Posted by: The Jester
in MyBlog on Jun 09, 2008
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I really must be going forwards to the past. After another sad loss on the road, for some reason I am in a forgiving mood towards my boys this week. Perhaps it was the pleasant Queensland weather. Or maybe it was just because I feared a real slaughter was on the cards. Either way, it's an uncomfortable feeling, being back in 2001.
They certainly do things differently in the Sunshine State. Where else would you have a primary school incorporated into the grounds of the stadium? Where else would you see such an eye-scorching colour scheme for the seating? Where else would you find people actually cheering Fremantle on because they preferred a close game? In fact, the most obnoxious Lions supporters I came across were the people in the row ahead of me on the plane home, and they came from WA!
One again, the Dockers were competitive, but let themselves down horribly with yet another 10 minute period where the opposition were allowed total dominance. I want answers from whoever decided that Dean Solomon was the best match-up in the team for Jonathan Brown. Solly being the champ he is, he tried manfully, but the big boofhead is an even bigger champ and it was his rapid sequence of two goals that essentially broke the game open. My Dockers/Sharks heart was alternately horrified and delighted at the performance of Simon Black, who was the difference in the midfield, dive or no dive.
Posted by: guy smiley
in MyBlog on Jun 07, 2008
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Bongiorno, fellow sufferers. My apologies, if needed, for not having written earlier. I have been somewhat distracted by anything not involving a Sherrin or a Burley.
Posted by: Dolphin
in MyBlog on Jun 03, 2008
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This last quarter thing is becoming a real pain in the worsfold for me. Probably not as much as it is for the coaching staff and players, but it is really getting on my last nerve.
Its not so much that we get run over, its the fact that when something bad happens in recent times (like a post being hit), its that you can see and you can feel the players accepting the fate. That is really hard to handle.
On another negative note, I know they have their fans down sowf, but I am ready to give up on project Duffield and project Thornton. If someone can fill me in on what these guys do for us I'd be mighty pleased.
Posted by: The Jester
in MyBlog on Jun 01, 2008
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In so many ways, the Fremantle Football Club's 300th premiership match was redolent of all sorts of themes that date right back to the club's inception - flashes of brilliance, lucky escapes, a spirited comeback, dreadful umpiring, shocking skills and the too-familiar feeling of defeat after another rollercoaster ride.
Make no mistake - this was our worst game since Round 4, and I've seen them all in person. Both teams' skills were shabby, but the sheer number of missed marks, kicks to the opposition, inexplicable fumbles, brain explosions and general lack of run from the Dockers today was lamentable. It would appear that the tension and stress of the last month got to the players today - why else would our captain hit the stick yet again, and then singularly fail to lay one meaningful tackle during the final quarter?
That's not to say there weren't some highlights. My fellow December '82 baby, Aaron Sandilands, showed once again that the immobile lamppost of last year has been exorcised and replaced by a marking machine. Rhys Palmer's legend continues to grow apace with his bouffant mohawk. Garrick Ibbotson and Chris Mayne were again very handy (although No. 23 has definitely lost something since his injury). Kepler Bradley continues to defy the pundits and play well. Heath Black stepped up in Peter Bell's absence to show something for the first time in many matches. And the first and third quarters were by and large very good.
Posted by: Dolphin
in MyBlog on May 26, 2008
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No time for a glib start to the rankings this week. On we go...
1(2) Hawks - Finally a change at the top of the rankings. Hawks struggled against the D's but remain the only team to win every game they've played. They slept through the entire game against Melbourne and only woke up when they formed an honour guard at the end. Nice touch no matter what you think of Neitz.
2(1) Geelong - They have enough credits in the bank to not drop too far, and I think they're still clearly 1 of the top 2 teams.
Posted by: The Jester
in MyBlog on May 25, 2008
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Well, I'm really not sure what else I can say on the subject of Fremantle's recent habit of letting leads go in the final quarter.
Unlike the previous three games, though, we were very lucky to be in the lead at all yesterday (much like the game against Collingwood in Round 1). We were comprehensively beaten in the scoring shots, inside 50s, clearances and tackles - only exceptionally straight kicking, the Blues blowing multiple entries into attack and some solid defence enabled us to strike in the second half.
So I suppose I'll take this opportunity to posit on two things. Firstly, our rebuilding strategy as opposed to The Enemy (who most irritatingly are ahead of us again despite everything). They have declined alarmingly with the departure of Judd and Cousins, showing up the rest of the list as the overrated frontrunners they always were - but they do have a solid bunch of young kids and are obviously hoping for a "J-Curve" effect...declining rapidly before a sharp rise. Unfortunately for Dockers supporters everywhere, I think the names McKinley and Kennedy will cause problems in many derbies to come.
Posted by: Dolphin
in MyBlog on May 23, 2008
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I'm sitting in the Qantas lounge at the moment listening to 2 people discuss who is going worse, the Budgies or us. It's mystifying how some people can be this stupid and yet still find the wherewithall to button up their shirts.
Anyhoo, 1 interesting thing about walking in here this morning was that 1 of the computer terminals was actually on the Dockerland site, well done that person.
I'd like to belatedly welcome Taz's form and confidence back. He looked very good last week, and very fired up too which is the thing I liked most.
Posted by: The Jester
in MyBlog on May 18, 2008
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If to lose one match in those circumstances is unfortunate, and two looks like carelessness - what on earth do you call three consecutive games all with the same script?
Aside from the problem of keeping us locked with West Coast at the tail end of things, the other dispiritng thing about these recent losses is that the pain of defeat eclipses all of the positive things I see on the field.
Take today, for instance. Chris Tarrant played a great game in the forward half, being very creative and taking it on - not that it will win him too many fans in the WA football press, but I enjoyed it. Brett Peake was back to something approaching his normal self, with slashing run and some fine goaling on the run. Even Kepler Bradley showed he was a worthy incumbent for the bipolar No. 26 guernsey.
Posted by: Merc
in MyBlog on May 17, 2008
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I'm older than most of you, but younger than some. But by my age, you would have thought that you know football. Nothing would surprise you.
However, I have been very surprised at the gay abandon with which the C word has been used in recent times. And it's not just in the in the front bar at the local, but also on building sites and on the Terrace. I've even heard ex-players use the C word in the electronic media. Are they just trying to be clever? Are they trying to make us think? Are they attempting to shock us?
And, bloody hell, last week Kim Hagdorn claimed the high moral ground from his well-considered column in The Sunday Times, stating that he was right all along because one of our senior players used the C word. Of course, it mattered nought to this scribe that he and our player were talking about two different things.
From all that I've read and heard in the electronic media, I can only conclude that the proclaimers have bugger-all of an understanding of organisational Culture. For those who trawl these pages and want to learn, please read on.
Organisational culture is the basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organisation, such as a footy club. These operate within the unconscious level and define (in a taken-for-granted fashion) an organisation’s view of itself and its environment.
Within the organisation, the individual's assumptions and beliefs are influenced by…
- The region, (such as a harbour city or an affluent suburb)
- The organisational field, (such as the recipe where back-handers, back-scratchers and blackmail are used to colour independent reports)
- The organisation through its observed values, beliefs, behaviours and paradigms. (e.g. Consider a club that would effectively condone illegal and/or immoral activities by turning a blind eye.)
- Teams within teams which will often develop sub-cultures. (e.g. The married employees often have different behaviours and values to the party-valuing singles.)
If you want to begin to understand a football club's culture, you don't ask the coach "What does your club stand for?". Such an inane question will only elicit, at best, a glib answer. Instead, one should look at the physical manifestations.
- Control systems: How are the players, support staff and officials performance-measured and rewarded?
- Routines and rituals: How does the club do things and what patterns of behaviour are evident?
- Organisational structures: The organisation chart will always identify who and what are considered to be important.
- Power structure. Who actually wields or shares the power?
- Stories: Club stories are often used to initiate the newcomer and subversively let them know what is considered important. (Player X got so smashed after the first game of the season that he woke up in Kalgoorlie and had no idea how he got there. Player Y was so dedicated to training that he would push himself at each session until he vomited. Only then did he think that he had trained hard enough.)
- Symbols: Who gets the best parking spots? Who is allowed to express dissent to the coach?
Posted by: Greg
in MyBlog on May 14, 2008
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It's amazing but somewhere over the last ten days I picked up an enormous sense of enthusiasm and a real confidence that we, meaning the Dockers, are on the verge of a massive run of top line form and subsequent victories. Despite that disgraceful and inexplicable performance against the Dees I have this genuine feeling that we're going to surprise a lot of people and a lot of teams in the very near future.
Now I'm not sure if it's the fact I got my back up about the way Walls, Caro and Hutchy treated Mark Harvey over the last three weeks that has contributed to this confidence but I can feel the form reversal happening.
Maybe it's purely and simply just being a Fremantle fan is what causes it. We know we have been ordinary in sections of games and we're critical of it. But when outsiders want to have a go at us, that's overstepping the line and you then immediately go from ridiculing to defending. I think it's like when your sister or brother does something wrong and you bag the hell out of them. A mate or some else joins in and has a go about that same family member and then, despite the fact they're only showing support for you, you turn on them and let them have it.
