Training Pre-Season 2025 - Freo vs Melbourne @ Rushton Park Mandurah - 1510PM Sunday 02/03/2025

[vidwhal]

Fremantle Dockers 2025 Intraclub #2
23-02-2025​

Here ya go peeps. It doesn't look as nice as the first Intraclub as I overblew the brightness and caused the clarity to suffer but it is in 60fps so hopefully that helps.

Cheers.

 

[BREATHLESS_987]

Just watched the match sim and wasn't as impressed as others. Don't get me wrong, JT had a blinder (although he still missed a few easy ones) and Reid looks a special talent but here are my concerns.

1 Movement from the backline. From what I could see, Walker, Wagner and Clark do not give drive out of defence and improve our game style. They seem more focused on the 20/25 metre hit up mark than any kind of dare or run. The point has been made ad nauseam (from analysts, to media pundits, to fans) about slow ball movement from defence giving the opposition time to flood back and making it difficult to score and I'm just not convinced JLO has the memo. Or he has the memo and the defenders are not listening. To me they all seem a bit too scared to make mistakes than genuinely take the game on. I actually have more confidence in Draper and Chapman taking the attacking option than Walker, Wagner, Clark, Cox or Ryan.

2 Our midfield. As other have mentioned, Andy Brayshaw had an absolute shocker in the first half on the weekend. Because of his athletic ability and competitive nature he will always be a good footballer but you do notice the difference in disposal between him and Young. I think we will need Young to stay fit for 22 games this year to give it a good shake, and I'm actually not as convinced as others that we have the depth going through there.

3. Erasmus and Johnson. Let's be honest, there is no sign, at this stage, that either of these guys are going to make it as AFL footballers.

By far my biggest concern is though is JLO and the game plan. 20 metre kicks up the ground to lead up marks just don't work (especially in finals). Probably the only team that get close to making it work is Sydney and they have exceptional talent, and also it still doesn't win them a premiership.

I would love to be proved wrong about all this of course.

I think most of your concerns are mirrored by most on the board, to at least a minor extent. I do however think it's worth keeping in mind that despite all these points - we actually weren't that far off last year. We knocked off both grand finalists, and were competitive against pretty much every team. Just a 5-10% nudge of improvement here and there and we easily would have been top 4.

Of course, it's not a recipe, and you don't just add Shai Bolton and put an extra 25 games of experience into the team and get guaranteed results the following year, it's a moving target. So we wait and see.. I'm pretty excited for the coming season myself at this stage, it's been a very slow and deliberate build and now is the time to see the fruits of that start to come through.

 

[theGav56]

When did Young play as a defensive mid?

Yeah, I'd say he's accountable by nature rather than a defensive mid. The balance may shift away from that towards him being attacking.

 

[2big2strom]

I have to say that whoever even thought that a name like Bruce would stick has to be as old or older than me.
Kids of today would have NFI who Bruce Reid was or is.
Nah, not a sticker.

I must be on the younger side then because I assumed he was called Bruce because he's as hungry as a shark, referencing finding Nemo, lol.

 

[anchor man]

I must be on the younger side then because I assumed he was called Bruce because he's as hungry as a shark, referencing finding Nemo, lol.

Having acquired my OBE last year, I find many references here in regards to music, movies and memes etc.are like shoonk. Straight over my head..
Please forgive me.
And by your name here, I take it you are a South Fremantle supporter.

 

[fnerd]

I wet my pants when I saw Reids highlights and said he'll play very early

Watching that assist to Serong.......f**k me I'm next level excited for this kid, gonna be pure class

On SM-G781B using BigFooty.com mobile app

mike

I couldn’t believe the amount of apathy round these parts when we drafted the kid

Remember cal had him as top 5 rated talent in the draft
There was legitimate reason for that

Seriously he’s every bit as promising AFAIC as sebba and young when they were first drafted .

And we know how that’s turned out

Wallsy has just blown it out the park AGAIN

 

[Dirty_banchez]

I must be on the younger side then because I assumed he was called Bruce because he's as hungry as a shark, referencing finding Nemo, lol.

Oh my god I'm old.

 

[fnerd]

With Reid, the physicality will improve. But you can’t teach instincts like he has. Walls might need a pay rise

Said it god knows how many times but easily the single biggest factor in the club having ,potential wise ,the best list we’ve ever had.

I generally tended to rate the bloke evens amongst the top 3 recruiters in the league .
Not any more …honestly think he’s all on his own as the best in the business.

And yes whatever he wants just give the man his money
-Not so much worried about being poached -because he’s also an extremely loyal bloke but simply because he’s worth it*

* if you want to ponder a real sliding doors moment that may make you just a little bit sick , after that fraud Brad Lloyd left for Carlton he tried very hard to get wallsy to join him, -noting obviously Carlton was David’s team growing up, but despite some serious overtures he stayed because he loved working for freo.

What a legend!

 

[freofandom]

I must be on the younger side then because I assumed he was called Bruce because he's as hungry as a shark, referencing finding Nemo, lol.

Can't believe we need to spell it out for you young whipper snappers. Murphy clearly nicknamed Bruce because of his clear likeness to our second youngest ever Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce. I fondly remember meeting this war hero back in the Summer of 1899 - was quite the golfer, but couldn't kick a footy to save himself.

 

[Superkoops]

With Reid, the physicality will improve. But you can’t teach instincts like he has. Walls might need a pay rise

Said it god knows how many times but easily the single biggest factor in the club having ,potential wise ,the best list we’ve ever had.

I generally tended to rate the bloke evens amongst the top 3 recruiters in the league .
Not any more …honestly think he’s all on his own as the best in the business.

And yes whatever he wants just give the man his money
-Not so much worried about being poached -because he’s also an extremely loyal bloke and but simply because he’s worth it*

* if you want to ponder a real sliding doors moment that may make you just a little bit sick , after that fraud Brad Lloyd left for Carlton he tried very hard to get wallsy to join him, -noting obviously Carlton was David’s team growing up, but despite some serious overtures he stayed because he loved working for freo.

What a legend!

The selection of Ras ahead of NWM isn’t looking great. Ras was rated highly but hasn’t developed as quickly as hoped.

In saying that I still feel Ras will be a solid player. He knows how to extract the pill in clearances. He is out of contract and if he doesn’t get the a lot game time this year he will likely go looking elsewhere.

Right as we speak we have huge amount of depth in that area which is Ras’ strength and MJ is a similar type. Whereas a young silky and speedy half back flank (with Young going into the midfield) would be higher need.

 

[Joao]

Just watched the match sim and wasn't as impressed as others. Don't get me wrong, JT had a blinder (although he still missed a few easy ones) and Reid looks a special talent but here are my concerns.

1 Movement from the backline. From what I could see, Walker, Wagner and Clark do not give drive out of defence and improve our game style. They seem more focused on the 20/25 metre hit up mark than any kind of dare or run. The point has been made ad nauseam (from analysts, to media pundits, to fans) about slow ball movement from defence giving the opposition time to flood back and making it difficult to score and I'm just not convinced JLO has the memo. Or he has the memo and the defenders are not listening. To me they all seem a bit too scared to make mistakes than genuinely take the game on. I actually have more confidence in Draper and Chapman taking the attacking option than Walker, Wagner, Clark, Cox or Ryan.

2 Our midfield. As other have mentioned, Andy Brayshaw had an absolute shocker in the first half on the weekend. Because of his athletic ability and competitive nature he will always be a good footballer but you do notice the difference in disposal between him and Young. I think we will need Young to stay fit for 22 games this year to give it a good shake, and I'm actually not as convinced as others that we have the depth going through there.

3. Erasmus and Johnson. Let's be honest, there is no sign, at this stage, that either of these guys are going to make it as AFL footballers.

By far my biggest concern is though is JLO and the game plan. 20 metre kicks up the ground to lead up marks just don't work (especially in finals). Probably the only team that get close to making it work is Sydney and they have exceptional talent, and also it still doesn't win them a premiership.

I would love to be proved wrong about all this of course.

The back half ball movement looks boring, but it has already been pointed out on here that statistically, we were actually quite good at this last year.

The parts we sucked at (statistically) were locking in our forward half and actually defending our back half if the ball gets in there to 50-50 contests.

 

[mattis117]

Bit too much weight going into game style IMO. I'd take zero from an intraclub where both sides know exactly what play is being made and it's a clear A vs. B game.

All I take from those games is the individual moments of brilliance or the opposite.

Expecting to take a lot more out of our game with Melbourne. That result obviously means nothing either, but that's the game to start showing the connection.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Bit too much weight going into game style IMO. I'd take zero from an intraclub where both sides know exactly what play is being made and it's a clear A vs. B game.

All I take from those games is the individual moments of brilliance or the opposite.

Expecting to take a lot more out of our game with Melbourne. That result obviously means nothing either, but that's the game to start showing the connection.

I know it's unpopular but I think the game plan really didn't need to get that much faster. While safer than others, we got in there and competed basically every game. Our scoring for the year was actually pretty good considering it was lead by three KPFs 22 or under and smalls that were less threatening and scary than the bull ants at the ARC.

I think Bolton is still going under the radar. Peeps should watch for him in every goal highlight from a KPF. That dudes positioning is unreal. I genuinely believe if nothing else changes from last year bar Banfield/Walters corpse becoming prime Bolton, we are making a prelim this year.

 

[Taylor]

View attachment 2234155
The selection of Ras ahead of NWM isn’t looking great. Ras was rated highly but hasn’t developed as quickly as hoped.

In saying that I still feel Ras will be a solid player. He knows how to extract the pill in clearances. He is out of contract and if he doesn’t get the a lot game time this year he will likely go looking elsewhere.

Right as we speak we have huge amount of depth in that area which is Ras’ strength and MJ is a similar type. Whereas a young silky and speedy half back flank (with Young going into the midfield) would be higher need.

Nasiah is watching his club offer guys ten year deals above 1.5m a year and is still going home..

 

[stax on the mull]

Can't believe we need to spell it out for you young whipper snappers. Murphy clearly nicknamed Bruce because of his clear likeness to our second youngest ever Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce. I fondly remember meeting this war hero back in the Summer of 1899 - was quite the golfer, but couldn't kick a footy to save himself.

View attachment 2234158

Famous for wearing spats and being the only other PM to lose his seat in a Federal election besides Howard.

 

[Superkoops]

Nasiah is watching his club offer guys ten year deals above 1.5m a year and is still going home..

There’s nothing to say he is going to leave St Kilda. If you’re referring to contract money yes for NWM he is going command the “show me the money” clause. Bloody electric he is off half back. The way he took off in second gear in the IAS game from memory Ras was one left watching like coyote and Roadrunner.

We would have some difficulty with Salary cap retaining him but my point was Walls got that one wrong.

 

[fnerd]

View attachment 2234155
The selection of Ras ahead of NWM isn’t looking great. Ras was rated highly but hasn’t developed as quickly as hoped.

In saying that I still feel Ras will be a solid player. He knows how to extract the pill in clearances. He is out of contract and if he doesn’t get the a lot game time this year he will likely go looking elsewhere.

Right as we speak we have huge amount of depth in that area which is Ras’ strength and MJ is a similar type. Whereas a young silky and speedy half back flank (with Young going into the midfield) would be higher need.

Yeah this is the obvious one but cmon SK ,as always context needs to be taking into account .

Firstly no recruiter , no matter how good gets it right 100% of the time and likewise you can’t draft ALL the guns.

Also I think Ras will end up a solid b grade type mid anywa still , whether that’s with us we ll have to wait and see but he’s still awhile off bust material but most importantly seems to be still improving every season, albeit slowly

- as with the bolded , fair bit of hindsight hero perspective coming from that.

Sure , he’d be perfect for us NOW but in 2021 the outlook was actually quite different.
We were in nearly a desperate need to draft a big inside midfielder.
Go back and look through posts on here back then.
Fyfe was almost never playing and our sole big mid was a 34 yr old David Mundy.
In fact we even as recently as 2023 our midfield was constantly getting monstered as Fyfe was still missing games , Mundy was gone and Brodie had lost his magic touch(who was a big reason for our sudden rise in 22’)
And remember young was still very much considered a hbf by the club

But then on top of drafting Ras that year , quite unexpectedly Johnson ended up slipping to 21 (impossible to predict) and was just too good to overlook.
Meaning suddenly we had a few options coming through.

Finally one of the biggest factors I take into account judging walls ability is simply in who we rate /get linked to pre draft and over the years it’s been noted he’s liked butters, Callaghan,Jackson, Warner,Clark ,caddy and even wanganeen Milera himself … (there more but that’s just off the top of my head) proving wallsy sure knows how to spot them but as I said earlier you can’t draft them all and /other factors such as needs come into it

 

[Sherriff Incorporated]

Some good highlights for those who didnt see the match sim. Geez Amiss is looking brilliant.

 

[Duz97]

I know it's unpopular but I think the game plan really didn't need to get that much faster. While safer than others, we got in there and competed basically every game. Our scoring for the year was actually pretty good considering it was lead by three KPFs 22 or under and smalls that were less threatening and scary than the bull ants at the ARC.

I think Bolton is still going under the radar. Peeps should watch for him in every goal highlight from a KPF. That dudes positioning is unreal. I genuinely believe if nothing else changes from last year bar Banfield/Walters corpse becoming prime Bolton, we are making a prelim this year.

I actually agree with the game plan not changing much the only thing we need is a bit of a plan B to just not be stuck in our back 50 for a whole qtr like we have in previous games like dogs at marvel last year

 

[DQ 4EVER]

Said it god knows how many times but easily the single biggest factor in the club having ,potential wise ,the best list we’ve ever had.

I generally tended to rate the bloke evens amongst the top 3 recruiters in the league .
Not any more …honestly think he’s all on his own as the best in the business.

And yes whatever he wants just give the man his money
-Not so much worried about being poached -because he’s also an extremely loyal bloke but simply because he’s worth it*

* if you want to ponder a real sliding doors moment that may make you just a little bit sick , after that fraud Brad Lloyd left for Carlton he tried very hard to get wallsy to join him, -noting obviously Carlton was David’s team growing up, but despite some serious overtures he stayed because he loved working for freo.

What a legend!

Great bloke too, from the chat I had with him after a game at Marvel

On SM-G960F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[King Huskii]

Some good highlights for those who didnt see the match sim. Geez Amiss is looking brilliant.

Yeah he is. Tracey not to shabby too.

We have our kpf locked in for a decade

 

[Taylor]

There’s nothing to say he is going to leave St Kilda. If you’re referring to contract money yes for NWM he is going command the “show me the money” clause. Bloody electric he is off half back. The way he took off in second gear in the IAS game from memory Ras was one left watching like coyote and Roadrunner.

We would have some difficulty with Salary cap retaining him but my point was Walls got that one wrong.

Considering St Kilda are throwing bulk cash around to a handful, literal handful, of guys who have turned it down - they aren't being shy about spending.. but they haven't signed him yet.

So I don't think it's about money or years.

 

[Joao]

I actually agree with the game plan not changing much the only thing we need is a bit of a plan B to just not be stuck in our back 50 for a whole qtr like we have in previous games like dogs at marvel last year

The plan B,C,D stuff will come with more experience. Seems to be that only the older sides have those gears and the ability to actually shift through them on the fly.

And we do have B, it was the last quarter vs the Pies. I hope we've been practicing that situation this pre-season. Brisbane added that type of play to their repertoire last year and it got them home a couple of times in finals.

 

[eastfreo75]

Yeah he is. Tracey not to shabby too.

We have our kpf locked in for a decade

We have never had two key forwards as good as Treacy and Amiss as a couple.

Only Pav and JL compare, but JL was more of a key forward/ruck and was injured all the time.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Fremantle Dockers 2025 Intraclub #2
23-02-2025​

Here ya go peeps. It doesn't look as nice as the first Intraclub as I overblew the brightness and caused the clarity to suffer but it is in 60fps so hopefully that helps.

Cheers.

I got through the first quarter and my prevailing thought is if 50 year old Walters and Bolton have that much fun together then Pickett and Bolton will be a non-stop party