blake acres

We must strengthen the Ubulus and upper Dorsinus muscles if we want to be kind of a big deal. Head anchorman JL is leading by example challenging the boys to come back in tip top shape. Time to Restump Podcast all the goings on in purple.

The season that promised so much delivered little but, in review, there was a lot to take out of it in a positive sense. Wins away from home against quality opposition will do a group of kids no end of good. 

Getting 20+ games into and 40+ goals out of Jye Amiss was a remarkable feat. Luke Jackson has surely put his doubters to bed, Hayden Young into the midfield paid big dividends and the unearthing of Tommy Emmett surely has us all waiting with anticipation for season 2024.

Did we turn up to preseason in less that good nick? We’ll never definitively know but having made fitness references throughout the year and then emphatically asking for the boys to come back in better shape this year, JL said as much.

There were no surprises Doig Medal night as Caleb Serong added the 2023 Doig medal to his 2020 Beacon award. The rest of the night was fairly predictable but we’ll check in and see if Jojo saw anything of note. The Chief spent his time reviewing the red-carpet arrivals.

Sadly, the news we feared was coming, arrived. Liam Henry is on the move informing the club of his hopes to join Ross the Boss Lyon and the Sainters. It's disappointing on many fronts but none more so than the fact we’re once again wing deficient. 

The purple wings, or rather the absence of talented and competent wingers, has been a huge problem since Brad Hill and Ed Langdon both departed at the end of 2019. Does this open the door for a Jeremy Sharp to come home? Is he the player we hope? Does he tick all the boxes on and off the field?    

Blake Acres would probably still be at Freo had the club had a crystal ball that told them O’Driscoll wasn’t going to instantly take the next step and Liam Henry was leaving. Was it a mistake to move him on at the time? Opinions are mixed on the matter.

We’ve had a few weeks forced break so we might be a little bit rusty. If so, that’ll be business as usual. Finals are on but our season is obviously over. However, plenty has happened and there’s plenty to come. So, if you’re not ready to hang up your purple scarves for the year just yet, then stick around with us and let’s stretch the purple period out as far as we can.

If finals weren’t already out of reach, they are now. Carlton used the pressure application blueprint for beating Freo and shattered us all. Time to clean up the purple shards of broken glass and Restump Podcast yesterday’s damage. 

You want to believe and you want to have hope. But we’re one and a half wins and percentage out of the eight, we’ve got five teams between us and that position and we’ve got three teams in the top four and a further one in the top eight in our remaining seven games. 

Again, we don’t want to be glass half empty folk but we were just taken to the cleaners by a team that was three rungs below us on the ladder. Even in our wildest overly-optimistic dreams, we’re not Lazarus.

Where did it all go wrong yesterday? You could spin the wheel of reasons and you’d be on the money whatever it landed on. 

The Blues simply applied relentless overwhelming pressure on us from the very first bounce and it has seemingly become the blueprint for teams playing us. Carlton’s midfield was too big, too strong, too experienced and we were unable to deal with their pressure, or go with them, despite our ruck dominance. 

Every possession was under pressure or perceive pressure and was rushed and, while our skills aren’t exactly dynamite at the best of times, we struggle further under duress.

We got beaten up by two former teammates in Blake Acres and Adam Cerra. The former was electric in all facets and he’s become the player we all knew we were losing. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we’re feeling the impacts of his departure. 

Compare the two main forwards each team was kicking to. Curnow and McKay – average age 25.5, a total of 202 games and just under 400 goals. Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy – average age 19.5, a total of 48 games and 56 goals. 

We’ve been suggesting it all year that we’re not the finished product and that we’re two years and 40 to 50 games per player away from seriously challenging. The individual contests yesterday only emboldened those beliefs. 

That isn’t to say we didn’t expect a better performance than what we received and it isn’t to say we expected to be below 6th to 10th at this point of the season, but sometimes the reality is stark and isn’t determined by our impatience or expectations. 

It’s more of a ‘how did this happen’ and a ‘where do we go from here’ review podcast than the usual therapeutic hour-long post-traumatic loss pod, but we need to talk it out none the less. 

So, if you can stomach revisiting or talking about yesterday’s dreadful display then by all means come along and hopefully somewhat rid the frustrations and heal with us. 

When a footy gets picked up on airspace radar there is a fair chance The Sheriff is in town.  Time to Restump Podcast Freo’s battle against the Blake Acres Blues. 

The finals are suddenly a disappearing dot on the horizon but they’re still a mathematical glimmer of hope. However, all we can control is the effort we bring against the Blues.

The major focus obviously has to be on the Blue’s two big paths to goals, Curnow and McKay. With Carlton getting 41% of their goals through those two, quelling their scoreboard influence goes a long way to beating them.

And stopping them both isn’t just the job of the defensive unit, it starts with the midfield restricting ease of supply. Speaking of midfields… our former Freo man Adam Cerra is having a cracking season and will need some close treatment. 

The captain plays his 100th, a game no doubt he and most fans thought at different stages over the last eight or nine years, may never eventuate. Its been a battle and we take our hats off to Alex Pearce.

Albeit as the sub, Karl Worner pulls on the purple for a much-deserved debut. His body of work at Peel couldn’t be denied any further.

Off field we got the great news of Jye’s signature to 2029 as well as Matt Johnson and Birdman Treacy to 2026. 

Back from his golfing trip and upon hearing the news of the AFL player’s data breach, Jojo has taken extra cyber security precautions to protect his nude photos. And this is despite there being no signs they were under threat. 

Finally the Chief is asking the question about the unwritten code or where the imaginary line is in regards to sledging and are their circumstances where it can be relaxed. 

We’re a bit late with the preview and when it comes to the Restump Podcast, popular opinion suggests its better never than late! However, we’ve ignored that and done it anyway.

So if you’re looking for something to bung in your ears on the way to Optus Stadium Sunday, surely you could find something more insightful and entertaining than our 40 minutes of nonsense?

Maybe it’s the buildup and we’re over excited and maybe we’re getting carried away… but the Saints are going to need a Sunday prayer! Time to Restump Podcast preview Freo’s round one against Ross.

It is the first time since 2011 we have to face Ross Lyon as an opposing coach but we’d be pretty confident we’ll get a defensive oriented contest. To be fair to the Sainters they’re the walking wounded but that won’t stop a Ross Lyon team making it a hard grind.

Selection talking points surround Brandon Walker being overlooked for the deserving and returning Nathan Wilson and Freddy coming in off a light preseason to replace the unlucky Sammy Sturt. Could Sturty steal Bailey Banfield’s sub vest?

Great to see Josh Treacy command a gig and Liam Henry has been rewarded for his hard work and growth over the preseason. 

With Ross Lyon reuniting with Bradley Hill, could we see the form of our former winger detrimentally return against us? 

The people who thought Blake Acres was a steal and suggested we were crazy for letting him walk for a third rounder might have had a couple of second thoughts. Gotta take the good with the bad with Blakey Acres. 

Despite getting around in the flashy digs on the golf course today, Jojo McDonnell didn’t really commit either way on the pre-game fashion show talk. However, the more practical Chief wants that putridly theatrical initiative knocked on the head quick smart.

Anyway, its almost here. Sunday lunch time our season gets underway as we break bread with and then toast the Saints! For a bit of a more exciteful than insightful preview, use up 40 minutes of waiting time with us.  

At least they were nice enough to leave us a bunch of picks. Could’ve left us a shovel to bury our Griff, Tucker and Acres merchandise! Just kidding… petrol and a match will do the trick! Time to Restump Podcast the day in trade.

To be fair, the trio have left us for largely valid reasons. Darcy Tucker just couldn’t get opportunity here; Griffin Logue didn’t have positional certainty and Blakey Acres had to take the money from Carlton that we weren’t offering. We wish them all well… except when they play Freo.

Did we get value? Did we get hosed? Whatever the case, we’ve got future picks galore which will no doubt be used to try to prise Jeremy Sharp from the Gold Coast clutches, in a package deal with Josh Corbett.

The Luke Jackson deal is dragging out as expected. Are the Eagles really back in the picture? Or is it simply Melbourne trying for further leverage? Either way we sit comfortably however it plays out. 

Shock news of the day was the revelation regarding Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti… coming out of retirement with Fremantle on his radar! That’s an interesting conversation!

Tipu’s former club is living up to its Bomber name given everything there is blowing up! Sheedy not happy, board members storming out, 24-hour CEO’s… no wonder Tipu wanted to come to Freo, its as far away from Bomberland as he can get!

Last we looked Lobb is still lingering. And while Lobby would be needing a lie down, there are still some shenanigans to play out before the week is done.

Well, that’s enough of the written stuff! So, if you’re keen to continue, and only God knows why you would, plug in your ears, click play and join us for further purple parley on the pod.

We were resigned to the fact Griff was gone. Is there a change in the air? Did we catch a whiff, are we back in with a sniff for Griff? There’s plenty going on to fill a Restump Podcast episode cup.  

We jostled for position on day one of trade week but little eventuated for us purple people. However, there’s still more than enough happening to go through. Trades have been completed, others stalled and pressure is building. 

With Jason Horne-Francis signalling his intent to leave the Roos, does it favour us? Does it allow the Roos to pay up for Griff, or better still, put a red flag in Griff’s mind about heading there?

Apparently, we’re standing firm with Rory Lobb. Are we foxing, will the Dogs call our bluff if so? Could we really see Lobb, Darcy, and Luke Jackson all at Freo in 2023?

A third rounder for Blake Acres… fair? Unders or Overs? With Paddy Dow wanting out of the Blues, could he find his way somehow to Freo in the deal? He would be surplus to requirement but he’s a talent. 

Across the league it seems GWS will need a warehouse to store all their picks while Richmond landed the prized Tim Taranto. If the Tiges go on to secure Jacob Hopper they may be back ion premiership calculations sooner than we think. 

The West Coast Eagles picked up Jayden Hunt which tells us all they don’t know where they are and believe they don’t need to rebuild through the draft. Patch work rarely ends well… we know from experience. 

Andy Brayshaw took out his first Doig medal and did so by the length of the Flemington straight. Was Alex Pearce stooged? He looked a clear second place getter. And there is no shadow of a doubt Hayden Young had himself down for a few more than he got!

In this crazy fast paced trade week there is little time to stop and breathe. So, if you’re looking for a break from the noise… we can’t help you. But if you’re looking to have your ear drums reverberated with a purple focused commotion then by all means plug in and press play.

Well, it’s that time of the year again. On the eve of the meat market silly season, the period otherwise known as trade week, its time to endure the annual Restump Podcast 2022 Buy, Sell, Hold report.

It’s the episode where we decide if we’re going to buy sell or hold each player’s stock. We look at the year they have had, the future prospects, their ages and any other defining factor to reach an individual and team oriented financial investment conclusion. 

Do some players get a reprieve for credit in the bank? Does loyalty, in committing to the club and not chasing the smell of an extra dollar, count? Is there value in old man legs that we may well be cutting off too soon? Who receives speculative investment dollars? Who are we taking tax losses on?

So, if you have too much time on your hands that you’re looking to rid yourself of, join us for this extended 2 hour episode where we forecast investment calls and provide reasons for the purple cattle we’re buying selling or holding.    

Worth every cent of the Johnny Cash he gets. Brownlow done, Grand Final won and the Cats had the last laugh. Season over but there’s always purple stuff in need of Restump Podcasting.

In this episode we go over the Grand Final and ask the question, did Jordan Clark trade himself out of premiership?

Has Geelong won everyone over with their actions, their humility and their humour? If so, how can we put a stop to it? 

We go through the grains of salt we take Colin Young’s commentary with and try to work out where the Griffin Logue and Darcy Tucker to North Melbourne train is at. Has Griff pumped the breaks a little?

Speaking of a grain of salt… never mind Aaron Naughton and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, apparently Rory will be the focal point at the Western Bulldogs according to Col.

Are Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy best buds and will they be the purple super hero duo? Let’s not dance around the obvious, Jackson’s move to Fremantle is just a formality and, while I hope I haven’t just jinxed it in saying that, we have a go at coming up with a trade to get it done anyway. 

Plenty of WA boys out of contract around the country. We go through the list and weigh up if there are any names that may be attractive to Freo.

Looking forward to trade week starting next Monday but while we jostle for prime position front and centre, we manage to, despite our male statuses, multi task and bang out 40 plus minutes of purple lead up language. 

So, if your ears are already deprived of some Docker dialect, click play, tune in and join us in prolonging the purple party.   

We’re obviously just not doing it for Griff as he wants to spice things up and play with others. Boatloads going on in the harbour so it is time to Restump Podcast all the news in purple shoes. 

Apparently, if you listen to the revenue generating click bait media, every Freo player and his dog, or in Rory’s and Acres’ case their emotional support animals, wants out. It’s an ‘exodus’ they tell us!  

Griffin Logue, Rory Lobb, Blake Acres, Darcy Tucker and Liam Henry are all, let’s say, restless.

Which of those players in their positions would we not be looking to improve on anyway? They are not vehicles to the promised land and given a few of them having had career best years, they probably couldn’t take us any further than we ventured this year. We dig a little deeper and dissect each player’s reasoning and their trade prospects.

Speaking of vehicles, arguably the greater loss may be that of Josh Carr. He ping ponged between Port Adelaide and Fremantle his entire playing days and now looks set to continue throughout his coaching career. He may be in teal a while though as he does look their future head coach when the Ken Hinkley bell rings.

Deliberately speaking of segway Bells, another of the non-playing brigade appears likely to set sail from the port in the form of General Manager of Football Operations, Peter Bell. Like Josh Carr, is Belly ping ponging yet again back to his former club to take on the CEO role? If so which cap will he wearing in the Griffin Logue tussle? 

Sadly, he couldn’t take home Charlie but it was a big result for Andy Brayshaw last night. 20 votes prior to the bye but then just 5 on the run home. Opposing teams rightfully had to up their defensive work into the future captain.

Will Brodie took home an appropriate workmanlike 11 votes to finish second for Freo while the umps got a bit bedazzled with a few goals of Rory’s and gifted him 7 to round out the top three.

What has happened to former Freo great Paul HaSENby? Another seemingly outlandish suggestion from him that Josh Schache could suit us in a trade with the Bulldogs for Rory Lobb! Is Hase on a clicks and listens performance based contract? Does he have quotas to fill?

Believe it or not the usual fence sitting and controversy avoiding Jojo takes a shot the AFL and its hypocrisy over the gambling influence and saturation of last night’s Brownlow count. However, I’m not sure Jojo didn’t take the $6 about Andy and is just dark he didn’t get up.

There’s no shortage of Docker dot points to discuss so let’s put on the purple peepers, peruse what’s prominent at the port and fill up on our fair share of Freo fanfare.  

Given the pain of the loss and the realisation we’d seen David Mundy run out in purple for the final time… it wasn’t a Saturday, it was a Sadurday. Time to Restump Podcast Freo’s semi-final loss to the ferocious Pies.

We went in high on hope but also unfortunately on next to no experience for such a hostile environment. It showed very early and the intensity the Pies brought and hit us with, we had no answers or replies for. 

While we had no trouble getting our share of the ball, our disposal was under relentless pressure. Admittedly it wasn’t the sole cause of our inability to score, but it compounded issues for our more often than not dysfunctional forward line. 14 inside 50s for 1 point in the first quarter painted that picture.

After a few early jitters and mistakes our defenders again stood up but the weight of numbers and the Pie pressure further up the ground made it almost an impossible task for our back six.

The reality is we were overawed, out pressured, outmuscled and outplayed. We simply were convincingly beaten by a more seasoned and experienced outfit in that particular environment. 

The margin on paper was 20 points but realistically it was a 10 to 12 goal hiding, so the result wouldn’t have been any different had the game been played anywhere else. 

However, while we don’t want to be 'that guy'…. it must make things a tad easier when you’ve played 16 of your 24 games in 2022 at the MCG and 19 of your 24 games in your home state of Victoria... thereby alleviating the detriment of hours spent on planes.

Having said that, to be fair to Collingwood, the possible extra 22-minute car or bus journey from the MCG to Marvel must be brutal!

When all said and done, it brought to a close a magnificent season in which we saw substantial growth in individuals and as a collective. We not only got our team of kids a taste of finals, we put a September win on the board. But just as important we got a lesson in where we are and what is required to get to the promised land.

Sadly, it also saw the completion of the great David Mundy’s wonderful career, a career that left an immeasurable permanent positive impact on the club.

So, when one season comes to a close another silly type of season begins. Trade talk season. 90% print, TV and airway filling noise but about 10% materialises. Its difficult not to get caught up in the nonsense so we take the view that if you can’t stay clear of it, indulge in it.

We start with the Luke Jackson making his intentions clear and we get more hyped up from there. Lobb, Acres, Griff, Henry and whoever else Haggers and SEN clickbait the footy community into buying their exodus narrative! 

So, while the on-field year is over, the chatter continues. If you’ve overdosed on the Restump after a long season, go outside have a 'thunder chunder' and you’ll be good to click play and go around again in this episode of reviews, analysis and trade talk. 

Dangerous weekend off, out of habit we almost shifted into Big Bash mode! Not this year though because it’s time to Restump Podcast awards, finals campaigns and contracts.

It’s been a while since there’s been a finals pep in our step and a September glide in our stride. But we’ve earned our place in the eight so we’re shamelessly strutting towards Optus Stadium. 

On this episode, after the entertaining Ryan Crowley was well received, we’re asking listeners who you’d like to hear from next and why? And we’ll see if we can make it happen.

But back to now and we’ve adoration to bestow upon the 2022 Leigh Matthews Trophy, the great Andy Brayshaw… or Andy Bradshaw as Mark McGowan knows him by apparently. There is no more a meaningful and prestigious individual award to win given it is selected by the players themselves.

We’ve got contracts to talk, some signed, some not so signed and some in danger of being singed. Acres, Aish, Banfield, Griff, Lobbby…. Just to name a few.

With Erasmus and Johnson doing everything right and on AFL trajectory, do we really want to pay overs for Blake Acres? He’s been a big contributor this year.

Down at Peel, if Mitch Crowden puts too many more feet forward he’ll end up on his back! He continues to put a magnificent batch of form together but can’t get his opportunity. Is there any way in?

Is there a purple Marlon Pickett in the Peel ranks, as we look for improved finals forward line strategy? 

Let’s get into it. We’ll raise a lot of issues, talk a lot of gibberish, end up further back than we started and with more questions than we set out with. But the nonsensical journey is as important as the ever-evasive destination. 

So, if you’ve nothing to do, nowhere else to be and nothing better to listen to, join us for this 45 minutes on the purple path to the promised land. 

It’s always been Sonny’s house and we're just fortunate he allows us to visit. Time to Restump Podcast preview Sonny’s 200th and the Giant clash against GWS. 

What a privilege and an absolute joy it has been for us all to ride along with Sonny on his career to date. Coming up for 200 games, he’s kicked 306 goals and many of them have been when we’ve been in dire need. 

He was born for the big stage and that has been the setting where he has often done his best work. He has sliced, diced and iced games on many an occasion.

At his best he would enter the midfield in second halves and not only drag us back into games but get us over the line. Few could go with or stop him when he was on. 

The best part of it all is that its far from over and if we go anywhere in September, the smart money will be on Sonny being a big reason.

But while we celebrate Sonny’s milestone, we need to keep our eyes on this weeks prize… a win over the Giants and a possible top four finish. 

While a spirited performance against the Dogs last week, the Giants have been off the ball in recent weeks. They have nothing to lose and even less to play for, but… always beware of the sleeping Giant. 

The captain is back to get a hit out. With no Lobb or Tabs… much of that hitting is going to be needed to be retrieved up forward. With Meek coming in Fyfey should see a bit of time alongside Sean Darcy, who returned to some big form last week. 

The reality is, it doesn’t matter how we get this done but we have to get over the line. We need to start taking these opportunities that are presented to us so, win ugly, win pretty, win boring…. It doesn’t matter…. Just get the 4 points.

Whatever the case on Saturday the Giants will make us work for it… and that will be odd because work occurring in the vicinity of parliament house? A rare occurrence indeed! 

Another morning game for us in WA but anywhere anytime comes to mind. Let’s get into the preview! So if you can’t find anything better to listen to and you settle on us and this 40 minutes.… we question your detective skills, your effort and your low bar listening content expectations! 

Is Budweiser than we think? Freddy said, yes you better beerlieve it. Acres returns and Chappy is back. Time to Restump Podcast what’ll hopefully be our 4th win from 4 games against the Swans at Optus.

Given we’re currently sitting a win clear in third heading towards September, we’ve got Acres and Chappy back in the team, the Disco is back up and about and Switta has recommenced running... are we getting ahead of ourselves if we suggest everything is coming up Millhouse? 

We’re getting as close to having our best twenty-two fit and available as we’re ever likely to get so it does feel like we’re getting a bit falling favorably for us at the moment. 

Currently twelve wins, we probably need at least fifteen to secure a top four finish. With Richmond, Melbourne, Bulldogs, Eagles and Giants to come we need to make Sydney one of those three wins this Saturday night, especially as this is one of our only three remaining home games.

Speaking of the Buddy Swans, they’ve been a little bit erratic this year. They probably haven’t been the steadfast Swans we come to expect but they have a dangerous list and can produce on their day.

However, they were recently beaten by Port Adelaide and Essendon , yet they beat Melbourne, St Kilda and the Dogs so they’ve made it tricky to get a handle on the form.

We have won all three games against Sydney at Optus Stadium, but apart from one of them by 5 goals, the remaining two games we won by 2 points and 1 point respectively.  

Worryingly it does appear rain is forecast for Saturday. We don’t want to have flash-flood-backs back to the Gold Coast and Collingwood games but… its difficult not to have a few little nerves. However, let’s stay positive, they’ll don the flippers and snorkel if need be, if it means getting hold of the four points. 

We wander into the North Melbourne fiasco and Wayne Carey’s nonsensical suggestion that Ross Lyon is the prime candidate. We have a chat about Buddy attempting to use Freo to beef up his contract again. Trav Colyer and Sammy Switkowski get one year extensions and its difficult not to think Rory Lobb is out and Luke Jackson is in next year. 

It could be big day Saturday so get plenty of sleep between now and then so you’re tip top to fight the elements. And the best way to get some deep sleep…. click play on our 45 minutes of docker drivel… we’ve been known to cure insomnia! 

Its official, the bye round stinks and we’re glad it’s over. Time to restart the Freo Freight Train and Restump Podcast the latest news in purple shoes.

The bye round probably came at a good time for a few of our momentarily sore soldiers. But other than for those favourable reasons, the bye round can get in the sea!

We’re 10 and 3 going into the back end of the season and we need, as a rule of thumb, a minimum of 15 wins to make the top four. Jojo McDonnell has us winning the next three straight so in his book we’re virtually a monte to make it.

With the tragic loss of Blake Acres to a hamstring, it seems the battle has been set between Liam Henry and Ethan Hughes to duel it out for the call up? But with possession being 9/10ths of the law, does Darcy Tucker trump them both?

To avoid injury, it’s always preferable to put your best foot forward at, rather than on, peel, and that is what Neil Erasmus is doing. He may have to bide his time but he’ll inevitably secure a long-term midfield position. 

On the injury front we’ve lost a few troops. Sam Switkowski is a huge loss, Josh Treacy looks like he’ll miss a few with the ankle, Blake Acres as mentioned, Nathan Chappy is still a few weeks away and unfortunately it appears Nathan O’Disco has suffered a setback. 

The Luke Jackson talk is heating up! But there is a bigger question than dollars and years. Does he truly fit in at Freo? If he wants to play lead ruck, sadly Freo probably isn’t the place for him…. that said, we’ll happily squeeze him in if we can. The conversations will be interesting.

In what could potentially be described as JL’s textbook display of ‘getting ahead of ourselves’ Jojo McDonnell has locked in Hall Of Famer Matthew Pavlich to present the winning premiership cup to us at the G in September. The Chief is being a bit more conservative and wants to wait and see if the Clamp is back from Europe. 

We unnecessarily give our pointless two cents worth on the De Goey non-scandal, we had a poorly timed Ask Jojo segment and then we bring it home with another Neighbourhood Watch episode.

So, after a week off, it’s time to saddle up, get back on the Restump horse, click play and listen to this 50 minutes of nonsense on your way to Marvel Stadium… through the desert… if your horse has no name…     

Ok enough of that rubbish….  the play button is there somewhere if you want it and its not going to click itself! 

They said we couldn’t do it and they wrote us off. But we prevailed, our mighty Freo Dockers beat Tom Stewart by 3 points! Time to Restump Review Podcast Freo's big win over the Catters.

Still haunted by their harrowing defeat in the 2013 qualifying final, we made sure their purple nightmare continued. We’re trying to keep the lid on things but we’re going to need more help.

We weren’t going to be able to match them on their advantageous uniquely shaped poxy ground, we were told. Guess what? The Cats had to apply for and obtain a hall pass from us to use their own corridor. None were granted. 

We were a bit off the pace early but that country air can have some relaxing effects on you. The collective soon recognised the laconic stupor they were in, made the adjustments and got their act together to begin moving as that cohesive unit, we’re becoming familiar with. 

Can we just stop for a moment’s silence to acknowledge the work of Griffin Logue in blanketing Jeremy Cameron? 

I don’t know if you all took part in the moment but shame on you if you didn’t! 

What a performance by Griff! After last week’s shut down defensive role on Charlie Curnow, he never gave Jeremy Cameron a look in on Saturday. Griff now has to always be the first port of call for the big forward with high athletic capabilities. 

And let’s not overlook the performance of partner in crime Alex Pearce who, it must be said, was a little shaky early with ball in hand. Worryingly Tommy Hawkins looked switched on early and, as he has terrorised us in the past, we had some fears. But after quarter time Captain Pearce said, enough of that rubbish, and he never gave the Hawk another gawk!

We’ll go over plenty more on the pod but can we please firstly remove our hats and give Blakey Acres the respect and the nod of acknowledgement he so thoroughly deserves. He has fast become one of our most important players and few, if any, would have thought that pre-season. All credit to him.

We’re six wins, one loss, second on the ladder with North Melbourne to come this Friday night. We have a few covid concerns but we’re in terrific shape.

So, if, like us, you can’t stop talking Freo footy, click play and join in because we’re definitely ‘the more the merrier’ type people. 

Jojo takes us through all aspects of the game, we raise the question on whether Geelong should be an AFL venue going forward, Adam Looney Cooney suggests Gaff should head to Freo, the commentary team gets the thumbs up but the Chief has an issue with Kath Loughnan which he apparently needs clarification of. All that and sadly plenty more of the Freo folly no one asked for!

We’ll do our best to get the right balance of Jojo’s insightful analysis and tolerate the Chief’s nonsense. So cut us some slack and click play on an hour of Freo fanfare! 

The ground being covered by Acres is a lot. In fact, it’s probably several lots. Time to Restump Review Podcast Freo’s significant victory over the Blues. 

That was some performance. A one in all in four quarter role playing display signifying we may well be a serious team. Not counting the chickens just yet because there are tougher tests to come, but mark this win down as a reference point to look back on as the standard going forward.

To go with the Blues’ midfield, it ticked yet another developmental box aiding the belief we’re on track to contention territory. A Geelong and a Melbourne in the next few weeks will provide greater clarity but, maybe this year maybe not, the tilt is building.  

Blake Acres’ rise this year has astonished most, if not all, and possibly even himself. His improvement in his wing role has been an integral part of the team’s improvement and on Saturday night it was evident again.

We’ve lobbed criticisms at Rory on numerous occasions simply out of frustrations regarding his inconsistency and intent. He again showed why and what he is capable of. If he brings that performance weekly, he’s as valuable as anyone. 

Sammy Switkowski is getting continuity and now delivering. Freddy played the best two possession game you’ll ever see, Shultzy is at fever pitch and if you didn’t already think Sonny was back…. he’s back!

The mids did their thing but don’t get us started on singing the praises of the backs. Griffin Logue’s job on Charlie Curnow was something else but the collective defensive unit cohesively controlling the Carlton cabal was methodical! 

And spare a thought for the coach. This is a big moment for JL.  It was the coming together of all the pieces of his plan he’s been working on since he got to the club and the result of it unfolded before our very eyes.   

We got through this without the need to bash Cez! We got him enough in the lead up and we’ll all launch into next time we take on the Blues but this win was too impressive and too meaningful to take anything away from it.

So, if, like us, you can’t stop talking about Saturday night’s momentous victory… click play and join the purple raving and rambling.

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• Nat Fyfe (MID, $779k)
• Andrew Brayshaw (MID/FWD, $516k)
• Michael Walters (MID/FWD, $694k)
• Connor Blakely (DEF, $555k)
• Sean Darcy (RUC, $511k)
• Blake Acres (MID/FWD, $501k)
• Brett Bewley (MID, $367k)
• Bailey Banfield (FWD, $433k)
• Mitch Crowsden (FWD, $354k)
• Caleb Serong (MID, $256k)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.