jordan clark

It’s been a long preseason and we’re all a tad rusty. But we can’t wait to see how the Emmett bros, who Will Schofield introduced us to last Saturday, go this year. Let’s focus and get the 2024 Restump Podcast on track.

There was, and in some sectors still is, a lot of doom and gloom around Freo’s chances this year (hello Kingy) but unsurprisingly, as we edge closer to round one, the expectational tide is starting to turn.  

Maybe it is just my eternally optimistic nature but I’d go as far as to say the term ‘anomaly’ has been negligently overlooked. It has been absent in the external conversations and assessments of Fremantle’s 2023 season.

There seems a different attitude and a different mindset this preseason and it appears they returned in better nick this year than they did the same time last year. The youngsters have another year and a preseason under their belts, Andy Brayshaw looks like he’s about to return to his 2022 best and while praying to any and all gods that he holds together, Nat Fyfe is showing why he is still a vital cog in the purple wheel. 

There were good signs regarding the ball movement last Saturday but…  we weren’t exactly inconvenienced or hampered in our endeavours. So, we’ll momentarily reserve judgement…

However, on what we’ve seen so far, I can’t recall hearing…. “Gee we miss those Lachie and Liam guys and that Hamling bloke.”

Setting a horrible Restump example, Jojo has been preoccupied and absent the entire preseason boarding private jets on his own national Taylor Swift concert going tour! But he assures us he’s back and got his head in the game. However, the best he could do was promise to try and cut down the in season European holidays.

Is Simon Garlic pivoting from the five-year strategic plan to the ten year extra breathing space project? Is the “break out year” label a dangerous prediction? And is there an early episode of the Neighbourhood Watch? God, we hope not!

Bucket loads to get through so let’s get season 2024 underway. If you join us, please note the legal disclaimer that it will most probably be another hour of your life wasted and we can offer no refunds! 

Some are prematurely saying the season is over for Freo. But that’s loser talk! If we win eight of our last five we can still make the eight. Yeah… ok, its over… 'celebrate Ethan Hughes raising the bat and Restump Podcast Saturday’s cat fight.

Skilled Stadium, Kardinia Park, Alphabet Oval… Whiskas Bowl…. Whatever they’re calling that ground down in Geelong doesn't hold too much fears for us.  It does hold some great memories though. 

We’ve played there 19 times with just the 4 wins. We’ve got an average winning margin of 17 points but an average losing margin of 40 points. We’ve averaged 66 points a game over the 19 occasions. Our most recent tow encounters at the venue were a win last year by 3 points and a suffered hiding by 133 points in 2018.  

The Cats are looking to scrape into the eight to participate in September yet again and, while we probably don’t care whether they make it or not, it’d be nice to make it difficult for them, if only for our mental and morale betterment. 

The valuable Jimmy Aish returns and, as it seems the club is looking to manage Matty Johnson, young Ethan Stanley appears set for his second outing, albeit again in the sub vest.

Ethan Hughes celebrates a well earned 100-game milestone and you just have to be happy for him. He’s been used sporadically since 2015 but you always know what you’re going to get from him. He is consistent, he rarely plays a poor game and the gap between his best and worst is very narrow. He may not be the most polished or the most gifted but he is courageous, he puts his head over the ball and you get 110% effort all day every day from him.

If you’re listening to the commentary from the club it sounds like Liam Henry may be on the move in 2024. He has thrived in the back half of the season and is becoming the winger we have been hoping for. He’s getting opportunity and he’s part of our best 22 now so we hope Liam isn’t lost to the purple. 

With our game being Saturday morning this week we better get on with it because we’re only hours away from bouncedown. So, lets get into the cat clash and bang on about all things purple. We can only advise that you don’t waste your precious Friday or Saturday on us but if you value your time that little then who are we to deter you!

Hey it worked for Marnus Labuschagne! And it did look like Alex Pearce was getting reverse swing on the odd kick. Time to Restump Podcast Saturday’s 12 minute loss to the Swans.

We got off to a flyer but we stopped as fast as we started and it was the first quarter curse yet again that destroyed us… or rather it was what we did or didn’t do in it that destroyed us

What if we start internally applying our games in 5ths? Say five 16-minute periods. That way we would avoid first quarters. Has it really come to that type of preposterous thinking? 

After getting 18 disposals, 2 inside 50’s and kicking one goal one before the Swans had a single possession, the game was pretty much over at 16 minutes later, as mental as those sounds.

It was as if centre clearances and spreading from the contest were foreign terms. We largely leveled up the numbers by the end of the night but, like has been the case all year, the damage was done. 

Luke Jackson and Josh Treacy combined admirably in the ruck but there is no substitute for Sean Darcy. That said, he was there for the first quarter last week.

Thank goodness for Luke Ryan. He was exceptional as he nearly always is and the margin would have blown out with out his performance. 

With his 23 touches, 9 contested and 8 ground ball get (second most on the ground behind Caleb Serong) Liam Henry continues to dismiss his critics. He’s made the wing his own and if anyone else wants it they’re going to have to fight to take it off him.

We raised the prospect last week that Alex Pearce may not be the captain that is required, or more so that he doesn’t play in a position to make an influential difference when needed. Is the captaincy question rearing it head again? 

As disappointing as the post-bye season has been, we still believe we’re not far off the pack. It looks like a lack of cohesion and connection and an absence of a bit of grunt and agro in the middle rather than talent. And if that is the case, it is rectifiable with offseason focus.

We’d all love to be chatting about a victory but win lose or draw we soldier on. The monotony is biting us all but we bind together, hunker down and weather the storm like only Freo fans know how. 

So, friends. Romans, countrymen… lend us your ears, pack your mental strength and come along for our interpretation of the current deep purple situation.

No word of a basketball background but the Captain in waiting turned in a triple double. Quite simply Andy is back to his brilliant best. Time to Restump Podcast our season levelling win over the Cats.  

Going into the round four wins and five losses we desperately needed the win, simply because we cannot put a foot wrong if we’re to pinch a spot in the eight by season’s end. While the challenge wasn’t exactly as hot as it could have been, the important aspect is it was mission accomplished. 

Andy Brayshaw is obviously over his knee niggles. He’s been building the last few weeks and on Saturday we saw his return to the top off the tree. His work rate is at such a level, workhorses are looking at him and thinking they need to lift their games!

His midfield mate Caleb Serong is on an equal footing, Jaegar is fast becoming the player we thought we were getting and if there is anyone doubting Nat Fyfe’s role anywhere in the team, then put a replay of the game on slow motion and just keep your eyes on him, with and without the ball. 

Luke Jackson continues to make his knockers look like they’re wearing Ronald McDonald shoes, Josh Treacy’s influence was far above and beyond his numbers on the stat sheet, Bailey Banfield had a good game that could have been a career best game and… our equal leading goal kicker… where did he come from Cotton Eye Jye!

Despite having 3 goals kicked on him, our current Captain did a supreme job on the mountain of a man that is Tom Hawkins. Luke Ryan was super solid but admittedly helped by Jeremy Cameron’s inaccurate boot, Brandon Walker held the All-Australian small forward Tyson Stengle well and Jordan Clark gave his former team another showing of what they let go. 

Quite simply it was a win for the collective ironically through the performing of individual roles. It was a win for coaching strategy rendering Tom Stewart’s game inconsequential, a win for Sonny Walter’s Sir Doug Nicholls round celebratory routine and it was a win for us fans keeping our season well and truly alive.

We got the four points and we made it three wins on the bounce but we have to remain realistic. We need to keep in mind that the Cats were without Paddy Dangerfield who has been flying, they were without Cat’s midfield stalwart Cam Guthrie, they were without the extremely vital Mitch Duncan and they were without recruit Ollie Henry, who has kicked 16 goals and proves a tricky match up.   

However, if it’s not about unconditional enjoyment of the journey, then what is the point? We take note of external factors but we concentrate on ourselves, control what we can, don’t concern ourselves with what we can’t and we celebrate what is.  

So, join us we add a teaspoon of balanced analysis, two cups of shameless celebratory commentary and more than a pinch of nonsense into a tin and bake this Cat culling summary cake. 

The switch doesn't seem flickable and we threw the bathwater out two weeks ago. Is it the baby's turn to go? Have the wheels completely fallen off? Time to somehow pick up the pieces again and Restump Podcast today’s massacre at the Crow Chateau. 

When you’re struggling for form often the answer is you go back to the basics. The question is though what do you go back to when you’re butchering the basics?

Most players out there had mares today. However, Caleb Serong should be passing around the hat to pay for the extra physio he’ll need on his shoulders from carrying the workload!

It was actually a game of conflicting emotions and extreme emotional swings. There was the deep frustration at the lack of simple ball skills but then there was the somewhat neck saving from the noose realisation that despite the belting on the scoreboard, we each went inside 50, 51 times. 

Sure, it’s obviously cold consolation, but a tad of finesse and composure and some sort of a functional forward line and we’re in competitive territory, despite the issues across the board. 

Speaking of such a forward line, with two Joshs’ Treacy and Corbett and a Sam Sturt hovering, will any of the trio get a look in? If we have a fit foot on a Fyfe, does he replace the struggling Matty Tabs? If nothing else it will be an interesting week at the selection table because surely a message has to be sent after a performance like that one today.

But anyway the reality is we’re one and three and probably one loss away from the 2023 curtains. It’s a little disheartening and not the position we thought we would be in at the start of the year. 

However, as Bob Murphy mentioned on the recent pod, there are no certainties in footy because the ball is an oval shape and its unpredictable. At this point in time we’re willing to put our faith in Bob’s words.

It was an uninspiring game and it probably makes for an uninspiring review. But Jojo has quite the analytical mind and sharp football brain so maybe he’ll have some answers for us.

If you can muster up the effort and intent that was lacking out there today, dig deep and put your head over the Restump podcast ball, then there are 40 minutes of pondering the whys, the how's, the what happened and the what happens next, right here.

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.   

What a luxury it is to have the ‘In case of midfield emergency, break the Fyfe glass’ option. Time to Restump Podcast Saturday’s slaying of the Saints. 

The Saints gave us a lesson in the first half as they treated our midfielders like purple witches’ hats. In the middle we couldn’t have bought a footy in a clearance sale!  

When Maxy King goaled from the silver service, Jack Higgins got on the scoreboard and Dan Butler chipped in with one all in that first quarter…. not going to lie, we had flash backs to round two when they got a hold of us. 

However, despite being obliterated out of the middle, the defensive unit once again stood tall, led by swingman Griffin Logue, who showed no sign of suffering any swingmans fog this week. The back six did a remarkable job keeping us within 20 points of the Saints at half time when it could have and probably should have been substantially more.

There is nothing like having a two time brownlow medallist up our sleeve, especially one that is itching to get into the midfield furnace. After JL and the crew had managed Fyfey to perfection, they pulled the trigger at the start of the second half and it was literally like a midfield switch had been flicked.

It was if Fyfe was the key component that set off a positive chain reaction. Some sort of small-scale adaptation of the butterfly effect. 

His influence and contribution was instrumental in turning the course of the game around and providing the environment for which others soon thrived. 

That isn’t to suggest Andy Brayshaw’s game wasn’t another mind boggling, incomprehensible head-shaking in awe performance…. because it was. How do you do all the tough hard work, lay ten bruising tackles and still manage to collect 38 touches and get from contest to contest?

But with Fyfe halving the midfield contest and Andy Brayshaw doing Andy Brayshaw things, the rest of the crew soon got on board after the main break.

We got a bit of good fortune late in the third but which the Saints fans a still bleating about but the end margin of 41 points suggest their claims are largely inconsequential.  

Big kudos to Jordan Clark for arguably a career best game, Brennan Cox and Griffin Logue for roles and Lachie Schultz who was back to his tenacious and energised best.  

It was a wonderful victory, a tale of two halves and there was a conspicuous feel about it. Are we back? It may be never as good or as bad as it seems but that second half felt like we’re back! 

We’re sitting in 3rd, a game clear of Brisbane in 4th. Three more wins and a top four finish should well and truly be ours…. but let’s not get ahead of ourselves and jinx anything. 

So let’s get the podcast underway! If too much purple pandemonium doesn’t pack your pouch…. click play and spend 60 minutes here with us. However, we can’t offer refunds or returns for the listeners remorse you’ll inevitably suffer.

Did Mitch Georgiades relegate Youngy to a Raider Of The Lost Mark? Time to Restump Podcast yesterday’s win that wasn’t for the faint hearted.

It was a nostalgic day yesterday as Freo wound back the clock. Late in the game fan’s were calling for the defibrillators to get their purple hearts going again, but it was all part of the emotive four-point banking fun. 

40 points up at one stage, did we take the foot off the pedal or did fatigue set in? There are many ways to asses it but the reality is, we ended up in front when the siren sounded, we banked the four points and kept our top four chances alive.

If there is any disappointment with the win, send your mind back to the start of the season and revisit your expectations. Come back to now and you’ll find we’ve exceeded them greatly.

Fyfe is finding his feet as his confidence and desire levels rise and despite staying out of the middle, he’s going to be a that old weapon after a few more games wherever he plays.

There are no superlatives left to describe Andy Brayshaw. Quite simply we don’t win that game without him.

James Aish took his Mr Fix It role to the electrical field, constantly cutting off the Power. We are forever wondering how the hell Geelong let Jordan Clark escape and we're willing to concede that if Rory can guarantee us that intent every week, then re-sign him up.   

Alex Pearce had done a superb job on the dangerous Charlie Dixon to three quarter time but Charlie went into the middle and literally turned the game in a matter of 60 seconds. He rucked roved and kicked two of his own and had a hand in a third. Sean Darcy and Rory Lobb had no answer to him.

Special thanks to Robbie Gray and Todd Marshall who inexplicably both missed goals in that last quarter, sodas that you would have taken out a second mortgage on your house and put it on them being kicked.  

We got the points, we’ve got 11 wins and we need four more to clinch a top four finish. It doesn’t matter how we get them! However, bigger picture, we’re exceeding any expectations, we’re going to play finals and anything above that in the way of double chances, home finals and top fours, is the cream on the 2022 season cake. 

So, if you’re looking for some straight and narrow, never as good never as bad as it seems perspective with regular tangents of preposterousness, click play and join the prattle in the purple pool. 

We got out of jail and we’re heading straight to the bank with the four points. Time to Restump Podcast the emotional rollercoaster victory over the Crows.

It’s safe to say we often make things more difficult than they need be but we snared the win, collected the valuable four points and added another chapter in the Freo folklore journal.  

It was a novel way to win and Heath Chapman deserves a thanks and a congratulations. But while such occurrences are part of football’s charm, Chappy’s match saving tap should never have been necessary. 

In the words of Simon and Garfunkel… “Hello inaccuracy our old friend I’ve come to talk to you again.” 11 goals 17 (28 shots) to 12 goals 10 (22 shots) and we pinch it by a point. We’ve still got some work to do. 

But that’s enough negativity. We went over without a Fyfe, a Darcy and a Taberner and came home with a win and four points to get our season going. 44 points got a finals berth last year, that’s now 40 more for us.

Andy Brayshaw was superb; Lachie Schultz obviously doesn’t know the meaning of the term self-preservation and Jordan Clark hit such speed he was blurry. 

Will Brodie surprisingly saw only 65% game time and that raises some questions. Sonny Walters struggled to get involved, the great often infallible David Mundy shocked when he missed a target or two but Griffin Logue did some third quarter defensive work which greatly enabled the one-point victory.  

We have to find a way to stop opposing teams getting run ons as the Crows piled on seven goals in a row on us. However, while we struggled to find a solution for that, we more importantly found a way to win.

We blow up a bit about the commentary team assigned to our game and Fox Footy’s cost cutting measures. How many times do we have to hear Josh Rachelle’s soccer story?

Concerningly censorship has found its way into the Restump as Jojo McDonnell panicked and not only shut down the Chief’s Neighborhood Watch segment episode midway through but has warned it might be on hiatus. 

In 2010 we beat Adelaide in round one and went on to reach a semi-final. We’ve beaten Adelaide in round one again… is a semi-final on the cards in 2022? One game down, twenty-one to go and four points on the board.

If you’re a glutton for purple punishment and too much Freo fanfare is never enough then by all means click play and infect your ears. Unfortunately, we must warn we cannot offer listen lost time refunds. 

The demoralisation of the West Coast Eagles became too heavy a burden for them to carry on Friday as they invoked the mercy rule. Time to Restump Podcast the Docker’s destructive display. 

Was Friday a taste of things to follow? Yes it was a practice match, yes the Coasters suffered injuries, but pace, the sharp skills, the connection, the cohesiveness of Fremantle was just a pleasure to watch.

The improvement across the board coincided with Freo’s injection of speed, particularly through the likes of Jordan Clark. And there lies the irony… who would have ever thought an injection of speed would find the eagles out!

The great Lloyd “Braun” Meek looked hungry for some roasted bird. He did a power of work taking around 80% of the centre ruck contests and he cooked Nic Nat around the ground. He is up for the fight for a starting spot.

Welcome back Heath and Hayden. How exciting an attacking backline have we got with these two superb defenders. Throw in a Jordan Clarke and a Luke Ryan just to name a few and the opponents have a number of headaches. 

Brayshaw and Serong did Brayshaw and Serong things, Mitch Crowden ensured his name is in the conversation and its difficult not to be happy with Will Brodie’s first look. Meanwhile a very slick winger in Liam Henry is in the process of being built. 

The forwards worked like a well-oiled machine and God help Freddy’s future opponents! A bag of five was reward for his hard running and positioning. Schultz rarely misses out and Colyer picked up from where he left off from last year.

The Chief finally puts up the white flag and admits defeat on O’Driscoll but he left a parting jibe. Fyfe has gone the clean skin again which is apparently big news and then we bring it home with an important culture improving episode of the Neighbourhood Watch.

All in all Friday was an early season treat, a joy to watch and a pleasure you talk about. Whether it is to listen to…. that remains to be seen. But we all need some purple passion in our pilgrimage to the port next week.

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Episode Twelve.

• Hosted by Richard B McLean and Adam Cloud .
• We discuss Coding, The Art and Music Inside, Education Oddities, Podcasts, Etc..
• Jordan Clark discusses influence, and where the art comes from.

Featured Media This Week:

Hold Me - By Jordan Clark | I Am Not That Guy - By Adam Cloud | The Machine of Dr. Guillotine - Lyrics: Jerry Wayne - Music: Jeff Wayne

Have a question or comment that you’d like played on the air? — Please Leave a Message at (440)-SKETCH2 [(440) 753-8242] or email us at PleasePodcast@gmail.com

Episode Seven Is Here

Hosted by Richard B McLean, and Jordan Clark.

Artists Steve and Tonya Vistaunet talk about happiness.

We find some audio on Tape format.

Have a question or comment that you’d like played on the air? Please Leave a Message at (440)-SKETCH2 [(440) 753-8242] or email us at PleasePodcast@gmail.com