Thought of the Day: Freo fans should cool their jets

There has been a lot of hype about the chances that the Fremantle Football Club has in winning this years AFL Premiership, not least from the fans.

Indeed, the "Purple Haze" are in full song of late, looking forward to not only a Finals appearance, but one that may bring silverware.

It is understandable that they should be so excited, after spending the majority of their time in the AFL (nearly 20 years now) as something of a laughing stock / oddity.  To be fair, the original creators of the club didn't do the fans any favours by picking Purple, Green and Red as the primary jumper colours, or by then picking Clive Waterhouse with top draft selections while ignoring the likes of Andrew McLeod.

McLeod pictured here with a Trophy and Medal never seen in Fremantle.

It would seem that the decision by the Fremantle board to appoint Ross Lyon is truly inspired, with the team sitting on second place, seemingly unstoppable at home & playing a very well structured and disciplined style of footy.

But therein lies the tale of caution too.  Anyone that has followed Lyons career is that he is able to turn ordinary teams into Premiership contenders, the list that he had available at St Kilda being much worse than many of its contemporaries at the time, though he has also never been able to win a Premiership.  In 2010 he managed to get his team into the Grand Final twice, and still never came away with the cup.

Then there is the playing style that comes into question.  While the likes of Geelong, Collingwood and Hawthorn have all played (relatively) free-flowing football, with high skills and scores on display, Lyons teams are typically dour and really not that attractive to watch.  Is this the sort of thing Fremantle fans will condone in the name of winning?

Given they support this, the answer may well be 'yes'

Which brings us to the big question surrounding Lyon: legacy.

When Lyon left St Kilda, he did so controversially by essentially organising for his appointment behind the back of his manager and the existing Fremantle coach (Mark Harvey).  This was largely seen as a dishonest and mercenary act, surely not the sort of culture you want introduced to a club.

The other thing Lyon left behind at St Kilda was an ageing playing list with not much in the way of talented youngsters coming through, witness their results this year (3 wins, 9 losses) for any supportive evidence needed there. 

Compare this to Geelong, who have remained a finals contender since "Bomber" Thomson left them as coach (in fact, they won the Premiership the year following his departure) and continued to play attractive / high scoring footy.

While the history books won't go into detail about the type of footy played by premiership winners, it is the fans that experience a teams success and failure, and as such are impacted by the way it plays. After years of poor performances on (and off) the field, it is good to see Fremantle doing well, though it would be the naive face who would expect it to last.