Fremantle
Coach – Justin Longmuir
2019 –
Points For – 16th
Points Against – 9th
Top 5 Best and Fairest
- Nat Fyfe
- Michael Walters
- Bradley Hill
- David Mundy
- Ed Langdon
2019 Rising Star Noms
Nil
Ins – Hayden Young, Caleb Serong, Liam Henry, Michael Frederick, Jarvis Pina, Blake Acres, James Aish.
Outs – Hayden Ballantyne, Harley Bennell, Brad Hill, Scott Jones, Shane Kersten, Ed Langdon, Ryan Nyhuis, Aaron Sandilands.
My Prediction
Another year of stagnation led to Ross the boss being given the boot. Question marks around his ability to rebuild were answered with him being removed. In my opinion he did a pretty good job of turning the list over. It will be interesting to see how the game plan changes with a new coach on board and the players hopefully being let off the leash a little bit.
The backline was well performed last year but with Ross as coach, all field defence made life easier for those down back. They look short down back for mine but Hamling and Pearce held it together last year and they will be hoping Logue can start to realise his potential. They have solid smalls down back and rebounding runners with Ryan, Blakely and Wilson. It is a backline that has performed in the past and has had minimal disruption.
The midfield is average but with the best player in the competition who is capable of changing the game by himself. Fyfe is a freak and still improving, a whole lot relies on him. They missed Neale last year and still need a player who can do what he did. Aish and Acres come in but I am not sure where they will play. Losing Hill places pressure on his brother as well as Brayshaw and Cerra who after a couple of years in the system will need to list. Walters will float between midfield and forward but is brilliant wherever he plays.
The forward line is a massive disappointment. We all know what Hogan and Lobb are capable of but last year it was a mess. Matera came in and gave them real spark up forward and they will be hoping he can continue his improvement. Him playing well frees up Walters to spend more time up forward and makes the team look more exciting. Taberner finally started to repay the faith shown in him but still looks a plodder.
They will be hoping Darcy can stay fit as he looked like he was going to be awesome when he first came in to the team. Ross’ love of Sandilands and injuries have held him back but him playing well leaves Lobb up forward and gives them better attacking options. I don’t know much about Longmuir, he is mates with Peter Bell which tracks well for him and he seems to have been highly rates at Collingwood, lets just hope he gets them playing something we want to watch.
Fremantle would need some stuff to go right by way of injuries and form for any serious rise up the ladder. They need Fyfe to stay fit and for Hogan to get his head right. They have the bones of a very good team and some good young talent in the system as well as three top ten picks coming from the last draft. I don’t think they are ready to challenge for the eight yet but I do see improvement, I think somewhere from 10 – 12 is about the mark for me.