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Cook calls on premiership skippers to help Bulldogs rise

Thursday, April 24, 2014 - 4:49 AM - by Chris Pike

RYAN Cook took South Fremantle's slow start to the 2014 WAFL season to heart and called in the Bulldogs' last two captains to help inspire the group, and as a result he enjoyed Saturday's win over West Perth as much as anyone.

Cook is now in his fourth season at South Fremantle and his third as captain following on from premiership skippers David Gault and Toby McGrath.
The 26-year-old former Collingwood player of 14 AFL matches has certainly made his mark since arriving at South Fremantle in 2011 with two fairest and best awards under his belt, but another slow start to the season to open 2014 was the last thing he was hoping for, or expecting.
After losing the opening seven games of 2013, South Fremantle lost the first four of 2014 heading into Saturday's clash with the reigning premiers West Perth at Arena Joondalup.
However, the Bulldogs had been close in three of the first four games they lost and had a good record against West Perth at Arena Joondalup to call upon, and came away with a terrific 23-point victory.
During the tough opening month, Cook had initiated for both Gault and McGrath to come down and speak to the playing group about their experiences in successful South Fremantle teams.
Once Cook kicked a goal to seal the win during the final quarter, he could finally let out some frustration.
"I obviously take losing pretty hard and want to keep motivating the boys, and I've been trying to do that. We had Toby McGrath and David Gault come down, the last two premiership captains, to have a chat to us and that was good," Cook said.
"I've tried a couple of different things and we had a couple of old South boys to have a talk just about the proud history, and who we are really playing for. It's not just ourselves, there is a lot of people who barrack for South Fremantle around WA.
"We haven’t been playing too bad. The East Perth game was a blowout and they got us at home, but as I said to the boys leading into the game, the missed opportunities in front of goals has been hurting us. We've been all right and now it's obviously nice to get a win.
"It was a great feeling when I kicked that goal. 'Smack' (Adam McIntosh) was behind me and told me to aim for the right post, and I went for the left but it still just drifted in. I let a big yell out when that went through. It felt really good."
South Fremantle's forward-line hadn’t quite clicked over the first four rounds combining for 48.50, but it worked a treat on Saturday led by seven goals to Ben Saunders and four to newly turned swingman Craig White.
"We isolated him (Saunders) a bit more and we know how good he is in his one-on-ones. The energy he brings to the side gets everyone else up and about so we need him to back that up again next week for the derby," Cook said.
"He (White) has been good and could be a good swingman for us. At the start of his career he started as a forward, and he is a very accurate kick so you know when he's having a set shot he more than not will slot them. And don’t worry, we will be hearing all about it too.
"That's been a good change up for us and then Ashton (Hams) going down back he is so creative with the ball, and so is Googsy (Adam Guglielmana). Those changes have been good."
With James Sellar missing the last three matches with a knee injury, a lot of responsibility has been heaped on to East Perth recruit Brock Higgins to carry the ruck duties, but he has done so with aplomb.
He battled hard in Round 3 against Paul Johnson and Scott Lycett and now has been the best ruckman on the ground the last two weeks. Cook sees him firsthand in the midfield and couldn’t be happier with what he's brought to the team.
"We just know what to expect from him and he knows his game better than anyone in our side," he said.
"He knows he's not going to create too much when he's having a kick and he tries to handball off when he can. We've needed that target up the line the last couple of years and haven’t really had it, but he's clunking those marks. It's good to see and just gets everyone up and about."
Another player Cook is seeing firsthand in the midfield is Haiden Schloithe who has now racked up 75 possessions the past two weeks, but that doesn’t surprise his skipper at all.
"I've seen it the last couple of years that he has been building to this sort of form. I watched him pretty closely back in the colts and he has really taken another step this year," he said.
"It's just that consistency and backing up week after week that is good to see him. Previously it would be one good game and then a couple of ordinary ones, but he's now had three or four really good wins in-a-row. It's good to see."
South Fremantle prepares for the now traditional Anzac Day derby this Friday against East Fremantle at East Fremantle Oval with Cook fully aware how important it is that the Bulldogs back up their performance against the Falcons.
"It's always a big day," Cook said.
"It can go either way with that as well. It's always a big occasion on Anzac Day and we are looking forward to it."
By Chris PikeRYAN Cook took South Fremantle's slow start to the 2014 WAFL season to heart and called in the Bulldogs' last two captains to help inspire the group, and as a result he enjoyed Saturday's win over West Perth as much as anyone.

Cook is now in his fourth season at South Fremantle and his third as captain following on from premiership skippers David Gault and Toby McGrath.

The 26-year-old former Collingwood player of 14 AFL matches has certainly made his mark since arriving at South Fremantle in 2011 with two fairest and best awards under his belt, but another slow start to the season to open 2014 was the last thing he was hoping for, or expecting.

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Googs' Gabble – Adam Guglielmana Column Round 6

Thursday, April 24, 2014 - 2:24 AM - by Adam Guglielmana

ONE of the many good things about playing for South Fremantle is the opportunity to play in the biggest home and away games of the WAFL season.

This Friday we take on East Fremantle in the Anzac Day derby and, a few weeks later, in the Foundation Day derby.
The hatred between East and South Fremantle goes back a long way before I was even born so I won’t attempt to explain it!
It is something that is ingrained into you as soon as you walk into the South Fremantle Football Club, and I'm sure it's the same over at East Fremantle. The former players never forget to remind you how much winning a derby means, and the supporters are even less forgiving if you lose!
The next two derbies take on extra significance as we are trying to bridge the gap between the sides above us, and East Fremantle will be trying to solidify their spot in the top four.
Although we haven’t got off to a great start this year we are still only two wins behind East Fremantle, and playing them twice in the next five matches gives us an opportunity to make some ground we have lost.
Obviously the WAFL hasn’t been the main attraction in town since the Eagles joined the AFL, so the chance to play in front of a bigger crowd on a significant occasion is something the players really enjoy.
Preparation rarely changes regardless of the significance of the match as players tend to be creatures of habit, although certain traits can be exaggerated.
Toby Bairstow doesn’t spend as much time checking the race results, Ashton Hams and Haiden Schloithe let off some nervous tension by joking a bit more before a big game, Josh Pullman prefers to be a bit more focused and intense, and some, like Dylan Ross don’t seem fazed by any occasion.
There is no right or wrong way to prepare, and most players find what suits them through trial and error fairly early on in their careers.
The other aspect of the next derby is the day it is played on. It is obviously a massive privilege to play on Anzac Day but we have never pretended that war and football are anything alike. When you hear the heroic stories of the Anzacs at this time of year you clearly feel compelled to show as much courage and resilience as you can on a day meant to honour them, but thankfully no coach I have played under has ever tried to use it as a source of motivation.
Although ladder positions and form are basically irrelevant when it comes to derbies it is nice to go into this week’s game with some winning momentum. We had shown signs in the first four games that our best football could match most sides; we just struggled to maintain it for much more than a quarter or so.
We have taken a lot of confidence out of beating the reigning premiers on their home ground, but more than anything it was good to get some reward for the effort we have been putting in since last October.
We are well aware as a group what our weaknesses are and we have been working hard, not only over the past month, but since last October, to improve on areas such as our skills and our ball movement in different situations.
Even after such a bad start to the year it is pleasing the mood around the group hasn’t turned sour. We have stuck together tightly as a group and are working hard to turn our season around before it’s too late.
It was great to get a win on the weekend but the feel good story from the game was Jarrod Parry’s return to league football. Somebody said it had been 1331 days since he last played a game of league football, in 2010, the year he won the “best first year player” award. The best thing about “Paz” is his attitude.
Despite two knee reconstructions, deep vein thrombosis and a number of hamstring issues he kept working hard and never put himself before the team. People forget how good a player he is, and if anyone has built up some good karma, it is him. The players love him and it definitely gave us a lift on the weekend having him out there.
The difference in how you feel after a win and after a loss is enormous. It was interesting bumping into Ash Hams’ girlfriend after the match. I’d thought she had over indulged in a few wines during the game as she was very happy and chirpy, only to later find out she was just so happy we hadn’t lost as she and Ashton had to drive out to her family’s farm in Tammin after the game, and she can’t stand being around him after a loss!
Hopefully we can continue our “streak” this Friday against East Fremantle, as I’m not sure Ashton would be able to find another girl willing to go out with him.
By Adam GuglielmanaONE of the many good things about playing for South Fremantle is the opportunity to play in the biggest home and away games of the WAFL season.

This Friday we take on East Fremantle in the Anzac Day derby and, a few weeks later, in the Foundation Day derby.

The hatred between East and South Fremantle goes back a long way before I was even born so I won’t attempt to explain it!

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Red and WHITE – Craig White Column Round 5

Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - 11:35 PM - by Craig White

AT THE start of the year, like the last six or seven years have been, I trained with the defenders and didn’t really have any indication that I would be moving forward at any stage this season. 

It actually has been a bit refreshing the last couple of weeks and it's something I have definitely enjoyed. As far as I know, it's not something that has been in the planning though.
As a junior I played in the forward-line a lot. I came through school footy, country footy and then the colts playing as a half-forward or a deep forward, and then my first 60 games of my league career was as a half-forward or forward pocket. When we were in a good side it was easy to play that role, but then the good youngsters like Cory Dell'Olio, Brandon Matera and Leroy Jetta started to come through, and all of a sudden keeping a spot in the forward-line got a bit tougher.
As a result, myself and both Hams boys ended up being pushed to the back-line. Our coach John Dimmer came to us around the mid-part of 2007 when we had a couple of good young forwards, and we were a bit light on for small defenders. As it worked out, the three of us went back and we all ended up playing a lot of footy together at the same end of the ground in our careers.
I had probably resigned myself to the fact that I would be a defender for the rest of my career. When Hase approached me about it a couple of weeks ago, I did need a couple of days to get my head around having not played there since 2007, but the more I thought about it the more I was looking forward to it. It's something I have enjoyed the last two weeks and it's good fun mixing it with the forwards.
My role in the forward-line the last two weeks has been to really be that lead-up type player. A bit of that comes as natural instinct from my early days, but it's also about knowing the bigger grounds and knowing where the space is. My instructions have been to lead up so I have tried to make sure I have been leading up at the footy.
I did miss a goal early against West Perth on a snap that hit the post so I was pretty frustrated after missing a couple the week before against Swans, but it was good to get on the board with a couple of easy ones, and a couple of lucky ones. I'll take that and hopefully I can keep hitting the scoreboard a couple of times a week if I stay forward.
One thing that has helped me going back to the forward-line is how much I've learned from my years as a defender. Down back, I've learned what defenders hate the most and I know what I like to defend, and what's hard to defend so I take solace in that when working out what can then work as a forward. It has definitely helped me understand what the drop-off or tight defenders do and don't like their forward opponents to do.
The other thing that has happened with me going forward has been that Ashton Hams and Adam Guglielmana have gone down back. When Hase said that Hamsy and Googs would go back I mentioned I would like to play there with them because of how good they use the footy and have good footy brains, but someone had to take their place up forward. It has seemed to work out the best for the team that I'm getting some kicks forward, and both of them are playing good footy in the back-line.
As a defender, your mistakes generally end up as goals for the opposition but as a forward you have a bit more leeway with your mistakes not necessarily directly ending up as goals. As a forward, you have the pressure on you to try to turn the opposition's footy over and lock it in, so it's a bit of a different mindset but at the end of the day it's all pretty relevant with regards to how you end up scoring.
I guess I can be called a bit of a swingman now and thinking about others who have done that during my career, Andrew McCarrey was definitely one of them of the talls who has done it but I think Ashton Hams is one who has done it a lot. He started as a forward, then won a Simpson Medal as a defender and then played at the Eagles as a forward. He is one who across my career has done it and Toby McGrath was also a midfielder come forward who then ended up as a defender late in his career. They are three who were able to do it pretty well that I've played with.
Having versatility in your side helps you not become predictable to the opposition so if you have a few strings to your bow, not only does it help you get a game every week but it keeps the opposition guessing as well. I guess now they don’t know if Hams, myself or Googsy will start forward or back so that gives us some pretty good options going forward.
Having said that, I think Hase might find it tough to get me out of the forward-line for the next few weeks at least. I am very much enjoying it, but I'm still open-minded to going back if needed and if Hase sees fit.
And as a team, hopefully we now have some momentum having won. We were in three of the four games to start the year with a chance to win, but now we can finally get the ball rolling. We have had a good record at Joondalup and we have had a good one at East Fremantle Oval as well so hopefully we can put that momentum into swing and get on the board with another win.
By Craig WhiteAT THE start of the year, like the last six or seven years have been, I trained with the defenders and didn’t really have any indication that I would be moving forward at any stage this season. 

It actually has been a bit refreshing the last couple of weeks and it's something I have definitely enjoyed. As far as I know, it's not something that has been in the planning though.

As a junior I played in the forward-line a lot. I came through school footy, country footy and then the colts playing as a half-forward or a deep forward, and then my first 60 games of my league career was as a half-forward or forward pocket. When we were in a good side it was easy to play that role, but then the good youngsters like Cory Dell'Olio, Brandon Matera and Leroy Jetta started to come through, and all of a sudden keeping a spot in the forward-line got a bit tougher.

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Bulldogs dominate Falcons for first win of 2014

Sunday, April 20, 2014 - 7:03 PM - by Chris Pike

SOUTH Fremantle is on the board for 2014 following a superb four-quarter performance to beat West Perth by 23 points at Arena Joondalup on Saturday with the Bulldogs playing a committed and desperate brand of physical football while taking their chances in attack.

South Fremantle began the 2014 season with losses to Subiaco, Perth, East Perth and Swan Districts, but in three of those four games the Bulldogs had chances to win had they kicked straight, and not made quite as many mistakes both with their skills and ill-discipline.
However, everything clicked on Saturday at Arena Joondalup with South Fremantle leading the entire afternoon aside from a couple of minutes in the opening quarter, and by as much as 34 points at one stage before ending up winning 15.8 (98) to 10.15 (75).
Even more impressive was the fact that not only was West Perth coming off winning last year's premiership, but also having thumped the previously unbeaten East Perth last week by 100 points.
With a combination of some South Fremantle players shutting down some of West Perth's prime movers and then other Bulldogs players having big days offensively, it was a terrific performance that led to the first win of 2014.
South Fremantle has now won 15 of 23 matches against West Perth overall at Arena Joondalup since 1994 including the last four straight, and nine of the last 12.
Ben Saunders starred up forward for South Fremantle booting seven goals after having just seven in the opening four games of the season.
His seven-goal haul came from 17 possessions and just the one mark. It's the first time the 2012 Bernie Naylor Medallist has managed seven in a match since doing it in Round 18, 2012 against Subiaco.
Veteran Craig White was also outstanding for South Fremantle in his second week as a forward after spending the majority of his 162-game career in defence even though his initial time in the league side was as a forward.
White finished with four goals from 19 possessions and seven marks.
South Fremantle's midfield was also outstanding led by ruckman Brock Higgins who finished with 21 possessions and 31 hit outs.
Haiden Schloithe backed up his 38 possessions last week against Swan Districts with another 37 disposals to go with six tackles and five inside-50 entries.
Tim Kelly was also terrific with 29 touches through the middle with captain Ryan Cook finishing with 24 possessions, Steven Verrier 24, Brendan Verrier 24 and Shaun Bewick 22.
Toby Bairstow has been given a new role since returning to the league side for South Fremantle and he did a superb job restricting West Perth's prolific ball-winner Shane Nelson to just 12 possessions for the day.
The Bulldogs' defence was also terrific with Dylan Ross and Nick Borovac doing good jobs respectively on Marcus Adams and Anthony Tsalikis who combined for 11 goals last week against East Perth. They combined for just three on Saturday.
Ashton Hams roamed across half-back and finished with 31 possessions while Adam Guglielmana had 20 touches and nine marks while doing well defensively on both Marc Crisp and Andrew Krakouer.
Jarrod Parry also came in for his first league game since Round 23, 2010 and provided good support to the starting midfielders finishing with 15 possessions and five marks after a horror run with knee injuries.
South Fremantle kicked the first goal of the game through Kelly and then a clever left foot snap off a turnover from Saunders, and then one on his right boot shortly after had the Bulldogs out to a 10-point advantage.
The Bulldogs led by 12 points at quarter-time and was back out to 17 again to start the second quarter thanks to a goal to White.
A good goal on the run from 50 to Brendan Verrier and the Bulldogs were out to a 24-point lead and it was then 28 when White delivered a clever snap for his third of the afternoon.
Saunders also then added his third and suddenly South Fremantle led by 34 points, and still by 27 at the main break.
Saunders added his fourth to open the second half to put the lead back out to 33 points. West Perth tried to mount a comeback, but it was Saunders there to quell that on each occasion.
His fifth rolled home from long range and then his sixth came from a clever mark and the Bulldogs still led by 28 points at that stage, and 22 at three quarter-time.
West Perth again threatened a fight back in the final quarter, but Saunders' seventh goal, possibly the sealer from Cook and then the absolute sealer from White made sure the Bulldogs ended up winning by 23 points.
South Fremantle's colts opened the day with a 14.12 (96) to 4.7 (31) win over West Perth with Cameron Loersch kicking three goals, and Jacob Dragovich and Jye Depane two each.
Dragovich also racked up 34 possessions with Billy Collier finishing with 30 disposals, Bailey Matera 31, Braden Fimmano 26, Brad McPhail 21, Anthony Nodari 21 and Depane 20.
Meanwhile, the reserves went down to West Perth by eight points despite a host of impressive performances.
Kris Miller had a strong game in the midfield finishing with 34 possessions and two goals with Anthony Collica making just his second appearance of the year and impressing with 25 disposals and a goal before taking a heavy knock to his just on the final siren.
Joe Pantano also gathered 26 possessions with Ben Sokol gathering 24 to go with his three goals. Lewis Harvey had 22 touches, Steve Mills 21, Tim Stewart 20 and Alistair Gillespie added two goals.
SOUTH FREMANTLE 4.2 8.3 11.7 15.8 (98)
WEST PERTH 2.2 3.6 7.9 10.15 (75)
SOUTH FREMANTLE – Goals: Saunders 7; White 4; Bewick, Kelly, B Verrier, Cook.
Best: Saunders, Schloithe, Higgins, Ross, Hams, Bairstow, Guglielmana, White, Kelly.
WEST PERTH – Goals: Tsalikis 2; Strijk, Jones, Crisp, Browne, Krakouer, Fowler, van Berlo, Adams.
Best: Hunt, Kerr, Black, Jones, van Berlo, Manning, Browne.
By Chris PikeSOUTH Fremantle is on the board for 2014 following a superb four-quarter performance to beat West Perth by 23 points at Arena Joondalup on Saturday with the Bulldogs playing a committed and desperate brand of physical football while taking their chances in attack.

South Fremantle began the 2014 season with losses to Subiaco, Perth, East Perth and Swan Districts, but in three of those four games the Bulldogs had chances to win had they kicked straight, and not made quite as many mistakes both with their skills and ill-discipline.

However, everything clicked on Saturday at Arena Joondalup with South Fremantle leading the entire afternoon aside from a couple of minutes in the opening quarter, and by as much as 34 points at one stage before ending up winning 15.8 (98) to 10.15 (75).

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Round 5 Preview v West Perth

Friday, April 18, 2014 - 4:35 PM - by Chris Pike

SOUTH Fremantle heads to Arena Joondalup hoping to keep going an impressive winning record at the venue as the Bulldogs desperately search for a first win of the 2014 season.

South Fremantle is yet to taste victory in 2014 after losses to Subiaco, Perth, East Perth and Swan Districts, but in the games with the Lions, Demons and Swans, the Bulldogs had plenty of chances to win and now this Saturday they will be hoping to take their chances against the Falcons.
The game is on Saturday afternoon as the standalone WAFL fixture of the day at Arena Joondalup.
It is a ground that South Fremantle has a good record at both in history since 1994, and in recent times.
South Fremantle has won 14 of 22 matches at Arena Joondalup overall including a 39-point win in Round 18 last year with West Perth on the way to winning the 2013 premiership.
South Fremantle is desperate to find a winning formula after starting the season with four straight losses.
They do add some size and quality back to the line-up from the team that lost to Swan Districts last week with Alistair Gillespie and Paul Mugambwa both set to return.
Each is capable of helping to provide another option in the forward-line to Ben Saunders and Josh Pullman, and also helping out Brock Higgins in the ruck in the continued absence of James Sellar with a knee injury.
Important and hard-nosed defender Adam McIntosh will also return after missing the game against Swans with Jarrod Parry a chance to play his first league game since Round 23, 2010 after some consistently strong form in the midfield for the reserves since returning from his latest knee injury.
James Laurino is the only out of the South Fremantle team at this stage who even though he did some nice things against Swans, having only seven possessions meant he simply didn’t do enough.
It is an incredibly hard West Perth team to break into coming off the 100-point win over East Perth, but that is exactly what Andrew Krakouer, Shaun Marusic and Jack Thrum are attempting to do after playing well in the reserves team that also beat the Royals by 100-plus points.
Following virtually no pre-season, Krakouer made a slow start to his time at West Perth but his last two games in the reserves have been terrific and he now looks on track to make his Falcons debut and to play his first WAFL game since the 2010 grand final for Swan Districts.
Krakouer had 26 possessions, seven tackles and a goal last week in the reserves and could add yet another quality piece to the West Perth line-up coming off winning last year's premiership.
Suddenly a forward-line of Marcus Adams, Anthony Tsalikis, Matt Fowler, Kody Manning, Marc Crisp and the addition of Krakouer is a scary thing for opposition teams.
RESERVES TEAM
T Bairstow, M Banks, T Bennell, M Bolger, S Borovac, M Carter, E Collard, A Collica, J D'Vauz, A Galliano, A Gillespie, M Gundry, J Hall, L Harvey, C Hayden, B Hill, K Hogan, T Kelly, J Laurino, J Louthean, L Lucev, J Maskos, S Mills, M Nicholson, S Panizza, J Pantano, J Parry, B Sokol, T Stewart, J Symmans, J Tartaglia, B Verrier, M Walley
COLTS TEAM
B Collier, J Culleton, J Depane, B Donaldson, J Dragovich, B Fimmano, J Florenca, W Frampton, J Garlett, B Kersten, C Loersch, B Matera, J McComb, G McLeod, J McMaster, B McPhail, J Mirco, D Moore, A Nodari, L Pearson, C Salmon, K Stewart, N Strom, T Wheeler, S Williamson
By Chris PikeSOUTH Fremantle heads to Arena Joondalup hoping to keep going an impressive winning record at the venue as the Bulldogs desperately search for a first win of the 2014 season.

South Fremantle is yet to taste victory in 2014 after losses to Subiaco, Perth, East Perth and Swan Districts, but in the games with the Lions, Demons and Swans, the Bulldogs had plenty of chances to win and now this Saturday they will be hoping to take their chances against the Falcons.

The game is on Saturday afternoon as the standalone WAFL fixture of the day at Arena Joondalup.

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Bewy's Banter – Shaun Bewick Column Round 4

Tuesday, April 15, 2014 - 6:33 PM - by Shaun Bewick

FOR my first column on South Fremantle's website, I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about how I came to South Freo from West Perth and what my journey has been like so far with one good season, and one that was ruined by injury.

 
Honestly for the first time since I have been playing footy as a kid, I didn’t enjoy playing football at all in 2011 in my last year at West Perth. I just didn’t want to turn up to training, I would get there at the club and see where the coach Bill was and walk the other way. Our season finished on a Sunday and then before Mad Monday, I informed the club that there was no way I was coming back. The main reason was just that it was the first time I hadn’t been happy playing footy and as much as I love the game, I wasn’t going to keep playing somewhere I wasn’t happy at.
Leaving West Perth wasn’t something I came up with overnight. I guess there was just a build up of things there and a tipping point but it was something I discussed with mum and dad, and even dad's mum who is a life member of the club as well. I discussed it with her and all of them were more than happy for me to make the move, and especially nanna actually. It was with their blessing that I decided I leave so it wasn’t an issue leaving, it was more an issue deciding where I wanted to go.
I didn’t really want to go to another WAFL club initially, my first thoughts were to go interstate. Sturt flew me over to Adelaide and I trained with them for a week, but it wasn’t until the third or fourth day that I was over there when Cory Dell'Olio called me up. He was just about the only player I knew at South Fremantle and he told me that Paul Hasleby had just been appointed coach. At that stage, I hadn’t made up my mind where I wanted to go but I figured there weren’t be too many better people to learn from than Hase with his experience in the AFL.
I came back to Perth and had a good chat to mum and dad to see what they thought, and being a recruiter dad has been in the game for a while and he agreed that South Fremantle would be a good fit for me because they needed someone who played like I do. I called up the football manager at the time, Brent Dawkins, and within a couple of weeks I was down here at Fremantle training, and have been here ever since.
I just wasn’t happy at the end at West Perth, but obviously I was hoping to move somewhere that I would get more chances in the league team and all the dots just seemed to line up for me at South Fremantle.
I had always thought that I was a wingman and South Freo needed a wingman. I only ended up missing the one game that first year in 2012 and that was only because I had got knocked out at a training session before the game. I ended up coming equal third in the best and fairest, and was fourth on a count back, but still for someone who had only played 30 league games over three years coming into 2012, to get a whole season under my belt like that did my confidence the world of good.
I did have a groin injury that I was carrying for three years and I would have had the surgery the year I left West Perth, but because I was in limbo with my future and was just coming to a new club, I didn’t want to be on the sidelines for half a season and then have to fight to earn my spot in the second half of the year. I battled through that year which turned out really well because I was able to establish myself here at the club.
At the end of 2012, we tried to avoid the surgery path but in the end I needed it and I had it in early February 2013. That was supposed to be a 20-week rehab program but on the week I was due to come back, we had ladies night at the club and I had only had a couple of drinks, but I will blame Jarrod Parry and Toby Bairstow for what happened.
We were doing a dance on stage and the finishing move was them throwing me up for a back flip. They will say I didn’t land it properly, but they threw me far too high and when I landed, my knee kind of buckled underneath itself and flung me back, and hyper-extended. I also hit my head on the back wall, got knocked out and had to be carried off stage in front of 300-odd ladies.
That's how my knee injury came about and that was the 19th week of my groin rehab. That put an extra 10 weeks on to my recovery and I was only able to come back in Round 22 and play the last three rounds, and then two finals. I had missed a couple of games in my career through concussion, but that was the first time even going back to colts that I had missed any games through injury.
Watching on from the sidelines for the first 21 rounds, it was pretty tough and something I had never had to do before. I never did get used to it either and I just couldn’t wait to get back out there.
The positive out of the year was that I got to play in the reserves grand final even though it was probably the worst game I have ever played, and it just happened to be against my old club. I still got a premiership medal, though, and it made a bad year look good in the end. That's the only positive I can take from last year as well as the fact that my groins are feeling as good as they have in a long time.
Now coming into 2014, I reckon I did 98 per cent of the pre-season work. Because I was coming off groin surgery and a limited season, I was pulled out of a few minor things but I did most of the pre-season and that was first time that has happened in about five years. I was just happy to get that fitness base underneath me so I could start putting up some good results in the time trials and that helped me get me ready for this season and to be in the league team so far this year.
We haven’t won a game yet, which is disappointing, and the last couple of weeks haven’t been the best time, but we are all trying as hard as we can. I don’t think it's far away and I think all we need to do is string a couple of quarters together to get that first win on the board. Once we do that, I have no doubt we can start rolling on to something bigger and better throughout the year.
By Shaun BewickFOR my first column on South Fremantle's website, I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about how I came to South Freo from West Perth and what my journey has been like so far with one good season, and one that was ruined by injury.

Honestly for the first time since I have been playing footy as a kid, I didn’t enjoy playing football at all in 2011 in my last year at West Perth. I just didn’t want to turn up to training, I would get there at the club and see where the coach Bill was and walk the other way. Our season finished on a Sunday and then before Mad Monday, I informed the club that there was no way I was coming back. The main reason was just that it was the first time I hadn’t been happy playing footy and as much as I love the game, I wasn’t going to keep playing somewhere I wasn’t happy at.

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Bulldogs can't quite finish the deal against Swans

Tuesday, April 15, 2014 - 1:21 PM - by Chris Pike

SOUTH Fremantle again started strongly but couldn’t keep it going ending up losing to a Swan Districts team by 13 points at Steel Blue Oval that is continuing to surprise many this WAFL season.

The Bulldogs made the journey to Bassendean for the Round 4 contest on Saturday and completely dominated the opening quarter and-a-half, but couldn’t put the score on the board.
By half-time, Swans had opened up a two-point advantage and then did go on to lead by as much as 30 points before the Bulldogs continued to fight hard in the final quarter falling short by 13 points, with the black-and-whites winning 13.16 (94) to 11.15 (81).
South Fremantle now remains winless after four games to open the 2014 season despite having plenty of opportunities against Subiaco in Round 1, leading Perth by 44 points in Round 2 and now having more of the ball again against Swan Districts on Saturday.
However, Swans continue to surprise many this season.
Coming into the campaign, they had lost a bevy of experienced premiership players but they are now playing on great heart and have won two of their three matches with the only loss being a narrow defeat at the hands of a West Coast-strengthened East Perth in Round 2.
Haiden Schloithe did all he possibly could in the midfield for South Fremantle finishing with a career-high 38 possessions to go with 14 marks and two goals.
Tim Kelly also worked hard finishing with 26 touches, seven marks, five inside 50s, four tackles and two goals.
Captain Ryan Cook was another tireless worker ending up with 28 touches, 10 marks, seven inside 50s and a goal.
Shaun Bewick had 22 possessions on the wing while down back, Ashton Hams finished with 29 possessions and Dylan Ross 21.
Brock Higgins again worked hard on his own in the ruck in the absence of James Sellar, Alistair Gillespie and Paul Mugambwa, and finished the match with 15 touches and 28 hit outs as the best ruckman in the game.
Nick Borovac continued his outstanding defensive form to open the 2014 season keeping Swan Districts' veteran forward Tim Geappen to just the one goal and 13 disposals.
South Fremantle coach Paul Hasleby tried some new things and the move of veteran Craig White to the forward-line was one that worked. He led up well providing a strong target from centre half-forward finishing with 11 possessions, seven marks and four inside 50s.
South Fremantle started the game on fire kicking the first goal of the contest through Kelly.
Despite a host of opportunities in front of goal, that was the Bulldogs' only major of the quarter even though South Fremantle dominated the term with 125 possessions to 67, 40 marks to 19 and eight scoring shots to three.
South Fremantle then moved on to 1.9 in the second quarter and it always appeared that Swans would make them pay for that inaccuracy, and that's how it panned out.
The Bulldogs' second goal eventually came through a tumbling punt on the run from outside-50 from Ben Saunders into a vacant goal square with Marlon Pickett and Ben Sokol also kicking good goals before half-time, but Swans led narrowly by two points at the main break.
Swans' lead did get out to five goals during the third quarter before consecutive goals to Josh Pullman and Bewick cut the margin back to 17 points, and then 24 by three quarter-time.
Again, Swan Districts went out to a five-goal advantage during the final term and again goals to Schloithe and Pickett brought the margin back to 17 points, but the Bulldogs just couldn’t nail that next goal to really give them a sniff. Swans held on to win by 13 points in the finish.
South Fremantle's reserves lost to Swan Districts earlier in the day by 12 points despite three goals to Kris Miller, and two each to Traye Bennell and John Sgherza.
However, Sgherza did get injured early in the game as did key defender Steve Mills.
Miller's welcome into the reserves line-up after being demoted from the league side was a close tag all game long from Swan Districts youngster Ben Holman. The 301-game WAFL champion still managed the three goals from 14 possessions despite the close attention.
Jarrod Parry racked up 29 possessions for the Bulldogs in the reserves with Lewis Harvey also collecting 20 disposals, Emmanuel Collard 19 and Jayden D'Vauz 18.
South Fremantle's colts meanwhile was missing a host of key players and as a result Swan Districts ended up winning 12.10 (82) to 8.4 (52).
Cameron Loersch continued his outstanding start to the 2014 season with another four goals for the Bulldogs with Braden Fimmano racking up 26 possessions, Bailey Matera 25 and Billy Collier 21.
SOUTH FREMANTLE 1.7 4.9 7.10 11.15 (81)
SWAN DISTRICTS 1.2 5.5 11.10 13.16 (94)
SOUTH FREMANTLE – Goals: Schloithe, Kelly, Pickett 2; Bewick, Pullman, Saunders, Sokol, Cook.
Best: Schloithe, Kelly, Hams, Higgins, Borovac, Ross, White.
SWAN DISTRICTS – Goals: Cary 3; Jukes 2; Ugle, Faulkner, Rogers, Boekhorst, Davis, Anderson, Notte, Geappen.
Best: Ames, Davis, G Jetta, Simpson, Notte, Ugle, C Blakely.
By Chris PikeSOUTH Fremantle again started strongly but couldn’t keep it going ending up losing to a Swan Districts team by 13 points at Steel Blue Oval that is continuing to surprise many this WAFL season.

The Bulldogs made the journey to Bassendean for the Round 4 contest on Saturday and completely dominated the opening quarter and-a-half, but couldn’t put the score on the board.

By half-time, Swans had opened up a two-point advantage and then did go on to lead by as much as 30 points before the Bulldogs continued to fight hard in the final quarter falling short by 13 points, with the black-and-whites winning 13.16 (94) to 11.15 (81).

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Colts Report - Round 4

Tuesday, April 15, 2014 - 12:54 PM - by Arthur Maskos

THIS week saw the South Fremantle colts side go down for the first time in 2014 against Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval.

The determined Swans outfit played consistently well and now stand as the only undefeated side in the colts competition for 2014.
With many Read More [+]

Lucky Lottery Winners - Draw 1

Monday, April 14, 2014 - 4:21 PM

Congratulations to the following members who won in our very first Lucky Lottery draw for 2014!

 

Arthur Maskos - 743
Geoff Graham - 489
Keith Leslie - 677
Kevin Erbe - 380
Bob Maumill - 756

 

Please note there will be no draws on Friday 18th April and Friday 25th April due to the public holidays.
Draw 2 will commence on Friday 2nd May.

 

It's not too late to be in the next Read More [+]

Bulldogs fully supportive of Friday night football at Fremantle Oval

Friday, April 11, 2014 - 5:49 PM - by Chris Pike

FRIDAY night football matches at Fremantle Oval have become among the most popular fixtures in the WAFL in any season and the South Fremantle Football Club fully intends to continue them going forward.

South Fremantle has hosted its first two home matches of the 2014 WAFL season on a Friday night at Fremantle Oval against Perth and East Perth, and will also finish the year with Friday night matches against Subiaco and Peel Thunder, and is very happy to be doing so.
After having just one Friday night fixture in 2013, South Fremantle requested from the WAFL to have more scheduled in 2014 and is very happy with the resultant four games to be played under lights at Fremantle Oval.
The South Fremantle Football Club is firmly of the belief that players, members and supporters all alike are fully supportive of Friday night football at Fremantle Oval and all enjoy the experience immensely in particular when the weather is fine at the start and towards the end of the season.
The atmosphere at the night games is tremendous and it provides the option of a terrific night out for spectators with the heart of Fremantle just a minute's walk away plus with the facilities at Fremantle Oval offering food, drinks, coffee, ice cream and of course the bar.
"The club is looking forward to the night games at the end of the season," chief executive Stuart Kemp said.
"Our members and fans love coming down on a Friday night and enjoying themselves and we can’t wait for the two games fixtured against Subiaco and Peel.  Night footy is something different in the WAFL and it's here to stay. We will be working closely with the WAFC to schedule more in 2015."
The South Fremantle Football Club would like to clarify some claims in The West Australian today.
The club has received no negative feedback whatsoever about the lighting at Fremantle Oval with players, coaches, spectators and members of the media mentioning nothing whatsoever negative in regards to lighting for the night fixtures.
As president Haiden Raitt said, the request of night fixtures will again be reviewed for 2015 but with the overwhelmingly positive response from players, members and supporters, it is unlikely the Bulldogs will not be playing night games once again at Fremantle Oval in 2015.
South Fremantle vice-captain and 160-game veteran Craig White has played in numerous of those night fixtures at Fremantle Oval, and they too are among his highlights of any WAFL season.
"Night games at Fremantle Oval are great. As long as the weather is permitting and it's not freezing, the night games tend to work. They work well with the facilities upstairs, so the fans enjoy that part of it as well," White said.
"The players like it because you get an extra day's break and get to enjoy a Saturday afternoon which is rare during the footy season. The more we can play on a Friday night the better, but obviously we have to work in with the WAFL's fixturing and all of that.
"All the boys enjoy getting out there for a night game when the weather is good like it always is at this time of year. The lights are good, it's a quick ground and in dry conditions it's a really good night for the players out there, but the fans watching on also."
South Fremantle coach Paul Hasleby is also firmly in favour of night football at Fremantle Oval.
"I was a little bit disappointed we only had one Friday night game last season so it's good to have a few more this year. It gives the opportunity for the players to have some weekends free and everyone loves playing under lights," Hasleby said.
"We normally get a good crowd down there on a Friday night in the middle of Fremantle Oval as well, so it's nice to have a few more games."
By Chris PikeFRIDAY night football matches at Fremantle Oval have become among the most popular fixtures in the WAFL in any season and the South Fremantle Football Club fully intends to continue them going forward.

South Fremantle has hosted its first two home matches of the 2014 WAFL season on a Friday night at Fremantle Oval against Perth and East Perth, and will also finish the year with Friday night matches against Subiaco and Peel Thunder, and is very happy to be doing so.

After having just one Friday night fixture in 2013, South Fremantle requested from the WAFL to have more scheduled in 2014 and is very happy with the resultant four games to be played under lights at Fremantle Oval.

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