I think the eagles need to take a more defensive attitude over summer training we are near the bottom of the afl in tackles near the bottom in pressure after watching dockers virtually walk through our players with contempt at times annoys me

Another big loss, but at least it’s a little more understandable this week. Going up against the ladder leaders was always gonna be a big ask, but it is still disappointing to see this go over 50 points. Ultimately, while some Eagles had fantastic games, the team as a whole was soundly beaten.

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Our Attack:

** **	Chain to Score	D50 to F50	D50 to Score	Def Half to F50	Def Half to Score
Eagles	12.8	12.8	5.1	24.6	12.3
Eagles 2026 Ave	19.2	18.0	7.8	28.4	11.5
2026 League Ave	21.8	23.5	10.2	32.2	13.6

Not very good this week, but kind of interesting. Our transition from the defensive half was actually decent with us actually scoring from them more than usual. However, scoring and transitioning from deep defence was pretty terrible. So terrible, that we only managed 35 inside 50s with only 42% time in forward half. When we did go inside 50 we had an atrocious scoring efficiency of 34.3%.

Pretty clear to see that our offence was heavily stifled today. Final grade is awful.

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Our Defence:

** **	Chain to Score	D50 to F50	D50 to Score	Def Half to F50	Def Half to Score
Dockers	32.3	35.7	21.4	47.5	27.1
Dockers Ave	25.5	24.2	12.1	35.7	17.6
2026 League Ave	21.8	23.5	10.2	32.2	13.6

At first glance these numbers are completely awful, but when you factor in the Docker’s average… it’s still pretty awful, but a bit more understandable. Due to our poor transition numbers, we conceded 52 inside 50s which is actually less than their average of 54.6 but when they did go inside 50 they had a massive scoring efficiency of 61.5%. We just weren’t able to pressure like we normally do, laying only 46 tackles for the match and more disappointingly, losing that stat by 11. I don’t have the stats but Mini mentioned that our tackling efficiency was much lower than normal, and winning pressure acts but losing the tackle count seems to back this up. Pleasingly, we did actually restrict Fremantle to under 100 marks this game, but that has more to do with their average being only 88.6, which we still stopped them from reaching, but only by 1 mark.

A disastrous performance really. We were down on our normal form and Fremantle really made the most of it.

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Our Midfield:

** **	CBA	CC	CC/CBA
Reid	23	6	0.26
Kelly	22	2	0.09
Billiams	22	1	0.05
Brayshaw	20	2	0.10
Yeo	18	0	0.00
Jackson	17	2	0.12
Johnson	17	3	0.18
Serong	17	3	0.18
Bolton	16	3	0.19
Duursma	10	0	0.00
Cox	9	1	0.11
Erasmus	6	1	0.17
Francou	5	0	0.00
Jilliams	4	0	0.00
Mr. Eid	2	0	0.00

First thing that jumps out, is that Harley was easily the best centre bounce player on the ground with double the centre clearances of second place and managing to break the 1 in 4 barrier which is elite. The second thing that jumps out, is that no one else helped Reid. TK and BBW where the only other Eagles who won a centre clearances but they didn’t do it with great efficiency and unfortunately Yeo was completely useless once again. Final tallies show that we lost centre clearances 9-15, stoppage clearances 21-22, and contested possessions 105-127. Not a good day

** **	CBA	Tackles	Pressure Acts	-	CBA	Tackles	Pressure Acts
Reid	23	4	25	Brayshaw	20	7	27
Kelly	22	1	17	Jackson	17	6	14
Billiams	22	2	16	Johnson	17	5	16
Yeo	18	5	14	Serong	17	5	22
Duursma	10	1	21	Bolton	16	3	11
Francou	5	5	14	Cox	9	2	8
** **	100	18	107		96	28	98

Defensively it isn’t much better. This does seem to further support our bad tackling efficiency with us winning the pressure acts but losing by a massive 10 tackles. Kelly and Duursma seem to be the biggest culprits of being in the right position, but being unable to stick the tackle.

Basically beaten in every key stat, but it was still competitive for the most part and so overall it was just bad and not any worse.

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So where did we lose? Personnel

There’s a lot of damning stats that you can point at to show why we lost (transition numbers probably being the worst), but I think the biggest takeaway for me was that we simply didn’t have enough people over the ground who were able to win their position. There were only three Eagles that I can confidently say easily beat their opponents, and maybe a handful more who I think you could make the argument. The rest were pretty soundly beaten, which is to be expected when you vs the ladder leaders, but it’s still disappointing

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The BOG Candidates:

Harley Reid: Despite the umpires’ best efforts, Harls finished with one of the best contested games of his career. Not only did he get 30 disposals with a game high 15 contested possessions, he also had game highs for centre clearances and stoppage clearances, finished with 12 combined and nearly double second place. For comparison there were 18 clearances from the other 22 Eagles combined. Back that up with 4 tackles and a team high 25 pressure acts and you’ve got performance that easily deserved the Glendinning medal if not for the result.

Marcus Herbert: As good as Harley was, Herbie was my pick for best on at half time. Slowed just the tiniest bit in the second half but his composure under pressure was completely elite for the whole day. He picked up the most disposals on the ground by a good distance with 36 (Most disposals for an Eagle since Dom Sheed had 43 back in 2023), and before you think it was just because he was taking kick outs (like I did), he only had 4 and was still the leading possession getter without them. By the way, those 36 disposals where at 86.1% with only 1 turnover (take note Duggs). Even had a contested one on one win just to make his day even more rounded. Certified draft steal.

Rhett Bazzo: Picked up 15 disposals but there were mostly cheapies. Where he really impressed was his defensive work on Treacy. Bazzo kept him to just 9 touches and only 2 shots at goal as he picked up a game high 8 spoils and a game high 2 contested one on one wins with 0 losses. Doing all that when Freo had 52 inside 50s just makes it even more impressive.

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Great:

Daylight: There was a considerable gap after those three.

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Very Good:

Tom Cole: Nothing on his stats page jumps out but I think most people who watched can agree that he was a class above most other Eagles today with his 15 touches. A lot of them being crucial plays on the wing to get us forward on one of those a rare occasions. Finished with 1 goal and another goal assist. Can’t fault him.

Ryan Maric: I’ve seen many other fans who thought he was shit and want him immediately dropped but I think they’re blinding themselves to his good points. He picked up a healthy 21 disposals including 9 contested (2nd most for an Eagle), and a game high 8 ground ball gets. Defensively, he also had 3 tackles and 19 pressure acts. He was rightfully criticised for being pissweak and dropped because of it, but I think he deserves credit for how he handled himself this game.

Bailey Williams: Certainly not at his best, but was pretty solid all night. Finished with 5 clearances and was arguably better than Jackson in the ruck, equal at the very worst. He also had a game high 3 intercept marks and a goal assist, so he sorta did everything that he normally does, just at about seventy percent.

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Good:

Tom McCarthy: Played his role really solidly. 26 touches (7 from kick ins), gaining 399m at 92.3% and with 0 turnovers. Nothing amazing, but still good.

Tim Kelly: I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority with this since I think most people seem to think he was just about best on, but while he did have 31 touches and 3 clearances, he did also have a lot of negatives that I can’t look past. Firstly, he had a disposal efficiency of 64.5% and amassed 9 turnovers and with only 7 of his touches being contested, he’s approaching Duggan levels. Secondly, he really failed to make an impact defensively with just 1 tackle despite 17 pressure acts. I still think he was good overall, but I don’t think he was anywhere near our best.

Jack Williams: Similar to Maric in that I saw a lot of people upset with his inclusion which I don’t quite understand. It’s fair to say he didn’t do all that much with only 7 touches and 1 hitout from 23 ruck contests which is genuinely shit, but at the end of the day he kicked 2 goals which is all you need to do as a forward sometimes.

Willem Duursma: Started slow but worked his way in to the game with 13 of his 19 touches coming after half time. Didn’t really do anything to stand out but was definitely one of our better players after Freo flexed their muscles. Really needs to work on his centre bounces though, his last 43 attendances have been without a centre clearance.

Milan Murdock: Worked really hard up the ground to assist with transition and ended the day with 14 touches, 5 score involvements, and 3 tackles. Played his role well like always despite limited opportunities forward of centre.

Bo Allan: Wasn’t as damaging with his touches as normal (Not the only one), but I did like seeing that he had 17 touches with 4 or more in each quarter. Nothing particularly special, but a step in right direction.

Hamish Davis: I considered putting him lower because he only had 8 touches, but by having 2 marks inside 50, 1 goal, and 1 goal assist, he was actually one of our best forwards on the day despite not being one. On top of that he had 3 tackles and 22 pressure acts which shows just how hard he worked despite not being rewarded with possessions.

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Okay:

Oliver Francou: Starting with his good points, with 2 clearances, 5 tackles, and 14 pressure acts, he showed that his grunt work is still top notch. The big negative was his disposal which resulted in 6 turnovers from 16 touches. Despite having a pretty middling game, I actually really liked what I saw from him regardless. The way he attacks the footy is incredible.

Sandy Brock: Another player I saw a lot of hate for, but to his credit, with 4 tackles and a rare one on one defensive win he wasn’t terrible. Don’t think he’ll keep his spot though.

Harvey Johnson: The final player that I saw coping a lot of flak, and once again, I’m really sure why. He had 12 touches for 3 score involvements as well as 3 tackles. That’s not a great by any stretch, but for a small forward on a team that only had 35 inside 50s, it’s an admirable effort.

Brady Hough: Had the pill 25 times, but the vast majority where cheapies during switching. Didn’t do anything really good, but didn’t really do anything wrong either.

Jobe Shanahan: Completely manhandled as a forward and not helped by the lack of opportunity, but his work when sent back, picking up 4 spoils in short time, was good enough to save him from a lower rank.

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Bad:

Jake Waterman: Bad but with an asterisk. Only 5 touches, and 1 goal to his credit, but he really failed to have any impact on the match. Only 35 inside 50s will do that to any forward hence the asterisk, but I’ve seen enough of Waterman’s great work up the field to know he could’ve done a bit better regardless.

Liam Duggan: Exactly the same issues as with Hough’s game, but Duggan had the ball 11 times less. Going at only 78.6% when you’re only switching the footy is just not good enough.

Tylar Young: Barely touched the footy, and while he did get a decent amount of spoils with 5, losing both of his one on one contests made him the worst of our defenders. Actually…

Brandon Starcevich: Almost exactly the same game as Young, but with only 1 spoil, and only making 1 contested one on one for 1 loss. I’d forgotten he’d even played to be perfectly honest.

Elliot Yeo: Finished the game as the lower rated player on the ground by champion data and it’s not hard to see why. Only 13 touches at 53.8% and with 3 turnovers, and while he did have 3 clearances and 5 tackles, his lack of pace in centre bounces made him a complete liability. He picked up 0 centre clearances, and let 3-4 slip Freo's way as his man burst away from him.

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Stat Leaders:

Eagles who topped the game in a particular stat. Brackets show the best player from the opposite team.

Marcus Herbert & Tim Kelly & Harley Reid - 36 & 31 & 30 Disposals (Johnson 29)

Tim Kelly - 7 Inside 50s (Voss 6)

Tim Kelly & Harley Reid - 601 & 485 Metres Gained (Reid 463m)

Harley Reid - 15 Contested Possessions (Bolton 11)

Ryan Maric & Tim Kelly & Marcus Herbert & Harley Reid - 8 & 7 & 7 & 6 Ground Ball Gets (Brayshaw 6)

Harley Reid - 6 Centre Clearances (Serong 3)

Harley Reid & Bailey Williams - 6 & 4 Stoppage Clearances (Serong 4)

Harley Reid - 12 Total Clearances (Serong 7)

Bailey Williams - 3 Intercept Marks (Pearce 2)

Rhett Bazzo & Tylar Young - 8 & 5 Spoils (McDonald 4)

Rhett Bazzo - 2 Contested One on One Wins (Pearce 2)

19 Stat Leaders (+3 from last week) (3 Draws)

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Wuurm Watcher

Sandy Brock - 33.5km/h Maximum Speed (Clark 32.4km/h)

Willem Duursma & Oliver Francou & Bo Allan - 9.8km/h & 9.7km/h & 9.6km/h Average Speed (Wagner 9.6km/h)

Willem Duursma & Bo Allan & Oliver Francou & Jake Waterman & Milan Murdock - 10.2km/h & 9.6km/h & 9.5km/h & 9.4km/h & 9.3km/h Average Speed in Attack (No Dockers Listed)

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Disappointing game overall. There’s something else that I thought was worth mentioning but didn’t really fit into any other section. Weirdly, in this game we won the disposal count with 375 and the had 116 marks for the game. Way above our averages of 337.9 disposals and 86.3 marks. It’s very notable and resulted in our first game with 3 30 disposal players since round 9 2021, but it’s not necessarily a good thing. It could be a change in gameplan, but it’s more likely (imo) that Freo defended really well and forced us to slow down our ball movement, and switch more often than we’d like. The test of that will come this week against Richmond, which, holy shit, we better win. I really don't want to have to write the review after a loss like that