Fremantle Season Review

[BB67th]

Hey guys, as many of you know I am running an AFL Blog for this season and I am currently writing season reviews for all 18 AFL clubs. Today I have reviewed Fremantle. I thought I would post it here so everyone can get a look at it and you can also have your say on the Dockers' season.

Fremantle Season Review

Season in a Snapshot

Ladder Position: 7th â€" 14 wins, 8 losses (115.67%) â€" Knocked out in Semi Finals
Most Disposals: Michael Barlow (585)
Most Goals: Matthew Pavlich (69)
Played Every Game: Clancee Pearce, Tendai Mzungu, Michael Johnson, Ryan Crowley, Michael Barlow
Debutants: Thomas Sheridan (1 game), Hayden Crozier (3 games), Cameron Sutcliffe (4 games), Lachie Neale (11 games), Lee Spurr (13 games)

Stat Leaders:

Kicks: Michael Johnson (316)
Handballs: Michael Barlow (275)
Tackles: Matthew de Boar (138)
Hit Outs: Aaron Sandilands (528)
Clearances: Michael Barlow (94)
Contested Possessions: Michael Barlow (251)
Uncontested Possessions: Michael Barlow (329)
Inside 50s: Stephen Hill (88)
Rebound 50s: Michael Johnson (78)

Best & Fairest:

1.  Ryan Crowley (146)
2.  Chris Mayne (142)
3.  Michael Johnson (136)*
4.  Matthew Pavlich (136)*
5.  Luke McPharlin (135)
6.  David Mundy (131)
7.  Stephen Hill (130)
8.  Matt de Boer (129)
9.  Michael Barlow (128)
10. Clancee Pearce (126)
* Michael Johnson polled in more games than Matthew Pavlich

NAB Rising Star Nominations:

None

How did the Season go:

Fremantle ended last season with pulling off one of the biggest coaching coups in recent history, with Ross Lyon replacing Mark Harvey, who still had a year to run on his contract. Zac Dawson also came over to the club to join his old coach. And the Dockers started well, with a hard fought 4 point win in Round 1 over the reigning premiers in Geelong. This was followed by a close loss to Sydney and an extremely low scoring win over Brisbane in which they restricted the Lions to only 5 goals. Ross Lyon’s game style was definitely having an effect on the Dockers. Then came the grudge match against St Kilda, which Fremantle managed to hold on to win. A bit of a bad run followed from the Dockers, which included 3 losses in a row. They went into the bye with 6 wins and 5 losses and were looking at pushing for a finals position at the end of the year. They came back after the bye and played a couple of competitive games against the Bombers and Pies, but just couldn’t win. This followed a great run of form in which they only lost more games for the season, winning 8 of their last 9 to put them into 7th spot on the ladder at the end of the season. Their only loss in this time came at the hands of the Crows. Their best match was a great win in the Western Derby over the Eagles and there were also good wins over the Tigers and Kangaroos. They went into finals against the Cats in Melbourne, and were heavy underdogs in the match. But they came out in great form, on fire early, and after a huge last quarter, the Cats just never could make up the ground they needed to to win the match, with Fremantle going up by 16 points. It was probably one of the club’s greatest ever wins. This was followed by a close 10 point loss to Adelaide in the Semi Final. They started much the same way as they did against Geelong, but the Crows were able to reel the Dockers back in win it thanks to a great game from Taylor Walker and a few defensive injuries for Fremantle. Still, it was a great result for the club in the first year under a new coach after not making finals last year.
There is no doubt that Fremantle has really improved this year and I think their team has a lot more balance under Ross Lyon. His defensive team structures this season have really suited Fremantle and I think, overall, the coaching move has been a good one for the club. As soon as he came in you could tell he had favourites, such as Clancee Pearce and Ryan Crowley, who both managed to reinvigorate their careers this season. There was improvement all around the board, with Luke McPharlin being an All Australian defender this year, and he made a good combo with Zac Dawson taking the key forwards every week. Michael Johnson and Paul Duffield also had good year out of defence. The midfield was back to its bets this year, with Barlow seemingly close to being back to full strength after breaking his leg backing in 2010 in a horrific incident. Mundy also kept his fitness and with players like hill and Mzungu running on the outside, they were quite effective. Sandilands did struggle again with injury, which is quite a concern for the Dockers as he is quite old now, but they seem to have able ruck replacement with Zac Clarke and Jon Griffin waiting in the wings. Matthew Pavlich had an amazing year up forward, especially in the second half of the season. He finished tied for second in the Coleman Medal, and in my opinion, should have been the captain of the All Australian team. His non-selection was a huge snub. Chris Mayne has also proved himself a deadly accurate kick and with players like Ballantyne around him, the forward line has the ability to kick goals.

Excitement of the Season:

Clancee Pearce fell out of favour last season at Fremantle, after playing only 12 games for the season. Mark Harvey delisted him, but Ross Lyon gave him another chance by picking him up again on the rookie list. He was told to lose some weight and get fit over the off season if he wanted to play football again, and that is exactly what happened. He won selection as the sub in round 1 and managed to play every single game for Fremantle this season. He was a key player and was used around the ground as a utility. He finished 3rd at the club for disposals, 5th for marks, kicked 16 goals, was 3rd for tackles and finished 10th in the club Best & Fairest. It was a good season for Pearce, who will be looking to continue the good form into next year.

Disappointment of the Season:

The disappointment of this season has easily been Jack Anthony. He was traded to Fremantle at the end of the 2010 season and, after being fairly successful at Collingwood (he played 43 games for 80 goals, including topping Collingwood’s goal scoring for 2009) it was thought he could provide another solid tall forward option to Matthew Pavlich. After having a run of bad form, he only managed 4 games last year and could only muster another 4 this year. He only kicked 3 goals for the season and was disappointing in every match he played, with only 12 touches in his best performance. He was relegated to the WAFL for the rest of the season and never showed form good enough again to warrant selection. He has been really disappointing in his performances and he just doesn’t seem to fit in at Fremantle well at all.

Where is the club heading next year:

Next year looks bright for Fremantle and it could be a very good year for them. They have spent this year getting sued to new coach Ross Lyon and his game plan and now they should be ready to make a serious tilt at a good finals position next year. During the trade period they will be targeting a key forward to go along with Matthew Pavlich and provide another tall option. This would also allow Chris Mayne to go a bit more under the radar and not get the second best defender each week. They do not seem interested in getting too many draft picks and their best 22 looks fairly settled for now. I think if their midfield can stay fit for the whole season, we could see a very effective clearance team in Mundy, Fyfe, Barlow and others working together with ruckwork from Sandilands. I am also not really sure on where all the defenders sit at the moment in the team, as there isn’t really space for all of Broughton, Johnson and Duffield all in defence. We did see Broughton spend quite a bit of time up forward this season and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him make a more permanent move there next season. I think this team has great potential under Ross Lyon next season, who is a coach who has been to 3 Grand Finals, showing that he has the experience and smarts to get to that last day in September. But he still has the hunger for a premiership after not winning one with his time at St Kilda. If this team stays injury free a predict a top 4 finish for them next season and I believe that they can be a genuine contender. I think they will be aiming for at least 13-15 wins for the season and will be looking for around a top 4 finish next season.

Final Say:

Fremantle started slowly, but had a very good second half to the season, led by skipper Matthew Pavlich. They did extremely well to beat Geelong in the Elimination Final and come very close to beating Adelaide in the Semi. It was a good first season under Ross Lyon and I expect good things for Fremantle next year. I give Fremantle a B for season 2012.

If you guys like it please get on to my blog which is inside50.wordpress.com and give it a rating and leave a comment. Thanks guys your support is appreciated.

[Kellogscrunchynut]

Grand season by one my favourites Clancee Pearce and nice write up.

[Ricochet]

very very nice work mate

[CrowsFan]

Grand season by one my favourites Clancee Pearce and nice write up.

Was he one of your favourites before this season or only after he had the good season?

[Mailman the 2nd]

Grand season by one my favourites Clancee Pearce and nice write up.

Was he one of your favourites before this season or only after he had the good season?

As if anyone liked him before this season?