Matthew Pavlich and Ross Lyon’s legacy will be decided over the next four weeks
The dossier on Matthew Pavlich and Ross Lyon’s Fremantle careers will be written over the next four weeks., writes David King.
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The dossier on Matthew Pavlich and Ross Lyon’s careers will be written over the next four weeks.
They’ve been to base camp before but never reached the summit and our game rightly or wrongly fails to adequately recognise those that don’t. Many AFL contributors have fallen in “Rainbow Valley” which is full of fluoro crest fallen climbers on Mt Everest.
Fremantle will never get a better opportunity after resting half of the team last weekend, leaving Pavlich at home two of the past three weekends and opposing a decimated Sydney Swans outfit at Subiaco.
No Lance Franklin, Nick Smith, Keiran Jack and Luke Parker. Put simply that’s their best player, two of their four best midfielders and their best small defender. The Dockers cannot lose.
The difference in this game will what Fremantle do without possession. The Sydney Swans handball the football more than any other team, particularly backwards out of all stoppages. They must be nailed on exit, never obtaining clear running out of high traffic areas.
If the Dockers commit to their pressure game of circa 2013 and prey on the handball receiver through Michael Walters, Hayden Ballantyne and even the captain laying crunching tackles, statement making tackles as the Swans implement their pinball handball game, they won’t stand a chance.
They must put the scope fairly and squarely on Josh Kennedy, Dan Hannebery and Lewis Jetta.
Zac Jones is a fresh face across the half back flank, he must feel the wrath of the swarming Docker forwards. As good as Ted Richards and Heath Grundy have been defensively over a long period of time are prone to brain fades or goal conceding turnovers. Fremantle must expose and embarrass them.
If Fremantle are serious contenders, a bona fide premiership chance which some are doubting, then it’ll be their dedication and application without possession that will give them their best chance.
Chris Mayne and David Mundy lead the way regarding tackle pressure and are the only Dockers in the AFL top 50 tacklers. Their leaders to show the way.
The scoring differential of turnovers has always been and will always be the games number one success indicator. The last eight premiers have been ranked AFL 1st or 2nd for points differential and this season that is Hawthorn (+574 points) and West Coast (+394 points). Alarmingly Fremantle rank a lowly AFL 12th with -54 points, the only finalist in the negative.
The Swans are a peculiar team. They’ve a 3 win/5 loss record against the finalists and struggle to score against the best. They average a paltry 75 points which is less than Fremantle who average 82 points versus the best.
If Sydney were to win tonight it would be akin to Geelong defeating Carlton in the ’94 Semi Final. The Cats late withdrawals including Paul Couch, Mark Bairstow, Garry Hocking and Michael Mansfield who were all elite players in the AFL competition at that stage.
Replaced by youth including best afield Aaron Lord and led admirably by the midfield general Liam Pickering, they surprisingly they got the job done. Do Sydney have as Aaron Lord type contributor?
If Matthew Pavlich and Ross Lyon want Premiership titles then this win is a must.
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