I'm usually the first one in to have a whinge about the umpires and the effect that they have had on a Fremantle loss.
Was there some bad umpiring that cost us some goals, quite possibly, but I haven't even bothered reviewing the umpiring, because, blind Freddie can see that's not our biggest problem right now.
Against Gold Coast, Freo won most of the stats, only to see their forwards convert goals from inside 50s at a rate of about every 2.7 entries, while Freo's was 4.3. That just wreaks with something going wrong at both ends of the ground. The coaching and/or the players ability to carry out those instructions was obviously the deciding factor in this game ... and that's something Roly should be able to fix and I have confidence that he will.
I'm happy to ignore the Bulldogs loss in Round1. Even when I thought Freo were going to start that game with 211, MJ and Bennell, and their proven old defensive game plan, I still thought it was going to be about the fourth hardest game of the home and away season for us.
Freo are currently paying about $2.30 to make the final eight. I got myself some of that. (NB: Bet responsibly).