Paul Keating promised to never challenge Bob Hawke again after his mid-1991 failed spill attempt. “I only had one shot in the locker and I fired it”, he told journalists.
In an entirely different context, Ross Lyon has one shot left in the locker and he has to fire it. Football’s most off-beat character should know better than most his Fremantle side, while still playing as a hardened unit, have the clock counting against them.
For all their grinding and alienating victories, they’re a squad that is frayed around the edges. Playing Ross Lyon’s brand of football is viciously energy sapping in ways both physically and mentally. Look at the disintegration of his former club St. Kilda.
While Fremantle’s list will age we probably won’t see such a dramatic drop, but reaching the heights of 2013 again may be difficult, fighting against free-agency lurkers and other clubs heading up the ladder.
The semi-final portrayed the best and worst of Freo under Lyon, the crushing press and relentless strangulation in the first half rendered a speedy Port Adelaide clueless in how to combat it. Unfortunately, the Dockers didn’t take their chances and the game unravelled before them in way we’ve seen in finals before.
There are still top liners in every part of the ground for Freo playing at or around their peak. Ballantyne, Walters, Fyfe, Mundy, Mayne, Barlow, Pavlich, Sandilands and Hill would walk into any team in the league.
Unfortunately, what hinges on them going back to anywhere near a premiership contender is the form of those who are best 22. Danyle Pearce, Zac Dawson, Nick Suban, Tendai Mzungu, Luke McPharlin, Michael Johnson are all players that need to find consistency in order for the Dockers to push again for a flag.
The greatest strength of this Fremantle side is the ability to contribute as a team, but when divided they are incredibly vulnerable. Keating may have lied when saying he only had one shot left, but if footy is anything like politics, death is when improvement becomes an impossibility.
Ross Lyon knows this well, so in 2015 it’s likely boom or bust.
Players to watch
Nathan Fyfe:
Genuinely surprising he’s played less than a hundred games. His kick remained the only contentious part of whether he entered ‘gun’ status or not 18 months ago, and now he’s bloomed into even more a complete footballer. Comparisons to James Hird just, one of footy’s must watch headliners.
Lachie Neale:
23 games last season is an incredible achievement under Ross Lyon, who is renowned for picking more battle hardened bodies for his squads on game day. Smooth mover in traffic and will look to be more dangerous around goal.
\Zac Dawson:
After an atrocious 2014, Dawson became the punchline for opposition fans again. The reality is he’s an undersized and under-skilled player that still manages to hold on in a world of powerful and talented forwards. That in itself is an achievement and he must draw on that spirit to improve output in 2015.
Key Games
Round 2 v Geelong – Some classic contests in recent years between these two. Players, fans and staff have a genuine dislike for each other, so it should make for a cracking contest.
Round 11 v Gold Coast – Becoming an intense trip to the Sunshine State as the Gold Coast improve. Only the best in the league will get points here from now on, so the onus is on Freo to get the job done.
Round 20 v West Coast – Late season derbies becoming incredibly formidable as there is more on the line than what happens on the day. If the Eagles are pressing in and around the eight, this becomes a huge danger game.
Finishing Position – 6th