Watching finals from the side-lines, celebrating award winners and saying goodbye to purple soldiers. This emotional roller coaster can get knotted! Time to Restump Podcast the assortment of sentiment.

As Fremantle fans, you’d think we’d be acclimatised to watching September from the side-lines… I mean we’ve done it 22 times in the last 30 years! But watching the finals this year and knowing how close we were to being a part of it… we’ve developed an itch that needs a scratch! We need a fix; we need a September transfusion; we need a finals injection to get the purple bloodstream pumping! But we’ll bide our time, do the hard yards once again and hope this time next year outcomes will be different.

Meanwhile, again at this time of year, we have to undertake the unenviable task of waving goodbye to numerous Docker diehards that dug deep over the duration. We sadly say sayonara and send off soldiers some who never saw any action, all of them devoid of September success.

The often unjustly maligned Matty Taberner, the ever-ready Ethan Hughes, the always jovial Josh Corbett, the sky scraping Sebit Kuek and the couldn’t quite get there Conrad Williams. All five deserve gratitude, but especially Tabs and Hughesy. They got everything out of themselves, emptied their tanks, they were part of the journey and played vital roles at times. Thanks fellas and enjoy whatever comes next in life.

To move to a brighter note we celebrated the Doig medal awards last night. Now it is safe to say it wasn’t exactly a short a night and awards weren't rare. And not to diminish the attached prestige to any accolade, but it seemed if you attended the gala and went home without some sort of medal or acknowledgement, you were stiff! But there is a lot to be said for professionalism and attention to detail and it was truly a magnificent night. If only we could be as thorough on the field as we were off it!

There were no surprises, Caleb Serong and Andy Brayshaw were always going to deservedly quinella the Doig and it was just a matter of which order.

The only shock that could have occurred on the night was if Josh Corbett didn’t win the best good bloke award! Never going to happen.

Josh Draper won the “stood out like a Beacon for all the right reasons” award. It was great to see, it was thoroughly deserved and we’re all pretty excited for him and us going forward.

Lukey Ryan won the Mi Casa Property Boutique Award. He got the most wins for metres gained in a single quarter, more than any other player. Don’t quote me on it as it hasn’t been confirmed... but I think he wins a house, courtesy of the magnificent Mi Casa crew.

Awards, delistings, finals, trades… plenty of purple to prattle on about. So, if you’re in need of a dose of docker drivel, drag up a davenport, dial in and dwell on our dubious determinations.

Enough of the nonsensical alphabet games… let’s get into it! Join us in the purple pod pool, the water is warm.

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The day started at 10.30am in WA and at 7pm Sunday evening when it finished, we were flat as tacks and emotionally exhausted. Time to Restump Podcast the season ending loss to Power from Port.

We were doing the finals hokey pokey all day! We had one foot in, we had one foot out! As Fremantle fans we’re well acclimatized to the seasonal emotional roller coaster, heck we even handle it for 80 consecutive minutes at times… but enduring eight hours on the mental anguish causing metaphoric carnival ride, well that was a new bag.

Quite frankly the game mirrored our season. We’re good, but we’re just not that good yet. We’re good, but we can’t be good enough for long enough yet.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t handle the pressure Port consistently applied. The relentless pressure caused us to fumble and double grab everything and it led to perceived pressure which saw us unable to be clean in uncontested situations. We missed simple handballs, simple kicks, simple shots on goal.

Three or four times we saw highly damaging two goal turnarounds. We saw no forward pressure. We went -4 in the first quarter and -5 in the 3rd quarter for tackles inside fifty. It ended up 17 to 9 in Port’s favour.

We saw silly undisciplined acts from Jordan Clark and Liam Reidy that both led to simple Port Adelaide goals. When you’ve previously lost six games by 13 points or less, we should know better!

But all those factors are part of the make up of why we’re not that good yet.

However, as disheartening as it was to let slip an opportunity that was there for the taking, there is a reluctant comfort there for the taking as well. We’re seriously close to challenging. For rounds 22, 23 and 24 there was no Alex Pearce, no Michael Walters, no Sean Darcy and probably most detrimentally no Josh Treacy. Yet in those games we pushed and had chances to beat Geelong, GWS and Port Adelaide, three of the top final four sides. I’m happy to repeat my belief, we’re very close!

But as we all know, being very close doesn’t feed the Bulldog. Getting it done does and we simply couldn’t. It hurts like a bugger right now and will do as we watch the September action from the sidelines.

But we tidy up a few things, maybe go shopping for a gun or two, come back a year older, a year more experienced and with another pre-season under the collective belt and half those narrow losses might be top four propelling wins.

While I’m sure he’d trade it for 8th place on the ladder, Marshy Skates got out of Sunday with the $50 spend at 2 Brothers Foods, taking out the season finale of the Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition.

We’ve only scratched the surface of our healing, so there is much more to work through on the pod. Let’s work collectively on our grief, our pain and our anguish. There are questions to be asked, tough calls to be made and break throughs to be had. So, let’s all pull up a purple couch, lay back and let the therapeutic conversational healing begin.

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It was a legitimate honourable loss, ironically delivered partly by a dishonourable act. We’re going to have to hit ole Rosco Lyon and Rory up for favours! Time to Restump Podcast all the purple palaver.

Another lethargic start to a game has once again hurt us. We’re so close, but we are where we’re supposed to be because genuine really good sides don’t consistently have lapses or make certain mistakes. But the reality is, we’re good enough to challenge, if we simply tidy up a couple of areas.

The Giants are a hot side and, as the competition’s in form side, should arguably be premiership favourites. They were at full strength, revved up on their home deck and incentivised with a top four spot. Admittedly, we had finals to qualify and play for, but we were on the road and without our best key forward, our lead ruck and our best key defender. The performance was mostly admirable.

While few were a bit wide of thee mark, Andy Brayshaw again left no uncertainty surrounding how much of a priority his valuable signature is. Caleb Serong had a monster of a day especially under thee heavy tagging tactics of Toby Bedford and it was magnificent to see Sammy Sturt put in a ripper.

Bailey Banfield has copped some unfair criticism at times, but you can’t defend his brain snap. To be so undisciplined at such a pivotal moment with so much on the line, is unforgiveable. But Paddy Voss gave away a dumb 50m penalty which, directly or indirectly, however you assess it, resulted in a goal to the Giants. It wrongfully didn’t carry the same scrutiny because it wasn’t in the final minutes. Jye Amiss missed 2 absolute sodas in the 3rd quarter, put another one out of bounds on the full and also missed Luke Jackson with a simple kick. Brennan Cox was seemingly on another planet on occasions and Jordan Clark and Brandon Walker watched Brent Daniels run amok all day. There are many moments throughout a game that deserve the same frustrated response that Bailey Banfield is suffering.

Beyond that, once again the game against Geelong last week and the game against the Giants on Saturday really should have determined whether we made the top four or not, not whether we made the eight. Six games we’ve lost by 13 points or less and in five of them we were leading at three quarter time. There is a bit more to blame than Bailey Banfield idiotically giving away a 50m penalty.

So, its all down to the final three games of the final round of the season for us. With the two games that can partly determine our fate on Sunday prior to our game, we’ll know if we can make the eight or not before the first bounce.

We need our former coach, Rosco Lyon, to get his Sainters to repeat their effort and result against Carlton which they delivered against Geelong on the weekend. And/or if Rory Lobb can repay some of what he owes us by sandbagging his teammates, allowing the Giants to prevail, then we’re in with a live chance.

Hawthorn aren’t losing to North Melbourne so we can rule a line through that. So, if Carlton and the Dogs both win, its goodbye 2024. If one or either of them lose, its all up to us to turn the Power out.

One minute Shai Bolton has requested a trade, next minute, apparently, he hasn’t. For that to occur, it means he is surely going to. It is difficult to think he’s not going to be in purple next year, but we walk away if the price is overs.

Unfortunately, the Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition didn’t get up on the weekend, but it will absolutely be running for our final home and away season game. It’ll be your final chance to snare a freebie spend at 2 Brothers Foods.

Plenty of goings on at the Cockburn club, so bring your opinions and rumours and make them heard. Join us in the purple conversational pool pod, the water is warm.

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Are we Reidy for Saturday morning fever? Disco is back! Yes, I know… it couldn’t be lamer… but we’re trying cut the tension surrounding this game, of which there is virtually no tomorrow! Time to Restump Podcast the stress against GWS.

This isn’t the position we had envisioned! We had aspirations of a lengthy September; we had no intention of playing a game with potentially no tomorrow in August. Ok to the mathematical letter of the law, its not exactly a no tomorrow proposition, but its as close as we can get without it being one.

And now with our season teetering on the edge, to save it we must, without our best forward, our best defender and our lead ruck, come up against a rampaging, pretty much full-strength Giants outfit, spearheaded by the Coleman medal favorite and ex Fremantle full forward.

It is ‘backs to the wall’ stuff for us purple people! However, looking back at the eleventy squillion times in our history when we’ve been in similar ‘backs to the wall’ situations and seeing them result in a requirement of structural maintenance for the wall, I just can’t gather the confidence I was hoping to fill up on. Hope, desire and dreams we’ve got plenty of, but confidence is a little scarce.

But in a roundabout way, it could amount to a situation where the pressure is sort of off and expectations aren’t all encompassing, and that can, at times, lead to some favourably unexpected outcomes. Yeah, that sounds more comforting… let's run with that. Pressure is off and play with the freedom!

While it probably would have been preferable last week, it’s wonderful to see Liam Reidy get a debut. He’s deserved a gig and while we can’t saddle him with lofty expectations, we can only hope he goes well. We’ll even barrack for and celebrate a halving of the contest.

And is the insertion of the Disco and the enthusiasm he brings, the shot in the arm the team needs? He’s had a really tough year and while we probably thought we would see an O’Driscoll this year, we were thinking Emma rather than Nathan. Tear up the wing Disco, and if you get the opportunity, celebrate your hardest and get the boys on board!

Another day, another prospective coach escapes the West Coast Eagles’ clutches. It's tragically sad what that once proud, eternally pretentious and ever still arrogant club has become. We reach across the aisle, give them a consoling pat on the back, a “hang in there” whisper and wish them all the best in the Neighbourhood Watch segment.

We’re nearing season’s end of the Mi Casa Property Boutique meters gained competition, so keep a look out for it on our social media pages sometime Friday, throw in an entry and you might find your way into a free $50 spend at 2 Brothers Foods.

Let’s get into it on the pod and see if we can find a way in to somehow slaying these menacing Giants.

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Three quarter time we’re sitting top four with a guaranteed finals campaign locked in. Half an hour later we’re clinging on to September for dear life! Time to Restump Podcast the Cat scratching.

That season jeopardising last quarter loss to Geelong on Saturday was soul destroying, but to be honest, it probably isn’t the game we should be mad about. Admittedly, for whatever reason, we didn’t show up for half the first quarter and we again worryingly ran out of legs late in the game, but under the circumstances, we performed pretty admirably against a very formidable outfit.

That result was always a chance of happening but we shouldn’t have been in the position that such a game carried so much importance. Our frustrations should apply to the early Derby, the Collingwood draw and the loss to Essendon last week. They’re the opportunities we let slip that puts us in the precarious position we now find ourselves in.

The fact is after quarter time on Saturday we outscored Geelong which was a pretty decent feat. Remove our current best key forward, our current best key defender, our lead ruck and our most experienced and senior small forward, and we’re vulnerable against anyone.

That isn’t giving a pass to the crew that was out there Saturday though, because there is no excuse for mindset. Knowing the unfortunate situation of what was on the line, its difficult to think you couldn’t be fired up and ready to unleash at the first bounce.

The selection of Matt Taberner seemed an odd one but there are obviously reasons we are unaware of. However, with the inclusion of Paddy Voss at the expense of Josh Treacy and the knowledge that Sean Darcy was doubtful, it’s puzzling why you’d go for Taberner in front of Liam Reidy, which was our known possible area of need.

But selection issues and missing guns aside, we had our opportunities to win the match but we butchered several moments. We had no mid forward connection, which is somewhat understandable given the upheaval of our forward line. But frustratingly and most disappointingly, we applied little to no forward pressure as Geelong consistently walked the ball out of defence with the greatest of ease.

As mentioned, it’s left us in a very precarious position. The fact we’ve virtually only beaten one genuine top eight side all year, it tragically feels more likely than not that we miss September, given we have to win one of our two remaining games against the Giants and Port Adelaide.

Destiny is in our own hands, but it feels like she’s saying stop touching me up and put me down! But we’re resilient, glass half full, adversity enduring eternal optimists. We don’t know how to do things the easy way! We subscribe to the theory that if you’re not dead, you’re not done and that’s all the chance we need.

Congrats to Josie Price on taking out the Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition on the weekend. Jeremy Sharp, who did show up in the first quarter, got the business done for her and Josie now takes off the $100 jackpot from 2 Brothers Foods.

Anyway, let’s get into the pod and see where the purple prattle goes. We’re all doing it tough, we’re all a little distraught at the horrible prospect of missing finals so we need to talk it through. Join us if you’re looking for a support network, because we do!

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It can’t have gotten far, it was just with us! Geez, you can’t take your eyes of opportunity for a second! It’s time to Restump Podcast Sunday’s demoralising top 4 departure.

Sunday at the MCG felt very historically Fremantle-ish. Destroying pivotal moments and golden opportunities! Just when we had the chance to almost lock down some valuable top four real estate, the Essendon Bomber Bank said, “sorry, we’re not financing that” and the deal fell over.

It really hurt because it was another game that we’ve let slip. The two games in South Australia were slightly different bags, but the early West Coast loss and the Collingwood draw had filled our allowable debacle quota. Letting Essendon run us down from four goals behind… is a step too far and could have horrifically dire consequences in relation to September participation.

The game was quite deceiving. Our rare accuracy and efficiency were clouding the reality. The fact is, we weren’t travelling that well early in the game. Just 10 inside fifties in the first quarter to Essendon’s 18 was disguised because we kicked 4 goals 1. We were scoring every second entry, but so were the Bombers who kicked 5 goals 4. Did the 9-point quarter time margin not set the alarm bells off?

Was there a sense of complacency? Were we out there thinking a mirrored performance from the previous week against the West Coast Eagles would unfold? At half time we’d gone inside 50 two less times than we did in the first quarter, but again we were accurate and efficient kicking 5 goals neat. Compounding our potential complacency was Essendon kicking 1 goal 2… but they went inside 50 fifteen times. If Essendon started scoring, we were in strife.

The penny seemed to drop in the third quarter as we got our game going and got it on our terms. Clearances, contested possession, inside fifties all turned in our favour. But for all our dominance we didn’t necessarily make the most of it.

The final quarter was a disaster. They steam rolled us and, disappointingly, we showed little to no fight. We reverted to the first half form, getting beaten in contested and uncontested possession and they took 16 more marks than us in the final term alone. We made just one centre clearance and that was where the game was lost.

It was a game we should have won with the personnel we had but the experienced and steadying hands of Alex Pearce and Sonny Walters at either end of the ground, were noticeably missing. And if those ‘numbers on a page’ readers think we don’t miss Nat Fyfe… maybe now they’ll change their tune.

It’s a devastating loss and one that may prove fatal in terms of September this year but, bigger picture-wise, let’s not forget where we are and where we were this time last year. (15th for those playing at home) We’re an exceptionally young side of substantial talent. As far as premiership windows go, ours is only just starting to open.

We’ve got the Cats, Giants and Port to come in the run to the finals. Those three teams in their current form probably pose the toughest test any side has to endure in these final three weeks. We’re only a win and % out of 9th…. we probably need to win two of our last three.

Anyway, lets get into it on the pod and break it all down further. So, if you’re looking to make sense of it all…. point us in the right direction because so are we! Problems shared are problems halved and you can’t solve them without talking about them. Let’s start the chit chat.

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Someone has some tidying up to do after throwing all the toys out of the cot! To be fair to Harley, he did make it a great entertaining Derby. Time to Restump Podcast the Eagle’s grand final loss.

It was far from the iconic demolition derby but we saw a return to some highly entertaining derby spite, plenty of antagonism and several subsequent flareups. In this new world of sanitised and scrutinised football, it was probably as close to the great derby era as we’re ever going to get.

Whatever you think of Harley Reid, he brought enough hostility and created enough friction to turn what have been lifeless, often dispirited, recent derbies into something most of us were thrilled by.

The high and mighty finger waggers, will look down their noses, make tut tut sounds, cry 'unnecessary' and self-righteously suggest bigger fish need frying!

Let the purists stew in their own joyless existence! The rest of us know thoroughly enjoying the moment and the journey and remaining focused, can all co-exist.

It was the win and the game we needed. A 100-point belting wouldn’t have helped us from a mindset perspective. We needed the kitchen sink thrown at us, we needed to wear the pressure and be made fight tooth and nail. Admittedly West Coast are in wooden spoon territory but the game was played at a level far above and beyond that. Personally, I’d go as far as to suggest it was up there with our best wins of the season.

There was a professionalism about it, about how we assessed it on the run and then went about rectifying it. To endure the heat that West Coast brought, be near on four goals down, click up a gear, take back the ascendency and then put them to the sword, was super impressive and it can only put us in good stead going forward.

It shed some light on a few questions that were lingering above our heads. Could we turn a game under extreme duress? Would we be able to insert our game style in the face of that level of pressure? Yes, again it was West Coast and they weren’t going to be able to sustain their first half pressure for the full game, but they did a better job at it than we all probably thought they would.

Andy Brayshaw is back to his 2022 form and Caleb Serong was just absolutely absurd! His clean ball handling skills are Lachie-Neale-like! And while Hayden Young might be the silky-smooth left foot deliverer, another ridiculous 12 big tackles show he’s not afraid to get down and do the hard stuff.

Down back the crew continues to perform and now the forward line is entering well oiled machine territory. Josh Draper was rightly recognised with a Rising Star nomination. The mind boggles where he is going to be in a few years! Even our wings look super solid with Sharp and O’Meara.

We’ve become a serious team. There are no heroes or egos, everything is team oriented, team first. Players seem willing to do the hard yards today without personal reward. Consistent individual team orientated based effort across the board, sees everyone have their day, but not necessarily on the same week. The acceptance of that and the willingness to work for the greater cause, is paramount to achieving ultimate success.

The Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition failed to go off as Tommy Emmett took the fourth quarter and was shown no love by participants. That means there is a $100 spend at 2 Brothers Foods this week against the Bombers.

Enough of this rambling here, lets get into it on the pod as we go through Saturday night’s Derby in depth. So, if you’re still ginned up and looking to non-violently fight anything clad in blue and gold, put on the purple mitts and join us in throwing metaphorical haymake

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Is it true the West Coast Eagle’s coaching position is now being advertised on Gumtree? Time to Restump preview Podcast our retribution seeking Derby.

We miss the golden Derby era! It was a time when rivalry really meant something, when flying the colours and playing with club pride were the objectives and the four points was secondary want.

However, let’s not revive it Saturday night. As we hone in on what should be a final’s campaign in a month’s time, we need to avoid suspendable situations at all cost. Let’s view the AFL tribunal like prospects around the country are viewing the West Coast Eagle’s head coaching position – places no one wants to be in!

After the deplorable performance we put in against West Coast back in round 6, we do need retribution. But it’s a bigger fish to fry, greater good type retributive prospect we should be viewing it as. There is a top 4 position and a double chance on offer and that needs to be the sole focus.

And I’m not going to lie, I have some concerns about us getting through the game unscathed. West Coast have suddenly abandoned their “play the kids” policy and brought back a host of veterans. It has “nothing to lose” vibes about it and cheap spiteful acts may be on their strategic whiteboard. Can they goad us into something we don’t want to be involved in? We have to fly the flag and back up our teammates, but we have to be retaliatorily measured. They kind of have us at disadvantage, if that is the path they choose.

Unfortunately, Sonny Walters has pinged a hammy and will spend time out and we know Alex Pearce is done for four or five weeks. That’s a decent amount of experience to go out when you realise their replacements are Tommy Emmett and Josh Draper. In fact, over the four players we show a 343 games and 359 goal deficit.

But the reality is, winning on Saturday night is simply mindset, it’s intent. If we turn up in the right frame of mind, apply the intensity that we have in recent weeks, the result should take care of itself. If we fail to do that, do we really deserve to play finals?

The Mi Casa Property Boutique Metres Gained Competition will be back for the Derby so keep an eye on our social media and throw in an entry. You might score a $50 spend from 2 Brothers Foods.

Regarding the result, Brett, or Brent or Brad McDonald or McDonnell is a little too overconfident for my liking but, I guess this episode of the Neighbourhood Watch segment also oozes cautious arrogant optimism.

Strategically speaking, it is a little difficult to be meaningful analytical about this upcoming game, so it’s a preview pod with more nonsense than the usual amount.

So, if you’re partial to palaver and pointless prattle, part with a portion of your presence, pull up a pew and plug this 40-minute parcel into your Lords and Peers. By all means. take the plunge and join us in the purple opinion party pool.

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