But that’s the thing Shane, I actually think our skills have improved. On balance, our backline is much more skilled than it was 4 years ago. I think our midfield is pretty up-and-down depending on the style of that particular game, and I think our forward line is a little more skilled than it was a few years ago.
I thought our field kicking was actually pretty good for the most part, but that our clangers were incredibly bad. I’m not sure if that is a skill issue or a composure issue. Both St Kilda and GC17 attempt to make up for their lack of star-power with lots of numbers at the ball and intense ball pressure. It's the thing you do when you can't rely on talent to win the day. Both teams have shown themselves to be pretty good at it. Judging Freo on those two games - while ignoring the first game - makes no sense to me.
I honestly think that if CamMac and Langdon didn't crab it on the wing when we were 6 goals to 1 up in the second, we would have romped home. I guess you could train CamMan in the crucial skill of not falling on his arse for no reason, but he strikes me as a player who is just going to do weird things from time-to-time. But reverse that moment, and if we had kicked that goal instead, St Kilda's pressure would have dropped, and everything would have looked a whole lot better, including the skills. Instead, St Kilda got a sniff, came at Freo hard, and Freo gut-checked a win despite losing their most important player (by some distance) in a part of the team where we are already too thin.
If people weren't so keen to write this season off - starting at JLT1 - then they might be able to see some upside in us being 2-1.
If Fyfe is miraculously fit next week I reckon we'll give West Coast a real shake.