It's been a while between purple pints. But you get the feeling we're going to be well hydrated over the next decade. Time to Restump preview podcast the start of our September quest.

Does this September participation feeling ever diminish? Or has the drought and the heartbreak of often orchestrating our own demise over the journey created this exhilaration? Not sure, but something tells me given our history, we'll never take the sight of September for granted.

It's time to put away the pitchforks and remove the hands from the holsters of those who were gunning for the club and coach.

We haven't found ourselves in finals facilitated by favourable results falling around us. We forced our way in winning 12 of our last 14, many against fierce foes. And when it came down to the final affair, the do or die clash against the dogs, we were formidably emphatic.

So, where does it position us? Past results now count for nothing and have no bearing on what is to come.

We rightly go in Saturday night as favourites, but if we have any hint of forgone conclusionary mindsets, the Suns will seize on it.

While there's a dash of relief making finals, the pressure on Saturday night is all on us. The Suns are September debutants, so they'd have a weight-off-the-shoulders feeling and an element of freedom about them, which can be a positive or a negative. Reaching finals for the first time, they may feel the job is done and subconsciously play accordingly. But they may also have that dangerous now 'nothing to lose' mentality and play unrestrained with reckless abandon.

However, lets not forget they have a 3-time premiership ‘been there done that’ coach at the helm. Damien Hardwick won't have the satisfied mindset and he'll pull all the psychological levers to ensure his players don't either.

Apart from the obvious, both teams have additional reasons to perform. For us, while it is his final appearance in WA, this could be the final time Nat Fyfe, the generational player, who won himself and us two Brownlow medals, who regularly carried out club through some dark times, graces us with his on-field presence if we lose.

And for Gold Coast, their club's first ever draftee and co-captain, David Swallow, has called time on his career and goes out in his and the Sun's debut finals campaign.

Both players could have abandoned their perennially unsuccessful clubs at times and there were no shortage of options. But they dug in and showed a rare loyalty at the expense of potential premiership expense, until now.

Interestingly, Nat Fyfe and David Swallow both are West Aussies, one club career players and both currently sit on 247 games, providing a chance to play a deserved 250.

There are a host of heartstring tugging motivations for both sides regarding these two magnificent players to draw upon, should added inspiration be required.

While we should just concentrate on the now, if we were to pull off the unthinkable, every game from here is an elimination final. And should we get to and plant our purple flag on the promised land, taking into account our elimination final against the Dogs, we'd be the first club in history to win the premiership from outside the 8!

We've been set up well by the club, the coaching staff and recruiters. They've created the framework for success and now the opportunity is there for the players.

Home and away and finals footy are two different bags, so are we ready as a group? Is the 'why not us' cliché fitting? Maybe, maybe not, but Saturday night is the first step to finding out.

There's still 48 hours or so until bouncedown! So, if you're on edge and dealing with some purple anxiety

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It’s often said “A wrong King still believes his crown makes him right.” Give it up Kingy, there’s no place left to hide. JL has got your number! Time to Restump Podcast Freo’s magnificent September securing victory against the dauntless Dogs.

There was barely an institution that didn’t write us off. The media, the footballing world, the bookies and my postman gave us no hope. But why? Why was so much analytical weight and judgment placed upon the loss to the Brisbane Lions a week bacl? Was our previous 3 months invisible? Did the pundits not even bother to watch the Fox Footy mini’s?

Justin Longmuir got on the front foot though as he was having none of it and he wasn’t shy in letting them know. However, let’s hope they all double down and write us off again in 2 weeks’ time.

In real time, we’d all be lying if we said we didn’t harbour some minor concerns half way through that first quarter. But we’d seen that movie before several times in recent months and, more often than not, it had a favourable twist.

Stop, take your hat off and give the defensive collective an acknowledging nod because we were able to build that win on it’s ability and relentless efforts to weather the Dog’s high pressure, 19 inside fifty storm. It kept us in the game when others couldn’t. The individuals were remarkable. No one does what our defensive delegation did to Sam Darcy!

Depending on how you view it, its either worrying or pleasing seeing Andy Brayshaw and Caleb Serong combine for just a 5 possession first quarter. Worrying because they got destroyed, but pleasing because we were still able to win centre clearance for the quarter and set up four scoring chances. Hayden Young, take a bow!

The Dogs did well at trying to rattle our cages early with their pressure but we dealt with it, we regrouped at quarter time and then we let go with a scintillating period of footy that saw us put an uninterrupted run of 8 goals on the board.

Sure, the Dogs have some defensive deficiencies but our forwards were phenomenal, showing no mercy in exploiting the advantage. Everyone got their unhygienic lick of the what would now be germ riddled ice-cream. But even contracting covid was an acceptable risk if it meant seeing Jye Amiss in the embryonic stage of a return to some serious form!

If you put your hat back on, can you please remove it once more as we have a moment of respect and marvel at Murphy Reid yet again? Everything he touches turns to gold… or rather goal. It’s not too often that a first-year player becomes irreplaceable and a vital cog in the team wheel. It’s done, pull your dress down Mary, the shows over. All bets are off… just give him the rising star medal!

And while our hata are still off, give a nod of appreciation to Bailey Banfield who has reinvented himself in a meaningful way.

While we appeared to be cruising to victory, the Dogs are too good a team to not mount a comeback. On the back of the magnificent Marcus Bontempelli, he dragged them back to somewhat within striking distance late in the final term. Yes, Ok, a nerve or two crept in, but we’re not that same old Fremantle team anymore. We weren’t letting this September securing victory slip through our fingers. Bring on September!

We didn’t put too much weight on last week’s loss to the Brisbane Lions and their win over the Hawks justified our position. So, likewise, given the Dog’s record against top eight teams, we’re not getting carried away with the win over them either. Having said that, it doesn’t mean we’re not bouncing off the walls excited about being part of September this year!

So, you know what to do. If you’re foraging for a fistful more of Freo fanfare, don yo

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We pick up the bits and pieces that are recognisable and look to the Dogs. Time to Restump Podcast the life leveller the Lions landed on us, which wasn’t as horrific as the picture suggests.

Probably unpopular opinion but that performance wasn’t as, pun intended, catastrophic as the outrage infers. In context of the play, it's possible to be in the game but not on the scoreboard, and for much of the 80+ minutes we were.

Quite simply you can't kick 8 points straight, not kick a goal until the 2nd term and, despite our recent efforts, expect to run teams down, especially of the Lion’s ilk.

We can rant and rave and question how did we not perform to a necessary level in what was largely a make-or-break game. But the Lions, the 2 two consecutive grand finalists and reigning premiers, were in the same season on the line boat.

Were we overawed early? Could we not adapt to the Lion’s well researched and executed strategy? Yes, to some degree on both accounts. But we overcame it and produced enough chances to be on par at quarter time. The shots on goal and the forward attacks we butchered were both of our own doing and the Lion’s pressure.

Albeit with some costly blemishes, our defensive unit again stood up under adversity to keep us within reach at quarter time. They dealt with a 47-to-16-mark deficit resulting in a 15 to 7 inside 50 count for the Lions. The game would've been over had it not been for the defensive crew.

We adjusted and equalised the game in the 2nd term. While we still went -20 marks, we’d settled and secured the corridor and cut off their supply to go in 8 points down at the half.

However, the Lions didn’t fluke the 2024 premiership. Their 16 finals, 4 preliminary finals and 2 grand finals weren’t luck. They’re an extremely tough and talented backs to the wall side and they were able to draw on that monstrous body of big game experience to rise to another level we simply don’t have in us as yet.

It isn’t the standalone game to judge individuals on, but Luke Jackson was off and nowhere near his recent influential best. Alex Pearce had a mare, or rather too many marish moments, Freddy needs his radar realigned this week and Josh Treacy must learn to pull up and not play on after marking in a goal square. Is Andy Brayshaw carrying something significant injury-wise? His recent output hasn’t been at AB level. What about the Disco? Saturday continued a lean trend for him. And where are we all sitting on Jye Amiss? 5 touches last week, 3 on the weekend. He was handy prior to that though.

We’ve won 11 of our last 13, we’ve beaten some serious sides from behind on numerous occasions. It’s an exceptional string of performances, but did those games include the best there is? I’d suggest not and that means we’re a very good side, but we’re not yet in the top echelon. We’re making gigantic inroads, but we’re not invincible.

Our recent wins have predominantly been built on accurate kicking. 15 goals 4 against Carlton, 12 goals 5 against Hawthorn and 12 goals 7 against the Pies. Almost identical scoring shots against Brisbane, 5 goals 14, and we lose by 57 points.

Personally, it’s is somewhat of an understandable performance and one which doesn’t really say a great deal other than that we were put to the sword by a very good flag favoured side.

For that reason, it shouldn't impact our confidence levels going up against the Dogs, a high scoring side with defensive deficiencies.

Anyway, more discussion needed so, let’s pick it up on the pod. However, if you’re a candidate for misery needing company or if its purple pessimism you’re looking for, you couldn’t be further from the right place. We’re going to defe

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