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.

Freo have some young kids worth crowing about, too.  Rhys Palmer obviously heads the list, but Garrick Ibbotson is growing in stature all the time, Chris Mayne is very promising despite a patchy return game, and of course there's Clayton Hinkley and the rookies as well.  The difference is that the rest of the Dockers list is capable of matching it with anybody - our curve is flatter and will take shorter to peak.

jordo may have intended some slight jest when she suggested that we've never been this consistent...but she's completely right, even if we are losing by narrow margins all the time.  For years I have yearned for my team not to demonstrate the erratic swings of form that date from the Neesham era and wrought havoc on much of Connolly's as well.  If Mark Harvey is finally able to flatten this out during his tenure and entrench a certain spirit of consistent competitivness in the team, it will bode well for the next few years despite all the short term agony and pain.

Finally, I was lucky enough to spend my flight home surrounded by redoubtable foot soldiers of the Imperial Purple - Rick Hart across the aisle, our inspirational captain behind him, and other heroes everywhere.  The team seemed genuinely downbeat, struggling for answers just like the rest of us.  But the President did spend some time rabble-rousing with the faithful aboard and asking for nothing more than support and faith in these troubled times.

It might sound hollow after years of mostly disappointment, but I noted that I'd much rather believe that Fremantle could win any game anywhere than endure the days of regular 80-point beltings ever again.  Leave the winning in 2008 to the losers...we've got a bigger picture to worry about, one coming slowly into focus which will sustain us for a decade.