Fremantle’s new gameplan struggling to live up to expectations, says David King

THERE’S angst whenever Ross Lyon’s coaching record is addressed. Sledging the Fremantle coach has become its own sport, writes David King.

New Dockers not the classic Lyon

THERE’S angst whenever Ross Lyon’s coaching record is addressed.

Lyon has the best home and away winning percentage of any coach with more than 125 AFL games.

But that 68 per cent winning ratio has copped its critics across the decade-long journey and slandering Ross Lyon has become its own sport.

He doesn’t score enough. He churns and burns assistant coaches by working them too hard. He is stubborn. He doesn’t develop the youth. He can’t win the big one.

The AFL is a brutal industry in which only success absolves people from shortcomings and previous failures.

Lyon has always been under the microscope in football, but the decision to make radical changes, evolve with the game and to alter his entrenched philosophies and game style at the end of 2015 wouldn’t have come easily.

But defence isn’t king anymore.

The Fremantle coach has joined the rest of the competition and adopted components of the successful Hawthorn model, but administering someone else’s plan is proving challenging for Lyon.

David Mundy leads his team off Subiaco after losing to Gold Coast.

He’s gone with a model that defensively guards space and is more challenging for the opposition to stifle post-clearance.

Sounds simple, but after two rounds it has been an abject failure.

The thirst for an extra 2-3 goals on offence has dramatically altered the scoring profile for the Dockers as they’ve lost their greatest asset — the clearance scoring advantage.

The most prolific tap ruckman hitting to the reigning Brownlow Medallist is impossible to stop.

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The only reason the Dockers have ever been contenders is through clearance dominance and defensive gearing.

They can be brutal with their big bodies in high traffic areas and other teams have recruited similar types. Why would Lyon mess with this model?

It’s akin to 1985 when Coca-Cola, under sales pressure from Pepsi, decided to change from the Coca-Cola Classic to New Coke. It was a marketing and business calamity that inevitably would be reversed after significant loss and consumer anger.

Fremantle’s Coca-Cola is their formidable stoppage game. Surely Lyon will revert to what he knows at stoppages.

Comparing last season’s averages to the first two round of 2016, the changes have failed miserably at stoppages. There’s almost a six-goal loss from one season to the next, turning an advantage into a sizeable flaw. (See accompanying table.)

Love or loathe him, Lyon is a unique entertainer. The post-match press conference is must watch viewing as “Rossism’s” take centre stage, but Lyon always educates and provides rationale regarding the previous two hours of combat.

Recently he has cited centre bounce clearances as a significant issue. They seem to be gambling with their half backs paying scant regard to their direct opponents, charging into the midfield to obtain possession and become part of the offensive thrust but they are leaking scores heavily.

Fremantle’s opposition scored 93 points from centre bounce clearances in 2015, but after two rounds they’ve conceded a league worst 56 points. Comparatively, Sydney has conceded only three points this year.

The Derby comes at a critical juncture of the 2016 season. If Fremantle lose to West Coast tomorrow they fall to 0-3. Of 17 teams to have been in this position in the past five years, 17 have failed to reach the finals.

When team fortunes dip as drastically as Fremantle’s, the pressure falls on all senior members.

Ross Lyon wasn’t able to guide St Kilda to a premiership.

New captain David Mundy must return to being the elite distributor, as well as Daniel Pearce and Stephen Hill. Matthew Pavlich needs to show that he hasn’t pressed forward for one season too long because the critics always enjoy retirement debates.

Lyon won’t publicly isolate individuals and their form, but privately, make no mistake, they’re all on notice and are fully aware of the stakes this weekend.

Fremantle have shown enormous faith in Lyon. He has done the same for his senior core group, but tomorrow night Lyon wants that faith to realise itself through effort and that manic pressure witnessed only 12 months ago.

Lyon has coached for a decade and has at least another five years to come. It would be foolish to think he couldn’t evolve and would most likely need to every couple of months, ala Alastair Clarkson. It’s more a decision on whether it will be with this group or the next wave of talent.

Round 3 is a fork in the road. Does Lyon press forward with the New Coke or revert to the Coca-Cola Classic?