A few days after they’d been trounced by an All-Indigenous team in February, Fremantle’s president addressed the faithful at Crown Perth. “This morning’s event is not just another routine AFL season launch,” Chris Sutherland said. “I think we are as ready as we’ve ever been to chase that cup. We definitely feel like the foundation is sound and we certainly think we’ve got nearly all the pieces in place. May the season be filled with moments of courage, connection and success. I’ve kept this speech very short because I’m actually done with talking. It’s time for action.”
The speech was short, but the message was clear – we’re ready, no more excuses, no more loser’s limp. It echoed thoughts of the CEO, the coach, the players and the wider commentariat. They were confident they had the right coach, the right list, the right age profile, and the right recruits.
But there’s nothing like an evening’s entertainment with Ross Lyon to show you exactly where you stand. Lyon’s Saints, no world-beaters themselves, suffocated Fremantle’s prime movers last Friday – and the will of all neutral observers. It was as bad a performance as the club’s had in years.
Watching them jog on, trundle around and trudge off begged the question – is too much expected of this team? Have they been overrated all along? And have they overestimated their own talent?
Bad luck, poor officiating, too many injuries, the final stoppage against Essendon, the fingernail against Carlton and the indignity of dropping a Derby all conspired against them last year. But they stood revealed in August, dropping from third to 10th. Most of it was indicative of an immature team. It was a 10-minute lapse here, and a sloppy kick there. In the end, they simply didn’t deserve to make it.
And yet this idea persists that Fremantle have some sort of dream list, and that it’s being squandered with poor coaching, stodgy ball movement and a lack of effort. I keep hearing that Luke Beveridge or John Longmire could walk into the club and quickly ship it into shape.
But I just don’t think they’re ready. Yes, they look good on paper. But looking good on paper hasn’t mattered since the early 2000s, when you’d pick up a newspaper and scan the followers and the goal-to-goal line. That’s not what makes a team successful any more. This Dockers side still has a lot of deficiencies around the edges. They have too many poor ball users in their backline, defenders with poor spatial awareness who are prone to panicking when teams press. They have too many young, jittery, streaky players who are still finding their feet. They have too many players who seem content with being AFL footballers, with swanning around Perth on the back of the occasional rousing home win. And there are too few who are prepared to go down the well when things get hard, especially when they’re playing on the other side of the country.
On Thursday, they meet a crack Collingwood side, a team that travels well. The Pies will be off a five-day break and they’ll be bruised and battered after being bowled over by Patrick Dangerfield for half an hour. They’ll also be leaving some of their best players back in the barn in Melbourne. In some ways, it’s Collingwood issuing a challenge – we’re in your house, we’re leaving a quarter of the side at home but we’ve still got Nick Daicos and we still reckon you’re flaky.
Collingwood consider themselves a live chance in any game they’re playing, irrespective of the score. But there’s no team that moves on from a loss so swiftly and so convincingly. They’d moved on from the Geelong game while Jack Crisp’s kick was still mid-air.
Fremantle tend to be the opposite. Too often, when the game is there to be won, they meekly acquiesce. They then shrug their shoulders and mope around. The club’s president says he’s done with talking. The CEO says the coach is doing a phenomenal job. The fans brace for the fortnightly sugar hit at home. The rest of us see a cautious, easily scoutable and not yet fully trustworthy team, a team both flattered and burdened by lofty expectations.
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