13 disposals, 3 marks, 7 tackles.
Heâs not kicking goals. But heâs a lot closer than alot of other players. He definitely wasnât our worst.
Did people here think we were actually going to win coming off the bye?
I tipped Freo as so far not many (if any) teams have won first game back.
Hold on. Be confident.
My point was we havenât spent decent draft capital on that key position. Itâs been tall backs, mids and in betweeners
I went to the game and i thought he was poor.
Beaten one on one multiple times.
Time for Brad to come to the realisation that is right in front of his eyes:
- Weed may offer a role as a decoy but literally anyone above 188cm can play that role and actually make an impact. The guy has no confidence, and until he does, he does not deserve to be named every week in the AFL.
- Hind is in the starting squad, we really missed some run last night
- Ditto Menzie, I can think of nine guys who Hind and Menzie get picked before.
- Keep Kelly in the twos. Not a fan of what he offers the team and the structure around him.
Bring the mouth guard to training. Massive wasted opportunity to have a Top 4 run. If we play like that again going forward weâd be lucky to beat WCE.
We canât have Kelly and Heppell in the same team
Based on current output and form Kelly plays in the reserves
Our mids being able to hold up oppo through the middle and D50 is what makes our undersized and limited talent back 6 able to defend effectively.
There was no natural connection between Bryan and any of our mids, they may need to persist with playing Bryan to generate this and it wonât be pretty against teams like Port. None of our mids looked like they were particularly tuned in to what Darcy was doing either. The hit outs to advantage didnât result in us being able to get away from centre clearances to effective F50 entries the way weâve been able to, to kick multiple unanswered goals. Instead Freo, who were noted for doing the same thing before the game, do exactly that.
None of our forwards looked particularly convincing aerially, most notably Weed. Freo had a plan for Wright and it worked.
It sucks that we lost. If Iâm honest Iâm gutted that I couldnât belt out the song at my Freo supporting in laws at the ground. But deep down I knew before the game this was the outcome. I felt it in my bones when I saw the names team, I felt it when I saw the weather report and what it was like on the ground when I landed, I felt it when the media and footy fans in general were entertaining the post bye blues for all clubs schtick. It sucks. It sucks that we will get done by Port and that BDB has his work cut out for him motivating them to believe they can push Port, but thatâs what Iâll judge the next game on.
1 Like
Are you not Essendon people?
5 Likes
One question, will Tex gat a senior game in 2023? Led to believe he has been playing well in the magoos- so why no selection???
Youâre gunna cop a floggingâŚBDB is going to seething at that comment, hope he tears shreds off youâŚâŚ
10 Likes
Fark Carlton
1 Like
Do we win last night with Shiel, Draper, Setterfield, Davey (sub) and matchfit Cox? We still need another running HBF and big bodied CHB.
Youâre deluded if you think Voss is the answer. If he was so good then he would kicking bags in the VFL every week. Instead he has been rinsed by some average/delisted players in the VFL. List clogger at best - delist material for mine.
Not the end of the world. To those of you doing the I told you so after last night you are all geniuses.
AFL round 15 2023: All the news and analysis from Fremantle v Essendon
Essendon became the latest club to succumb to a trend taking over the AFL â and itâs certainly no coincidence.
Brad Elborough
June 24, 2023 11:37 pm
Itâs difficult to tell whether Essendonâs four-game winning streak was stopped in Perth on Saturday night by a bizarre trend hitting the AFL or a Fremantle side welcoming back their most important player.
The Bombers became the eighth side to lose in the round immediately after having a bye, when they went down to Fremantle by 32 points, at Optus Stadium.
They joined Brisbane, Fremantle, Geelong, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney and West Coast to lose after their weekâs rest.
So far, only St Kilda has won when coming off a bye, in round 13, but the Saints beat the Sydney Swans who were also coming back from a week off.
Itâs too big a coincidence to brush it off as not having something in it.
Fremantle welcomed back ruckman Sean Darcy from injury on Saturday night, who is crucial to its chances of grabbing a spot in the top eight.
Caleb Serong enjoyed having the big man back, picking up 32 possession, 10 clearances and having 12 score involvements.
Saturdayâs 14.9 (93) to 9.7 (61) victory now leaves them only percentage away from pinching a spot inside the eight, with a massive game against the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium next Saturday.
THE DARCY FACTOR
Essendon also welcomed a Darcy back from injury for Saturdayâs clash, Darcy Parish playing his first game since round 8, sidelined with a calf injury.
He started like he hadnât missed a day, winning the first two centre clearances and getting the Bombers off to a strong start
He had nine touches in the opening term, seven of those contested.
He finished with 24 possessions, while Zach Merrett picked up 29.
But the return of Fremantleâs ruckman had a bigger impact on the outcome.
Darcy missed the past two games, both losses, because of a hamstring injury.
His return meant Luke Jackson could spend a lot more time in attack. Jackson and Jye Amiss were a headache for the Bombers defence, each kicking two goals in the second term when the Dockers took control of the game.
Jackson finished with three.
A week ago, Fremantle managed only five goals during the entire 70-point drubbing at the hands of Greater Western Sydney.
No easy goals this week
As good as Serong, Darcy and Jackson were, Fremantle defence would have been celebrated by coach Justin Longmuir.
After kicking five goals a week ago against Carlton, Peter Wright was kept goalless and to just seven touches by Alex Pearce.
The Bombers leading goalkicker this season, Kyle Langford, booted the first of the game, but was kept to that one by Luke Ryan, who took an incredible 18 marks and had 31 disposals.
Jake Stringer looked dangerous, but had an almost night, finishing with 1.3, his one goal a lucky kick off the ground early in the third term after Fremantle had started the term with two goals in less than two minutes.
IN TROUBLE EARLY
Essendon had the job ahead of it after wasting opportunities to hit the scoreboard in the opening term.
The Bombers controlled the play at the start of the opening term, and kicked the first two goals of the game.
They led by 14 points, but should have kicked further ahead.
This was not unfamiliar territory for Fremantle though. The Dockers had been consistently terrible in opening terms this season, having been 12-1 and down by a total of 116 points after first quarters before Saturday night.
It looked like going that way again, before a careless turnover at half-back by Andrew Phillips handed Luke Jackson a goal, that was quickly followed by a big mark and goal from Michael Walters.
These gave the Dockers a six-point lead at the first change.
SCOREBOARD
DOCKERS 3.3 8.7 12.8 14.9 (93)
BOMBERS 2.3 5.3 6.5 9.7 (61)
BEST
Dockers:Serong, Jackson, Ryan, Pearce, OâMeara, Henry.
Bombers:Merrett, Martin, McGrath, Parish, Ridley, Hobbs.
GOALS
Dockers:Jackson 3; Walters 2, Amiss 2, Frederick 2; Switkowski, Schultz, Johnson, Brayshaw, Serong.
Bombers: Parish, Stringer, Martin, Langford, Hobbs, Guelfi, Caldwell, Manzie, Merrett.
VOTES
3 Caleb Serong (DOCKERS)
2 Luke Jackson (DOCKERS)
1 Luke Ryan (DOCKERS
Scott: The real reason why we lost
Brad Scott says Fremantleâs ability to score from stoppages was the reason for Essendonâs loss on Saturday night, not the anomaly of teams losing after the bye.
Scott said the Dockers were a completely different team to the one that lost to Greater Western Sydney a week earlier.
He said the stoppage work of the likes of Caleb Serong and Luke Jackson caused the Bombers headaches.
Scott said the Bombers did focus on being in the right mindset after having a week off, to make sure it wouldnât be a reason for any loss.
âWe talked a fair bit about our attitude,â Scott said about the lead up.
âWe havenât shy away from the way teams have are performing post-bye.
âItâs just strange (the losses)âŚ
âYou think youâd have the physical preparation but thereâs something to be said for continuity. And, thereâs also something to be said for randomness.
âIf you want weird, I mean, how does a team 15 on a ladder kick over 200 points in a game.
âWe came to Perth knowing that Fremantle is a good side, though they were sat 13th prior to tonight, so I think thatâs just a reflection of the competition and it could come down to something thatâs just mere coincidence.
âWeâre not going to cop out, we really focus on it. The first 20-25 minutes of the game, I couldnât fault the playersâ attitude.â
Essendon missed ruckman Scott Draper in the midfield on Saturday night, especially considering Fremantle welcomes back Sean Darcy.
But Scott said it was his choice to sit him out, preferring to have him 100 per cent fit, rather than just getting through.
He would not guarantee he would play against Port Adelaide next weekend.
âThereâs no time frame on it,â he said.
âHe could play, but heâd be struggling with it at round 15. Do we play him and have him fall off a cliff?
âWe could push him and he could play. I want to get him right.â
Geelong wouldânt do that. Too heavily weighted in our favour.
Heâs a better answer than weid. Which is entirely the point. But you keep huffing leaded paint bro.
1 Like
Ha ?
Esava had 5 kicked on him by Weideman.
I cannot possibly rate him.
1 Like
Nobody is doing that, Geelong or us.