gopies

It's fraught with danger engaging mercenaries! But as they either had to sign with Russia, move to Belarus or retire, the suit up for Freo option was a no brainer! Time to Restump Podcast Saturday’s ominous task against the Pies. 

It is a pretty scary assignment Saturday against the premiership favourites and all conquering Pies. We’ve had to make a host of changes but, result aside, it will be good experience for the young list, if not much else.

Corey Wagner had a mare in his debut earlier this year. Apparently, they were calling him Construction site Corey after that game. Every time he kicked the ball a clang sound was heard! Oh that’s too harsh! He did knock up a bit.. but he’ll make amends Saturday.

It's good to see that the great premiership defender, the forgotten man, Joel Hamling, has gotten an opportunity. He’s had a really rough trot of it but he’ll no doubt give us all a reminder of his capabilities at this level. 

Is this last chance saloon for Sturty? He’s been given numerous opportunities this year and, while it must be difficult trying to get some certainty, he hasn’t exactly grabbed them. 

And poor old Bailey Banfield probably drew the short straw and was made the scapegoat last time he was dropped. C’mon Bailey give us one of those games that were earning you a regular first twenty two spot.

Speaking of poor efforts, the Chief has been omitted from the Restump Podcast line-up for the same reason… unacceptable performances in recent weeks. He’s been replaced by the former ABC Sport News reader, the great Clint “the Tank Engine” Thomas. 

A big step down for Clint and a big professional step up for the Restump. Safe to say given the professionalism and profile, the Chief is in a bit of strife.

But its not about us, it is about the footy…. or whatever it is our Freo boys are trying to play at the moment! So, let’s get straight into this 45 minute Freo V Collingwood preview with Jojo and Clint. 

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. 

We won’t interrupt Jimmy Aish, he’s currently occuPied. Time to Restump Podcast preview our ridiculously anticipated semi final against the Maggies at the Gee! 

What an opportunity and experience awaits us! 90k plus people, predominantly Pie fans, are about to cram into Australia’s Colosseum to create both an electrifying atmosphere and the most hostile of environments. 

Its one thing to be playing a semi-final. But to be playing a semi-final at the MCG against Collingwood…. some Danny Zuko vibes... I've got chills, they're multiplying! 

If you’re not in possession of a bucket of nerves, a bag of apprehension and a boat load of excitement, check your pulse because you may not be alive.

After the monumental comeback against the Dogs, we’re going in with an unchanged line up. Only 4 of our starting 22 have previously experienced something of this magnitude, so the remaining 18 are sailing into unchartered waters and are about to suffer a monstrous culture shock.

You have to feel for Matty Tabs. It had to be a difficult decision to leave him out and we’ll find out if it was the correct one. 

Can James “Mr Fix It” Aish fix up a few of his former colleagues and will Mr September Sonny Walters continue asserting his supremacy? 

After steering the ship last week Andy Brayshaw and Caleb Serong have to pad up and head back into battle against Scotty Pendlebury, Jordan De Goey and Jack Crisp with the help from the Gold Coast gift.

But don’t for one minute overlook the man who has played in every single final Fremantle has ever been in, except one. The legend who doesn’t know how to play a poor game, who has plenty left to give… the peerless David Mundy. Upping his game time will no doubt ensure us victory.

Collingwood lose Taylor Adams who ripped his groin off the bone, something I can’t even say without wincing. Not only his groin but Collingwood’s team have been weakened by it.

Remove the parochial noise and you’ll see the teams are extremely evenly matched. Could the ultra-hostile environment the Collingwood fans will create and our inexperience be the difference? Neither team will lay down and until that final siren sounds, neither team will be safe. 

Enough of this here…. let’s continue the purple love in the pod as we try to dissect the battle and attempt to work out what might unfold.

So, if you’re looking for someone to provide a calming presence and some words of composure to ensure we don’t all run our race prior to Saturday….. you’ve come to the wrong place! We’re buzzed up and in danger of our purple hype filled zip lock bags spilling over!

But click play anyway and join us on our rare journey to the Gee in September. We ride til we've died.

Are  we placing too much credence in wet conditions for our poor performances? Time to dry out and Restump Podcast review yesterday’s hosing at the hands of the Pies.  

Did we have water logged ears after drowning on the Gold Coast and were unable to hear the instruction? Did the written instruction get smudged by the rain? Is anyone down there aware of these things called weather reports?

It’s difficult to ascertain what the reasoning is behind our unpreparedness for wet weather football again. But what seemed further baffling was the inability to subsequently adapt to the conditions. If global warming doesn’t kick in soon and dry the place out…. the slide could well continue!

We’ll save the in depth talk for the pod but there did seem a worrying inability to adapt and or deal with what Collingwood brought. 

The overuse of the handball signified we weren’t in the correct frame of mind and yet going +23 for contested possession and +46 for uncontested possession…. you have to scratch your head and ask questions!

Switta has been pinged for chicken winging Jack Ginnivan but we have to give a deserved rap to that man Will Brodie and, while in positive mode, that was a pretty fair game from Hayden the Young aerialist. 

Pre-season, if we were told we’d be 7 & 3, we’d have suggested the person to seek medical attention. The truth is we’re in pretty good shape and we’re probably marginally ahead of expectations. We need to arrest this recent slide though because our run home is red hot! 

Should we have cottoned on to Collingwood’s ruse and subbed a tall out? Given Darcy Moore was blanketing Tabs, should we have switched him to decoy? Did we get some clarity around playing the 3 talls going forward and has covid affected Blake Acres? Questions we’ll ponder on the pod. 

In other news, Jojo McDonnell is asking if anyone knows any good laser tattoo removal clinics? And is Jack Ginnivan one of the Chief’s favourite players?

Its cold and its wet but at the Restump we’ll make the necessary adjustments. Yes sure, it’s simply turning the heating up a degree or two, but we’ve come in prepared and ready to adapt to the inclement podcasting conditions. 

So, get your self a cup of coffee, settle down, click play and turn it up. You need something to drown out the noise of this bloody rain!

Sonny Walters and Alex Pearce will proudly represent the collective this Sunday against Collingwood on Sir Doug Nicholls round. Time to Restump Podcast preview the clash.

We need after a response to last week. Collingwood won’t be a pushover but if we get back to playing our brand, it should hold us in good stead.

If we’re any chance of a top 4 finish, we have to bank 4 points here. You need about 15 wins a season to make the top 4. We’ve got 13 games left meaning we need to win 8 of them. We’ve got Melbourne twice, Brisbane & Carlton to come, so 4 of those 13 games are against current top 3 sides. A further 3 are against current top 8 sides…. which means 7 of our remaining 13 games are against top 8 sides. It’s a tough run home which makes Sunday’s game vital.  

We look at the changes and somewhat scratch our heads in bewilderment over Brandon Walker’s omission. The selection panel obviously knows more than us and sees things we may not. Good to have Sonny, Switta & Tabs back though. 

You never want to hear “put off contract talks” but Griff Logue has done just that. Sounds more agent inspired but we’ll inevitably have to have the conversation. We momentarily deal in hypotheticals about what could unfold.

Fyfey has Rd12 in his sights and despite the Malthouse madness, he’ll be a welcome return. 

Connor Blakely looks done and dusted in the purple so we’re looking to support his new venture, Blakely’s Backyards. 

James Clement cops a “what the hell, Jimmy!” He passed up the invitation to hop on the Restump for a chat…. and, to be fair, who could blame him… but he then accepted the invite onto the Collingwood fan pod, Pie Hard. We don’t want to exaggerate but is treasonous too strong a term?

And, no you don’t escape it, we bring it home with another episode of the Neighbourhood Watch segment. 

So, if you’ve gorged yourself all your listening content, enjoyed a second course of filling noise and you still haven’t had sufficient…. click play for this purple listening snack to tide you over.  

We might have been Fyfless but we were far from lifeless and we’ve now made it 4 wins from 5 games against the Magpies at Marvel Stadium. Plenty to cover in the Restump Podcast review of Saturday’s thrilling win.  

Did we just get a beneficial case of 3 birds 1 stone? Losses to the Swans, Eagles and Magpies have left the September door ajar for us to sneak a purple foot in. We’re still longshots to snare a finals berth but we’re closer than we were last week.

In this episode we talk the impressive performance, the team-oriented flavour to the victory as individuals fulfilled their team beneficial roles. There was a little bit more of a focused defensive mindset than in recent weeks but coach JL nailed the offensive / defensive ratio balance. 

Speaking of a combined defensive offensive mindset, Josh Treacy put the fear of God into the Pies backline. His work off the ball, including a massive 20 pressure acts, was an influential a game as anyone out there turned in. Still can’t believe we got this guy on the rookie list! 

Trav Colyer played one his best games in purple, Jimmy Aish continued his super form and Blake Acres found throwing his ample size around makes life easier for him and his teammates. 

Take a sample of Switkowski’s work and then picture another 25 games and a preseason or two added to it….. his was a good signing during the week.  

Lachie Schultz got well amongst it, Tabs tapped out allowing Crowden into the game with some medical candy to sell and Lobb got reward for effort returning to his marking best.

Mundy was Mundy-like and, in the absence of Fyfey, its safe to say the future captaincy is in highly competent, influential and extremely hard working Andy Brayshaw hands.

Jojo McDonnell misfired with his $26 bagpipes gag and the Chief brings us home with another longwinded but important relations building Neighbourhood Watch segment. 

All that and plenty more purple pollutive nonsense no one asked to hear. As masks at the moment are apparently mandatory in certain situations, we advise wearing one over each ear to keep you safe from potential listening. 

On this episode of the Restump we celebrate the victory over Collingwood that took place on Sunday evening. The Purple Army are up and about, Tabs kicked 4, Serong backed up his run of great games with another stellar perfomance and Luke Ryan continued his push for All Australian honours. The initial outlook of pessimism from the Chief regarding the condensed season and 'Festival of Footy' turns to optimisim even if only for a minute.

Lets Start Wearing Purple!

On Todays Restump we preview the clash with the Magpies this coming Sunday, teams or no teams we'll give it a go! What we're looking forward to and how we see the match playing out. Nat Fyfe is back and Connor Blakely gets his opportunity, plenty to look forward to for the Freo faithful. 

We discuss the merits of a 'switch off' campaign for a muckraking Perth 'Journalist' and The Chief is back with another installment of his very popular Newsroom.

Lets Start Wearing Purple!