Ross Lyon has Fremantle undefeated and is re-creating the St Kilda of 2009
FIELD MARSHAL: FREMANTLE sit undefeated and Ross Lyon’s 2015 Dockers are looking eerily similar to the St Kilda of 2009.
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THIS is the story of two teams separated by six years and 3400km.
But the Saints of 2009 and the Dockers of 2015 are becoming closer by the week. Coached by Ross Lyon, long winning streaks, incredible team defence and a healthy list, Fremantle looks more and more like St Kilda reincarnated.
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Three years after his controversial move across the country, Lyon is in charge of a 9-0 Dockers unit that must give Saints fans a sense of deja vu.
St Kilda didn’t lose a game in 2009 until going down by two points to Essendon in Round 20. Lyon, speaking before Fremantle won its ninth straight against Adelaide, was moved to comment on similarities between his two sides.
“The more you win the harder it is to lose, but I just want to put it into context, we’re 8-0, we’re not 18-20 games in a row here,” Lyon said.
“We’re nowhere near the levels of performance of winning as the previous organisation.”
But the numbers paint a picture of history repeating. Where St Kilda seemed impossible to breach six years ago, Fremantle is almost identically resolute. The Saints conceded an average 63.8 points against per game in 2009, compared to the Dockers’ 62 so far this season.
Rivals averaged only 40.6 inside 50s against the Saints compared to 44.8 against Fremantle this year.
There are superstars and role players in each squad. Nat Fyfe’s closest comparison was Brendon Goddard, considered then among the most valuable players in the competition.
Matthew Pavlich was Nick Riewoldt - the beacon up forward. Michael Johnson was Sam Fisher - the assured, reliable defender who started so many attacking forays.
But the forced absence of Ryan Crowley has ensured a change in philosophy in the Lyon playbook.
“We have had the lockdown tagger, really, for all my coaching. At St Kilda (it was) Clint Jones and Crowley. But out of crisis comes opportunity so the opportunity is to play a bit different,” Lyon said last week.
“We rely on our team defence and that’s been getting it done. It’s about adaptability and change.”
While the two sides are both peerless defensively, Lyon’s move away from a tagger is part of a different approach to stopping rivals from scoring.
Where St Kilda pressed and applied enormous pressure, Fremantle drop off and rely on structure instead of trying to trap the ball inside their forward 50m.
It seems strange, but the Dockers don’t base their game on pressure. They rank 17th on Champion Data’s pressure index and have laid the second-fewest tackles.
But they rank second for intercept marks, highlighting their discipline and one-on-one prowess.
Are Fremantle St Kilda reborn? If they are, Lyon will be hoping for a different ending, with one of the Saints’ three losses in 2009 coming in the Grand Final against Geelong.
Maybe this is why, even if the numbers are eerily similar, he’s tweaked things out west.
“Our games have the least amount of stoppages ... it’s not like we play a brutal style,” he said last week.
“So it’s certainly sustainable ... there’s a bit of luck, but your game style reflects your injuries a bit as well. We manage them well and they’re fit and prepared.”
CHANNELLING THE SAINTS
Ross Lyon, before win over Adelaide made them 9-0.
“The more you win the harder it is to lose. But I just want to put it into context, we’re 8-0. We’re not 18-20 games in a row here, so we’re nowhere near the levels of performance of winning as the previous organisation.”
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ST KILDA (2009) - FREMANTLE (2015)
Points Against: 63.8 pts - 62.0 pts
Opp Inside 50s: 40.6 - 44.8
Inside 50m diff: +11.3 - +7.8
Time in fwd half diff: +9:13 - +1:23
Scores per I50: 42.9% - 42.0%
Defensive 50m > Score: 8.4% - 8.8%
Defensive midfield > Score: 16.3% - 15.0%
Centre clearance > Score: 23.9% - 16.3%
Attacking midfield > Score: 24.7% - 26.4%
Forward 50m > Score: 48.0% - 51.2%
Players to miss one game: 12 - 19
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NICK RIEWOLDT (2009) - MATTHEW PAVLICH (2015)
Ranking points: 115 - 89
Disposals: 17.2 - 13.9
Marks: 9.6 - 5.0
Marks I50: 4.4 - 2.1
Score involvements: 8.8 - 6.8
Goals: 3.3 - 2.3
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BRENDON GODDARD (2009) - NAT FYFE (2015)
Ranking points: 116 - 134
Disposals: 27.2 - 32.1
Contested possessions: 7.8 - 19.1
Uncontested possessions: 18.4 - 13.1
Clearances: 2.6 - 8.7
Inside 50s: 3.7 - 5.8
Score involvements: 7.2 - 9.1
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SAM FISHER (2009) - MICHAEL JOHNSON (2015)
Ranking points: 97 - 87
Disposals: 23 - 20.6
Intercept possessions: 5.1 - 5.9
Intercept marks: 1.5 - 1.9
Rebound 50s: 3.2 - 3.1
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