Return to the grind
According to the Bureau of Meteorology there is a 60% chance of showers at Domain Stadium on Saturday evening, along with a possible thunderstorm. If the wet weather arrives it could be the answer to Ross Lyon’s prayers. Precipitation will only increase the likelihood of this weekend’s western derby descending into the most stoppage-heavy scrappy affair of the season so far. Exactly what Fremantle should relish.
Following back-to-back defeats in which the unfamiliarly open Dockers have been cleaved like an extra in a Game of Thrones battle scene, prudence has to be expected. Experimenting with game styles that might win a grand final are only worth persevering with if you’re going to make it to the last Saturday in September. Only once since 2007 has a team even reached the finals after starting the season with a hat-trick of defeats.
Lyon deserves credit for opening his mind to a more creative premiership push while his long-serving top end players are still at the club. Seven of Fremantle’s list are over 30-years old, amongst them club legends that have led their side to three top-four finishes in a row. Despite that consistency they have just the solitary grand final to show for it. An inability to score heavily on the big stage is the obvious target for blame. Attempts to rectify that issue this season have been flawed.
The difficulty for Lyon is unpicking the overlapping layers of underperformance. Six defeats from eight, stretching back to the last derby in round 20 of 2015, suggests a side in decline. Over the two rounds of this season the Dockers rank 17th for both total disposals and disposal efficiency. In other words, they’re not getting the ball often and they’re butchering it when they do. Against Gold Coast Stephen Hill was operating at 55% disposal efficiency and David Mundy just 48%. These were two of the four top ball-winners on the day for the home side.
Lyon himself identified a structural issue at the heart of this season’s defensive woes, namely how his side now assembles at centre bounces. Immediately after defeat to the Suns the coach explained: “We’ve changed our system, I think we’ll have a good look at it. It’s sorted us two weeks in a row. It probably doesn’t suit our lack of leg speed.” By Wednesday this stance had softened to: “Fundamentally we’ll stick with what we’re doing,” referencing instead overplays and misunderstandings as the causes of the slow start to the year.
A generous appraisal could write off round one as a not unexpected interstate defeat to a flag contender, and round two the kind of blip all sides can suffer early season. There can be no accommodating another loss in round three. Which is why the Dockers have to be expected to return to the grind that has made them such a home and away season powerhouse.
For this week at least it doesn’t have to be about September, and it doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to be effective.
Quote of the week
I roll a little bit differently, mate.
Luke Beveridge’s statement on Monday night’s Footy Classified might seem innocuous in print but in the middle of an on-air stoush with Damian Barrett and accompanied by a dead eyed stare it emerged bristling with menace. The disagreement was over Barrett’s attempts to contact Beveridge last year to clarify the situation regarding the now departed Michael Talia. Beveridge indicated he was unlike other coaches and would not accept calls from journalists that hadn’t been directed through his club’s media officer. Proving his point nicely, Beveridge then went on to explain just how differently he rolls, as part of the Bentleigh East skateboarding scene.
Photograph of the week
Is there a more frightening sight in the AFL? Standing almost two metres tall, weighing 107 kg, and with a chest like a medieval knight’s armoured breastplate, Shane Mumford is a human wrecking ball. Such was the cartoonish force of the Giant clattering into Mitch Duncan on Sunday the TV coverage wouldn’t have been out of place with a graphics overlay of a halo of animated birds fluttering around the stricken Cat. Clearly the issue of concussion in sport is no laughing matter and the fallout of the collision has again reopened the debate of the boundaries of acceptable force in the game.
Bits and bobs
The revitalisation of the Western Bulldogs is gathering pace off the field as well as on it. This week Lachie Hunter became the latest bright young thing to commit to the club long-term. He follows in the footsteps of Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae and Jake Stringer as prospects 21-years old or under to be locked to the club until at least 2018. Also in that group is Tom Boyd whose recent seven-year golden handcuff deal had the potential to leave little wriggle room for the rest of the developing list.
The Bulldogs come up against Hawthorn on Sunday in the round’s most mouthwatering fixture. For the past three seasons the Hawks have been heading in One Direction, playing with Styles and administering Payne to their opponents. OK, OK, enough of that, there’s probably not enough people reading this column who get the 1D references anyway. Which makes Hawthorn’s latest membership drive even more toe-curling than that time AFL commissioner Andrew “Newbloke” pretended to buy a kebab from that guy off the TV. Stick to footy, please, and leave the gags to the, um, professionals.
