Fremantle
Coach – Ross Lyon
2017 –
Points For – 18th
Points Against – 15th
Top 5 Best and Fairest
- Brad Hill
- Lachie Neale
- Nat Fyfe
- David Mundy
- Michael Walters
2017 Rising Star Noms
Luke Ryan (Rnd 20)
Ins – Brandon Matera, Nathan Wilson, Andrew Brayshaw, Adam Cerra, Hugh Dixon, Mitch Crowden, Tom North, Lloyd Meek, Scott Jones, Sam Switkowski, Bailey Banfield, Stefan Giro
Outs – Zac Dawson, Garrick Ibbotson, Shane Yarran, Zac Clarke, Sam Collins, Josh Deluca-Cardillo, Matthew Uebergang, Jonathon Griffin, Nick Suban, Hayden Crozier, Lachie Weller, Harley Balic
My Prediction
I am going to be in the minority here but I don’t mind what Freo has done over the past couple of years. They have turned over their list and added some decent talent in the process.
The backline is young with the exception of Johnson who is still loitering around the list (as well as Leederville kebab shops) and still worthy of a game. They have Logue coming through with Cox who look to be the talls along with Hamling who performed pretty well last year. They found a good one in Luke Ryan and add Wilson from GWS as a running half back. They are still thin for talent back there but they have a solid base.
They have added some serious talent to their midfield with Cerra and Brayshaw. I would think both would be close to a lock for 15 games next year. Fyfe showed in the international rules series that his body is almost back to where it needs to be and then you through in Neale and things dont look too bad. Walters and the Hill brothers gives the midfield class and speed. Mundy is a bill and on top you have Bennell who could be anything or nothing.
The forward line has been the achilles heel of Freo for as long as I can remember. Adding Matera really isnt going to make a lot of difference. They will be hoping that McCarthy will be better for the run and ignoring the fact that when he played his best footy at GWS he had serious talent around him. Kersten is a plodder and thensurely if Taberner was ever going to show anything, he would have by now. The small forwards are fine, adding Matera to Ballantyne with Walters and Hill(s) rotating looks solid. The talls though are an issue and will continue to be an issue.
The ruck looked a concern last year with Sandilands coming to the end and no one ready to step up. Then in strode Sean Darcy who looks as promising as any young ruck going around. Talking about the coach is a bunfight. There are those who believe he is a great coach who has got mediocre lists within touching distance of a premiership and those who believe his gameplan will never win one. I tend to lean towards option one.
Overall I think Freo are building a list with a view to having a tilt in 2-3 years and I think they would be ok with where that list is at. They still need a quality tall forward and I am sure they have some cash set aside for Hogan again at some stage. I think this year they will improve on last year and I can see them in the 10-12 range.