GEELONG swept to the 2007 AFL premiership with a side many judged to be the finest in years. It seemed the classic embodiment of the idea that clubs develop their lists over a number of years for a tilt at a flag or three, before beginning to rebuild.
So, as we approach round one, how far is your club from a realistic tilt at the premiership?
Taking Geelong’s 2007 list as the benchmark, we’ll look at each team’s list while considering four key factors:
- Age
- Experience
- Height
- Key positions
Of course, we know other, less tangible factors influence a side’s success or failure, such as injuries, suspensions, team stability, perhaps team spirit, and certainly the small matter of skill. But few of these can be reasonably assessed at the beginning of a year. What can be assessed, we’ll take a look at.
FREMANTLE
BEST 25
B: Roger Hayden, Luke McPharlin, Antoni Grover
HB: David Mundy, Michael Johnson, Steven Dodd
C: Brett Peake, Josh Carr, Heath Black
HF: Dean Solomon, Matthew Pavlich, Ryan Crowley
F: Jeff Farmer, Chris Tarrant, Ryan Murphy
FOLL: Aaron Sandilands, Des Headland, Peter Bell
I/C: Daniel Gilmore, Byron Schammer, Shaun McManus, Robert Warnock
EMG: Matthew Carr, Mark Johnson, Rhys Palmer
The rest of the squad:
Kepler Bradley, Andrew Browne, Adam Campbell, Marcus Drum, Paul Duffield, Andrew Foster, Paul Hasleby, Josh Head, Clayton Hinkley, Garrick Ibbotson, Chris Mayne, Brock O'Brien, Scott Thornton, Luke Webster, Brent Connelly (rookie), Ryley Dunn (rookie), Calib Mourish (rookie), Luke Pratt (rookie), Chris Smith (rookie).
The absence of onballer Paul Hasleby (knee) for 2008 is a blow, yet Fremantle's midfield division still looks impressive, which has been strengthened with the addition of Mark Johnson and Palmer. The team's spine is the stand out though, with McPharlin, Michael Johnson, J.Carr, Pavlich and Tarrant leading the way. In the ruck, the combination of Sandilands and Warnock, along with the versatility of Gilmore, looms as a potent mix.
AGE (As at March 20, 2008)
* 21 years and under: (11)
* 22-25: (18)
* 26-29: (11)
* 30+: (4)
Fremantle enters 2008 with the oldest list in the competition (the average age of each player standing at 24 years, 159 days). It has 29 players aged from 22-29 years old - the same number as Geelong's 2007 squad - pointing towards a strong premiership readiness.
MATCHES (As at March 20, 2008)
* 0 matches: (8)
* 1-25: (9)
* 26-50: (6)
* 51-100: (7)
* 101-200: (11)
* 200: (3)
Fremantle is one of three clubs to have over 3000 (3311) matches of experience entering 2008. A breakdown of the six match categories measures up closely to the 2007 Geelong squad - giving Fremantle great optimism that it has the ingredients to push hard in '08.
HEIGHT (As at March 20, 2008)
* 184cm and under: (16)
* 185-190cm: (12)
* 191-199cm: (13)
* 200cm+: (3)
The breakdown of Fremantle's height almost mirrors Geelong of 2007. The difference is the Dockers have one more player in the 184cm and under category and one fewer in the 191-199cm. It's another favourable measurement towards Freo being premiership ready.
POSITIONS
* Defenders: (14)
Smalls: (3)
Mediums: (4)
Talls: (7)
* Midfielders: (17)
Smalls: (11)
Mediums: (5)
Talls: (1)
* Forwards: (9)
Smalls: (1)
Mediums: (4)
Talls: (4)
*Rucks: (4)
Fremantle possesses strong depth down back, good numbers in the middle and have some fine tall targets up forward. Freo also has four ruck options, although Gilmore is a smaller versatile type. Again, the club is measuring up well here in its 2008 quest.
SUMMARY
Fremantle will be one of the most fascinating teams to observe in 2008. Last season, it entered as a premiership threat, before it ended with a new coach - Mark Harvey - and a bottom eight placing. The challenge now, for Fremantle, is can it realise its still talented list? It has met the maturity and match experience criteria - it simply needs to capitalise on a list that has the ability to challenge at the business end. The question is: will it?
NUTSHELL
On paper, could challenge this year.
OTHER FLAG FORM GUIDES
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
