I\u2019ve never identified with Michael Douglas.<\/p>\n
My dad wasn\u2019t Spartacus, for starters.<\/p>\n
But looking at Fremantle\u2019s list, I finally understood why his character in Basic Instinct couldn\u2019t resist Catherine Tramell.<\/p>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>She was the Michael Jordan of being hot, sure. But she was also a walking red flag\u2014writing books about murders that kept happening in real life, tying people up, and making it obvious she was bad news.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, despite knowing she was trouble, he still dived in headfirst.<\/p>\n<p>Now, I get it.<\/p>\n<p>Catherine Tramell\u2019s basic instinct was to kill. Fremantle\u2019s is to kill dreams.<\/p>\n<p>And yet, like Nick I can\u2019t help what I see.<\/p>\n<p>I am into the Dockers.<\/p>\n<p>I must confess, I really liked Fremantle last year.<\/p>\n<p>I thought they were a contender who just copped too many injuries at inopportune moments.<\/p>\n<p>They were an elite clearance and control team sitting third in clearances and fourth in disposals while scoring at the fifth highest rate from the back half in the league.<\/p>\n<p>They did this with a varied and explosive midfield built around Caleb Serong, and Hayden Young headlining for other star level players like the ruckmen and Andy Brayshaw.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Caleb Serong | All Australian highlights\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qZ8WtOTW7gI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>They also scored in different ways, sitting above average in scores from both stoppage and turnover while generating the fourth best shots in the league by expected score.<\/p>\n<p>They did that missing crucial forward pieces throughout the year including Josh Treacy, Sam Sturt and Jye Amiss all missing time at key points.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">47 days to the start of the 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AFL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AFL<\/a> season.<\/p>\n<p>Bailey Banfield and Josh Treacy both had 47 inside 50s in 2024, but they drew more attention for scoring \u2014 esp. Treacy.<\/p>\n<p>Treacy led Fremantle in goals (45) and contested marks (28) as one of last year's breakout talents. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/foreverfreo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#foreverfreo<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cbnKmgkYh6\">pic.twitter.com\/cbnKmgkYh6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>— Americans Watching The Footy (@AmericansFooty) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AmericansFooty\/status\/1880456830863757438?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 18, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Beyond that, they were elite defensively.<\/p>\n<p>They gave up the second fewest scores per inside 50 and the second fewest total points while still scoring heavily from the back half as I mentioned.<\/p>\n<p>Their defensive personnel is like the US export list \u2013 full of guns – with Luke Ryan, Brennan Cox and Heath Chapman.<\/p>\n<p>More than the numbers, I thought they were well coached.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, in their round 20 win against West Coast I remember a passage of play where Caleb Serong, as usual, got first hands to the ball.<\/p>\n<p>He didn\u2019t even have to look back as he knew he had Bailey Banfield behind him. Banfield opened the game up by going in-board to Brandon Walker again without needing to look.<\/p>\n<p>He handballed inboard again to Andy Brayshaw who by this point was in the corridor and in space.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe a second has now passed.<\/p>\n<p>Brayshaw, instead of straightening up and kicking to a 3v3, kept going wide because he knew that Jeremy Sharp\u2019s running patterns on the wing would have him screaming inside 50.<\/p>\n<p>Brayshaw was right, Sharp took a chest mark and Freo got a shot.<\/p>\n<p>They were one of not many teams that blended high-level coaching with elite personnel.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway\u2026they didn\u2019t make the finals because they lost four straight games to close the season.<\/p>\n<p>Minor detail.<\/p>\n<p>If last year was them changing in front of me and making sure I saw it, this year is the interrogation scene.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sharon Stone in BASIC INSTINCT - Interrogation Clip\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/S8zk5ILRXvw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p>If I liked them last year, I LOVE them this year.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond baking in improvement from their younger players, the addition of Shai Bolton has me frothing at the mouth.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A GOOD DAY TO BE SHAI \ud83d\udc9c<\/p>\n<p>Shai Bolton, officially a Freo Docker.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AFLTrade?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AFLTrade<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/foreverfreo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#foreverfreo<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CjfGpurJ89\">pic.twitter.com\/CjfGpurJ89<\/a><\/p>\n<p>— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/freodockers\/status\/1846393192289390755?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 16, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Last year they were surgical but occasionally a bit bland, particularly forward of centre. Shai Bolton is anything but that.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shai Bolton is officially a Freo Docker! | AFL Trade Highlights\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xEdny7WLSe0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s brilliant and explosive.<\/p>\n<p>I am most excited for the rotation\/partnership with Hayden Young,<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We'll say it again… Hayden Young's left foot is unmatched \ud83d\udd25<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/foreverfreo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#foreverfreo<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lV4ZPYUA5k\">pic.twitter.com\/lV4ZPYUA5k<\/a><\/p>\n<p>— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/freodockers\/status\/1810162340106768783?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 8, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>where Bolton can play mostly forward but pinch hit as a midfielder and Young can do the opposite. In that situation, each guy can bring their different strengths to each line when they\u2019re in either spot. And they will be a nightmare when they\u2019re together.<\/p>\n<p>Bolton also fills gaps for Fremantle.<\/p>\n<p>The Dockers were 14th in forward 50 ground ball gets last year, Bolton was second in that stat among all mid-forwards.<\/p>\n<p>Fremantle struggled to get enough pressure inside 50, sitting 12th in tackles inside 50. Shai Bolton was third in tackles inside 50 last year among mid-forwards.<\/p>\n<p>Bolton is the rare offseason addition that is both cream on top and gap plugger. He\u2019s perfect.<\/p>\n<p>Like Nick with Catherine, I know what I\u2019m getting into when I get into bed with Fremantle. They\u2019re going to kill me with an ice pick.<\/p>\n<p>Also like Nick, I don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m into the Dockers.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b><i>Like what you read from our hard-hitting columnist?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b><i>Follow\u00a0<\/i><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/guywholikesspo1\"><b><i>@Guywholikessport<\/i><\/b><\/a><b><i>\u00a0on Twitter or check out his\u00a0<\/i><\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/guywholikessport.wixsite.com\/guywholikessport\"><b><i>FULL BLOG HERE\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve never identified with Michael Douglas. My dad wasn\u2019t Spartacus, for starters. But looking at Fremantle\u2019s list, I finally understood why his character in Basic Instinct couldn\u2019t resist Catherine Tramell. She was the Michael Jordan of being hot, sure. But she was also a walking red flag\u2014writing books about murders that kept happening in real life, tying people up, and making it obvious she was bad news. Yet, despite knowing she was trouble, he still dived in headfirst. Now, I get it. Catherine Tramell\u2019s basic instinct was to kill. Fremantle\u2019s is to kill dreams. And yet, like Nick I can\u2019t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":71235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8298,344],"tags":[29,9778,1329,1207,423,8260,3094],"hub_post_cat":[],"class_list":["post-71221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australian-rules","category-guywholikessport","category-sports","tag-afl","tag-afl-2025","tag-australian-rules","tag-fremantle","tag-fremantle-dockers","tag-guywholikessport","tag-opinion"],"acf":{"md_tip_date":null,"md_tip_date_end":null,"md_market_url":"","tip_date":"30\/01\/2025","event_country":"Australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71221"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87808,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71221\/revisions\/87808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71221"},{"taxonomy":"hub_post_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub_post_cat?post=71221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}