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Chapter 1: What insights does Luke Hodge share about Fremantle's current season?
And it flows nicely into our leadership portfolio with Luke Hodge. Hello to you, Hodgie. Morning, Gerard. Well, I can tell you that JL is not going to get ahead of himself. You can tell that. Whether they win or lose, he's that very consistent, not much changes from him. So you couldn't tell if it's a good day or a bad day. And to be honest, that's exactly what they need.
As he said, he goes, Fremantle have had in the past... the club, when they've had a few wins, considering it's been few and far between over the history, that they can get a little bit ahead of themselves. So as much as you sit back and go, with these interviews, you're not going to get much from it. You may get a little joke here or there. We're not sure if it's a joke or if he's serious.
But to be honest, that's perfect. Because how I saw them play on Saturday afternoon was exactly that. It was classy. It was clinical. Every player to a man knew exactly what they had to do. And they could have been overruled. You're going across to a venue that you've not won since 2016. You're up and about.
The Lions have got a lot of injuries, but you couldn't tell that from the way they played. And it was just a class performance from them.
What most appeals to you about the Fremantle set-up in 2026 and beyond? Because this is really the start of things for this team.
What I do like is there's a balanced lineup through the whole field. And you sort of look through and go, the last part for me was getting their forwards to be consistent. I think that was big. Because you sort of look at them and you had the Tracy, you had the Amish, you had the Voss. But they were all really young. It looks like over the last 12 to 18 months, they've really come of age.
And a part of that probably could have been playing finals for the first time and losing a final that they probably should have won, realizing that you can't take it for granted. It can go just as fast as it comes. If not, it can go quicker. So what I have like with that and the fact that those three guys all, I think they kicked 10 goals between them on the weekend.
Tracy and Amos had four apiece and Voss had three or might have been the other way around. But what I did see is they worked in connection. There was a bit of play where Tracy... took a mark in the forward line.
All of a sudden, he's taken a mark on one back flank, and then he does a chase down tackle on the other back flank all in the space of five minutes, which shows me that, yes, they know what they have to do in front of the football, but they also know where they have to go to link up and to be there as an offensive threat, but also as a defensive threat when it's needed.
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Chapter 2: How is Fremantle's lineup balanced for success in the premiership?
He's been in football for a long period of time. He understands... the history and the culture of Fremantle, as you spoke about, about getting too excited when there's a chance of playing finals and they're sitting on top of the ladder for a reason. But that's what I am liking about it.
And what that does show is it's clinical on weekends, is whether they're down or whether they're up, it's the same football. You will notice, and a lot of people out there we'll talk about their own team, we get six goals up and all of a sudden there's that leery handball over the top and there's this no-looker and they won't do the simple things. You don't see that with Freo.
Maybe with Vossi, who maybe gets a little bit up and about and starts beating his chest after a few of those snaps from the boundary. But you can tell from the coach down, week in, week out, that rollercoaster is a very calm, very few ups and downs. Are they ready for premiership contention? Well, they're putting themselves in a perfect position.
And the only people who know that is Fremantle when they get there. And that's the biggest thing is you can do this from rounds two to rounds 24, but it's when finals come. They would have learned a lot from last year. And the only people who understand that is when that situation comes when it's on prelim final, everyone wants to play big in finals.
Is it that team first mindset that they'll do it around eight, nine, 10 to get them on top of ladder? Or do players want to start to,
bridge outside of that and be the hero and jump outside the team rules and the only people who know that are the Fremantle players in that situation so they're doing everything possibly right there's always that concern our best football and I know you can only speak on your own performances but our best football at Hawthorne I believe was in 2012
We played our best from round 12 through to the finals, and then guess what?
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Chapter 3: What challenges does Fremantle face with their young forwards?
Sydney found a way to beat us on the biggest day because we went away from what we were doing because whether we got overawed on the big stage or whether we just played our best football too early. So that's a balancing act. They've still got a few guys that they've got to bring in, but you can't fault what they're doing at the moment.
Brisbane, so you saw them firsthand. How are you diagnosing the two-time champs?
I'm still optimistic about what they can do. You saw in the last quarter, and yes, Freya may have just dropped away a little bit, but They played with freedom in that last quarter, and even though they've got seven or eight of their main players out, they looked like the old Brisbane. They were able to get the ball inside forward 50. The connection thing's still an issue.
They had over 50 inside 50s in a game where they were inaccurate, but they just blazed away. But you look at what they've done the last two years, playing four finals both years, knowing that if they get on a stretch, they can beat anyone. And I think that's a thing that a lot of, People are sitting back going, you can't ride them out because now it's not just the top eight they need to get to.
It's the top 10 because their best will beat anyone on their day. And we've seen that early in the year. So yes, there's a few people, the lines that are scratching their head. They know that they need to get a few of those players back. If you look through the list that who'd be back in, Zorko's probably back after the bye. Leicester's the same.
You've got Lincoln McCarthy, Oscar Allen towards the end of the season. Dan Annenbell is a young first-round draft pick who they want into the team. Plus, you need a few of the other guys that need to lift their form with a Hugh McCluggage, a Fletcher, a Rayner, these kind of guys.
So I'm still optimistic, but I do understand that they need to be playing better football than what they're doing in the back end of the year when they get all these players back.
What do you think is at the core of those players who aren't playing the footy we expect of them? And Hugh McCluggage is the poster boy for that. He's earned that right as an All-Australian. And it's not just him.
Now, what I watched on the weekend was players trying to do too much and not trusting their teammates. So if you look through the middle and you look through... That's probably where it starts. You've got Lockie Neal in there. You've got Will. You've got Levi. You've got Huma Cluggage.
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Chapter 4: How does Fremantle adapt to injuries in their midfield?
He's not going to go and drop someone. He'll stick with him. And I think that's big for the players because they know that the coach has got their back and won't throw them to the wolves just because there's a bit of a beat up outside.
You made the trip to Perth for West Coast and Essendon. That was commitment.
Yeah, it was actually... Brisbane to Perth for what, 16 versus 18? It was a long flight, Gerard. We had a headwind. So the five-hour flight turned into six and a half. And as we were going to touch down, the wind just dropped. And then all of a sudden, the jets had to go back on and we took off and had to do another lap for 20 minutes.
But the pleasing thing on the way home was only three and a half because that wind was so strong. But you went across and you saw... Two teams that have been down for a long period of time. And there was parts of the West Coast game which I was very impressed with. You look at Jimby across the halfback line who was a bigger body midfielder when he started, but he's just got that class.
He's got that understanding. And for a day that was so tough conditions-wise, took three or four intercept marks and looked like there was no wind whenever he was around the ball, it just looks like there's a number of their guys that are starting to mature. Obviously, we've spoken about Harley Reid time and time again, and he's only going to get better, but
Some of the things you saw him do, ran through Reid a couple of times. That goal where he shrugged off two or three blokes just shows that he is a beast, but he's competitive. But they're starting to click. I do understand that they're playing against the 18th team in the Bombers, who have got a long way to go. They're ground zero. I like the fact that they brought in blokes like Sardis.
They're going to get a good run to actually see if they do get a consistent game. Can they improve on some of the flaws that they've shown over the first part of their career? So, like what I saw from West Coast, but understand they've still got a long way to go. And McWalter knows that. You spoke to him after the game.
And he realizes there's small little parts, but they're starting to build a foundation that the players know what they have to do. It's just whether they can do it time and time again for a whole match. And the next phase is for a whole season.
Luke Hodge runs our leadership portfolio and gets us going every Tuesday. We're just going to have our half-year sweep of the captains across the competition. It's not easy. No, it's not easy. Between injuries and L-platers, there's only a handful who are having the seasons that... they would expect to have. So we'll go through that next.
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Chapter 5: What leadership qualities does Justin Longmuir exhibit?
So he's just summing up. He's assessing what they're doing. And it's probably a lot of his focus is trying to get his team back on the winning, which he has by kicking goals as well.
Yeah. Callum Mills is not in the Swans' best 12 players, but that's not really his place anyway. And then Liam... Baker and Liam Duggan aren't in the most influential players at West Coast at the moment. Anyway, the players who might cross over, Patrick Cripps started poorly, has had an epic four weeks. Noah Anderson, most of the Suns' problems are in the midfield.
And St Kilda, Cal Wilkie and Jack Sinclair have both played really well individually. Yep.
Yeah.
And then in the worthy of debate, I've got Jordan Dawson dealing with personal tragedy, leading when he's there, and clearly the team's best player. Alex Pearce, driving force of Fremantle, has match-winning moments. James Sisley gets a little markdown because of the gut punch. John Newcomb's done a great job, I think, alongside Sisley. Always makes it hard when they're dual captains.
Max Gorns led a new regime brilliantly and playing sensational footy. And Marcus Bonson-Pelly has been nothing but heroic as he's battled through injury and fronted up each week and enhanced his reputation. How are you seeing our leaders?
I'm putting in at fifth spot. I haven't done this before when we've done this over the last three or four years. I have put in co-captains. One of them was said, you just mentioned there's a little bit of a tap to the stomach in the Sicilian UK. The reason why I put them there is there's been a lot of stuff going on at that football club.
We spoke at the start of the year saying that they'll probably fall down in the midfield because they couldn't get merit. They traded Warple. There's probably an error in that midfield that they'll probably struggle. And then all of a sudden in pre-season, Day goes down. So you're sitting here going, they've got no chance. If they can make the eight, you sit here and go pat them on the back.
Newcombe's been outstanding in that area. They've been able to throw a few other guys in through the middle, but then you add into the mix of the midfield dramas. You've got Baras who's been out with a hamstring for a number of weeks. Gunston at times he's had to miss, even though he's had a fantastic season, he's missed two to three games with a few little niggling injuries. Chole has been out.
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Chapter 6: How do the players maintain focus during a rollercoaster season?
And they've still been able to have an impact on the field as well as trying to lead this team through the injuries through the midfield and also up forward. Four? Four, I've gone for Dawson. For the reasons that you said, the mental strength that he... to go through what he's been going through. You can see the emotions pour out when he was sitting in the coach's box.
You can see the emotions pour out when they played up against the Brisbane Lions, when the Lions players were giving him a hug and just showing their support for him, what he's going through, but how he's been able to handle himself on the football field. Whenever he does play, he has a massive impact for that football club.
So I've got him at four just through the mental strength that he's been able to show. Three, I've gone for Maxie Gaughan. He probably would have been sitting at the end of the season going, where are we? New coach, our two main midfielders who've won multiple BNFs, multiple Australians, Brownlow, up in the Brownlow for years there, Norm Smith. Where are we going?
But he's been able to lead the charge through all that with a positive mindset, still have an impact with himself and just do it in the Max Gorm way, which is just pure class the whole way through. And the two that I've nailed it down to is Pierce because of what we spoke about a lot, what the coach talks about. The captain just oozes the exact same.
If you go and talk to Pierce in a two-team town, which all the supporters are up and about, you don't know if they're winning or losing. And I think that's crucial in a two-team town, that the supporters are absolutely ballistic, that they're on a run of games that they've not had in their career so far, in their history so far. but how he's been able to lead that side as well.
He's calm, he'll have an impact, he's happy to do the selfless role and go and play his, but will stand up when he needs to.
And if you talk to the players at Fremantle, the impact that he has that doesn't get pushed out of other captains, but he's so stable down there, I think that's what is crucial for a team right now coming into uncharted waters, considering they're in a better position than what they've been in in 2013 and obviously early 05, 06. And then the number one captain I've got at this stage...
is the bont um and i know he's always in the top through two or three every year um but you sort of look through the injury that he's had that he's been playing on one leg how he's been able to push through that no excuses i'm there to do a role for my team um how they've been able to get over close games and that that has got a lot to do with the leaders not going outside himself being able to be calm situations directing the players in that and then also he's just performance as i said doing it on one leg averaging 27 goal and a half a game
he's the main reason why they've been able to get over in a lot of those close games so they're my five and I totally understand people out there are throwing up why not Anderson understand that Greens stepped up and kicked some goals this is as tough a year to try and put in that top five barring probably the top couple
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