Yes yes yes, I know it was another loss. I'm not happy about that. But I won't deny that I basically got the pulsating and entertaining game so cruelly denied to me by St Kilda last week, either.
If nothing else comes out of today's game, I hope the team use it to bury the final quarter horror stories for the rest of the year. To be three goals behind, down to 19 fit players, with a gorilla on their backs, to almost snaffle an unlikely victory, reaffirms my faith in the playing group. Perhaps had the services of Mssrs Dunn, Hayden and Crowley been available the story may have been different.
I shall not lavish more acres of blog space on the exploits of Pav The Magnificent. Nor will I praise the virtues of Sandi The Giant - if he can get the set shot kicking sorted, he will be invincible for the next seven years. Or even the redoutable Antoni Grover, the boy from Nollamara who has built himself into the most consistently reliable full back the club has ever had despite not being ideally suited to the position. We all know how brilliant they are.
No, I want to talk about the young guns powering Freo into the future. It's little wonder Rhys Palmer seems slightly worn around the egdes going into the bye week - in no time at all, he has become a star. Not yet a superstar, mind, but equally not far off it. Chris Mayne was back to his best today, and given time in the weights room he's only going to get better. After initially doubting the desire of Robbie Warnock in the early part of this year, today convinced me that we must keep him around.
Ibbotson is now slipping under my radar, but there's no doubt he is also improving. Clayton Hinkley returned to the side and did very well, providing a lot of spark when the occasion demanded it. And as for Josh Head, it was heartening to see him live up to the proud traditions of the No. 42. Obviously he still needs a little time to adjust to the fact that blind punching the ball at AFL level isn't quite the done thing, but a lot of his efforts today were very positive.
It was a true team effort to attempt to get over the line. Unfortunately, some members of the team seem to try more than others. It worries me that the real heroes of the final quarter were everyone over the age of about 27 and everybody under 22 or so. That middle tier has frustrated the hell out of me (and no doubt you) all year. Sandi, Crowley and Michael Johnson get passes. As does Steven Dodd, who despite shanking his kicks terribly today played a fine game on Matthew Lloyd. And Byron, who gives it everything despite slipping over and fumbling more times than is really acceptable for an AFL player.
That leaves the likes of David Mundy, Scott Thornton, Ryan Murphy and Brett Peake. When Peter Bell, Josh Carr, Antoni Grover, Pav and company retire, do you think they'd be capable of leading the Fremantle side, of giving us spirit? At this moment, I genuinely don't. I don't doubt their ability or their will - but when the chips are down, these guys make no impact and always seem to wait for somebody else to turn things around.
Ah well. Join me during the bye week for my examination of the entire list and my thoughts on what should happen moving forward. Until then, be safe in the knowledge that The Enemy are still below us (in every sense of the word). Freo Forever...