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A long year for Freo |
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by Thomas Grant | behindthegame.com.au
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SEASON 2008 poses to be a long year for Fremantle with the clubs finals chances gone as early as round nine.
 After another tight and disappointing loss to the Bulldogs, the Dockers sit with just one victory, that being over rivals West Coast.
In winning positions in their last three matches, the west-siders have managed to throw 12 premiership points, with that, their season.
Debutante senior coach Mark Harvey appears to be struggling. Not only failing to extract the very best from his chargers every week, but with the pressures that come with the top role.
Harvey, primed for the head position after serving long assistant duties under both Kevin Sheedy and Chris Connolly, has had little to boast.
Despite honourable defeats to the reigning premiers Geelong and the undefeated Western Bulldogs, Harvey's men have suffered embarrassing losses to Richmond and wooden-spoon favourites Melbourne.
The immediate future does not appear to be any brighter, with a tricky away trip to Carlton followed by games against the inform Port Adelaide, Brisbane and North Melbourne.
Criticism has been quickly directed at the Fremantle coaching staff, after recent recruiting blunders.
The decision to select Mark Johnson was clearly a mistake, and one they will regret for years to come.
Johnson, 29, has failed to cement a permanent spot in the Fremantle side, suggesting his career is floating on extremely thin ice.
Not to mention Chris Tarrant, who was received at the cost of the current dominant Paul Medhurst and first round selection Nathan Brown.
Although the Dockers have enjoyed the excitement of probable rising star winner Rhys Palmer, and young forward Garrick Ibbotson, the future does not look so bright.
A current squad featuring Peter Bell, Heath Black, Josh Carr, Matthew Carr, Jeff Farmer, Johnson, Shaun McManus and Dean Soloman displays both age and wary legs in a competition that is developing into a fitness and athletic base style of play.
Fremantle boast the oldest squad in the competition and find themselves situated inside the bottom three.
Skipper Matthew Pavlich future also remains in doubt, the star forward out of contract after this season with attractive offers expected from a host of other clubs.
His departure would be disastrous.
The Dockers are a good enough side to muster up a couple more wins for the season and possibly creep outside the bottom four. However, it does not defer from the fact that their squad is in trouble, their recruiting has been awful and their much anticipated senior coach is struggling.
It will be a long year for Fremantle. |
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