness stagnated his career and despite fighting on in the WAFL, Treacy was unable to press for senior selection.
Which brings us to phase three. Of all the players vying for senior selection over summer, Treacy was tipped as the player to take the next step by coach Justin Longmuir.
“Sometimes we forget how young is, he only just turned 20. He probably plays a bit more maturely and we think he’s a little bit older even internally,” Longmuir told SEN in January.
“He’s really improved his fitness and he’s creating some really good opportunities for himself and his teammates at training. He’s the one that looks like he’s taking another step.”
After being overlooked in favour of Amiss for Fremantle’s breakthrough finals campaign, Treacy flipped the script. The Bendigo product overtook Amiss with a faultless pre-season and was selected ahead of him in round one.
But after playing in Fremantle’s loss to St Kilda, Treacy was dropped and spent the next six weeks fighting for a recall via the WAFL. That came in round eight against Hawthorn. Treacy has played 10 consecutive games since, penning a three-year contract extension towards the back end of that streak.
“I‘ve had a bit of an up and down three years, but I’m certainly on the way up and hopefully I can continue to build for another three years,” Treacy said earlier this month.
“It‘s been a bit of a challenge but I think for the better. Without having gone through those issues, I don’t know if I’d be in the situation I am right now.”
Now to phase 3A. Fremantle won’t be playing finals this year but the Dockers can spend the rest of the season developing synergy with their forward line of the future.
Treacy hasn‘t set the stats sheet on fire this year. He’s averaging 8.1 disposals, 1.2 marks inside 50, 0.8 contested marks and one goal per game, ranking below average in those markers of a key forward. But he still has an important role to play.
If Amiss is the silky lead-up key forward and Jackson is the athletic back-up ruck, then Treacy is the battering ram who crashes packs for fun. The former pair will go down in the books as having had more successful seasons on the scoreboard. But if he can achieve greater consistency and play as he did against Collingwood more often, Treacy has the attributes to make a strong pair an exceptional trio.
“I think it‘s slowly starting to click and hopefully it’s something that grows over the next three years,” Treacy said. “I’m extremely excited to see what the potential is.
“We‘re all different players as well. For me, I’m a bit more of a physical player, although I’m not saying that the others aren’t. We’ve all got different weapons and I think we bounce off each other really well. We feel like we’re growing every week as a collective.”
Now imagine what it could look like when the three of them all fire at once.
Tbh I haven't minded what I've seen with Reidy so far. I'll put it this way - I've seen more AFL potential in him than I saw in Hamish Free last year who also ended up on an AFL list.
Sorry I meant to keep Reidy but this allows us to basically take an extra pick into the rookie draft i.e let's us delist a main list player and rookie them (wagner, Hughes, Corbett)
Yeah which is why I reckon we should do a little loophole through the ssp to ensure we have an extra on the list
Plus, I doubt we’d find anything better with our 3rd pick anyway (Carlton’s 3rd rounder, currently 47)
