Clay Cook

It was FANTASTIC to see Freo continue their impressive form yesterday.

Here are my thoughts on the game…

1. Fremantle 100 defeated Sydney 63
2. I was very nervous before the game due to Michael Johnson being suspended (for drugs), and Luke McPharlin being injured (likely be out for a few weeks). I thought that having these two “talls” out of our team that it would really take the wind out of our sails. They have both been critical in our form so far this year.
3. Kepler Bradley was fortunately selected to play. He played very well again, and I still am struggling to understand why he was dropped after his nearly best on ground performance in Brisbane two weeks ago. I suspect that the coach doesn’t consider him part of his “ideal team”. I hope Harvey changes his opinion as Kepler provides great support all over the ground… he is tall, fast, can mark well (down back and up front). He is also getting better with his disposal. 2 goals.
4. “The Freo Brand”. It seems that over the pre-season Freo decided they needed a “brand” of football to play and concentrate on building. I LOVE this Freo brand… it seems to concentrate on continuous pressure on the ball carrier, go through the centre of the ground, keep the ball moving fast, and kick to the team’s advantage. Freo have played all their games this year with this brand, and its fantastic to see that they finally consistent with their game style and intensity. We have only lost two games this year, against Sk Kilda we only just lost and fell away towards the end of a very high pressure game, and in our loss to Collingwood we fell away after half time. The Collingwood loss seemed to be due to us running out of steam… probably due to the short Brisbane trip, and a few injuries during the game.
5. Tackles = 97!!! This is part of the “Freo Brand”. Anything above 80 and we should win easy.
6. Chris Tarrant – isn’t he playing great? I am amazed how well he is playing since lining up in the back line last year. I would suggest he will be an all Australian if he continues this form.
7. Matthew Pavlich – played a great game like usual. My only criticism is that he doesn’t chase enough in the forward line if the opposition has the ball, and possibly that he should move himself on to the ball more often during a game. 3 goals.
8. Michael Barlow – another very good match. What a find!!! He was tagged all day by Brett Kirk, who tried his hardest to rough him up.
9. Stephen Hill – was well held all day. Hardly touched the ball. Great to see that we don’t need him to star for us to win.
10. Sandilands – he really knows what he is capable of now. Its great to see him assert himself on the game. I especially like when he takes a pack mack, and snatches the ball out of the ruck.
11. Paul Hasleby – played well in the forward line. He is no longer the dominant midfielder that he once was, but he can certainly read the play well and take a strong mark. 2 goals.
12. Nathan Fyfe – what a great little contributor. He is as skinny as a rake, however he reads the play well, keeps his eye on the ball, and is likely to be one of the best marks in the team. He reminds me of Brett Heady when he runs into on coming traffic.
13. Anthony Grover – great to see him slot straight back in to the side and play a very strong key defensive role.
14. Adam McPhee – IMO I think Harvey sees McPhee in his “ideal team”. Unfortunately McPhee is not the player he used to be, even though he kicked 2 goals. He has bulked up too much, and doesn’t seem to have full use of his shoulders, which means he struggles to take marks overhead. He continues to turn over the ball, and give away free kicks for late bumps, holding the ball, etc. I can understand the need to have experienced players in your team to make the younger ones feel safe and confident, however maybe we have enough with Pavlich, Sandilands, Grover, Tarrant etc…
15. Playing in the wet. The last half of the game was largely played in light to heavy rain. I was concerned for about 5 minutes that we didn’t change gears fast enough, and move away from the dry handball strategy to the wet kick long strategy.
16. Clay Cook medal: 3 Hasleby, 2 Pavlich, 1 Bradley (close: Sandilands, Tarrant, Grover)
17. Sydney – were a few big men down on the day, however their general poor play was probably more due to Freo’s pressure. Tadhg Kennelly (star backman) was injured early in the game and Daniel Bradshaw (full forward star) didn’t play the second half. Adam Goodes also had a poor disposal day.
18. 7 wins / 2 losses – best start ever. Looks like we will be placed 3rd on the ladder still.
19. Kangaroos at Subi next weekend. North are not playing well at the moment, traditionally they were a side that were most dangerous when their backs were to the wall, however I think that time has passed and we should win convincingly.