We’ve been a circus at times but now we’re a Dogga and Prancing Pony show! Time to Restump Podcast the withdrawal of the 4 points from the Kanga bank.

When you get over the line in a last gasp effort against a team serially occupying cellar dwelling real estate, you’re usually disappointed and rarely anything more than relieved. However, on this occasion, North deserves the credit. They brought and applied a pressure level none of us saw coming and it was all but good enough to beat us.

However, in what is another step in the right direction and a feather in our cap, we found a way to win when previously we may not have done. Is this the maturing filtering through? The age and experience factors gradually starting to take shape?

Can we just dip our lids, applaud and enjoy the Voss gloss? A two-time club discard, what a revelation Paddy Voss has been. From outside looking in, not only has he played his part in transforming our former robotic and predictable manner, he has created energy with his enthusiasm and made a material contribution. We say the Saints game was the catalyst for Freo's turnaround, but has it been the Prancing Pony instead? He came in the game after and has kicked 10 goals in his 5 games since.

And while we’re on the topic of discarded players, Corey Wagner deserves a standing ovation. Luke Davies Uniacke was cutting us to ribbons, ending the first half with 20 touches and a goal. Second half, Mr Longmuir said, “Mr Davies Uniacke, meet Mr Wagner.” LDU ended the game with 27 touches.

Tristian Xerri was always going to be a problem but we saw some good improvement in Sean Darcy and while Luke Jackson didn’t have his substantial midfield impact, he still found a way to influence the game.

However, had it not been for the great Josh Treacy’s defensive acts, we may be singing a different tune today. Sure, you expect Cyclonic performances in wet weather, but his game saving mark backing into a pack of Kangaroos deep in defence with just moments to go, has been undersold. His subsequent kick out of bounds on the full… we won't mention that.

We won the game so the coaches obviously got it right, but there was a little disappointment in the subbing off of Neil Erasmus. For someone who has lacked opportunity and hasn’t put a foot wrong since his return, maybe there were grounds for keeping him on.

But with Fyfe looking for minutes, Nathan O’Driscoll playing superbly at Peel, Alex Pearce thereabouts, Izzy Dudley set to return and Brandon Walker closing in, there might be a few selection headaches and disappointments in the near future. Not a bad problem to have though.

It was the first of the five vital games that will determine our September quest and we got the dishes done. And at the end of the day, that is all we really needed to do. We now need to feast on the next four and sure up some percentage given the tightness of the battle for top eight spots.

It’s a short turnaround as this Thursday night we take it to the Dons who are coming off a belting at the hands of Geelong. We need to be ready for their response.

All in all it was a better win than a win over a bottom placed team suggests. We were made to work for it and we had to earn it. However, we got shown that we’re still susceptible to pressure and if a top eight team dropped it on us, they also probably wouldn’t allow us to score as freely and get away with it. Just some assessable balance food for thought.

It’s more a bank the 4 points and move on but there’s always plenty to bang on about. So, if you’re not ready to robotically put it behind us and be all methodical about it, feel free to join us on the pod to squeeze every last ounce of e

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