Accusations we tempted the Footy Gods with our overconfidence are unfounded. They tipped Freo by fence panels. Sadly, it’s time to somehow Restump Podcast whatever Saturday night was.

If anyone said they saw Saturday night’s performance and result coming, they’re lying. Biff Tannen armed with his Grays Sports Almanac handbook wouldn’t have bet on West Coast in that game. 

We thought we weren’t that club any more. The team that unexpectedly puts in the most bizarre and inexplicable performance. After Saturday night, it is difficult to suggest we aren’t.

Admittedly without Freddy, without Switta, without Coxy and without Amiss we were somewhat undermanned against, really, as full strength an outfit West Coast are likely to have for some time. But it wasn’t who was and wasn’t out there, it was how we did or rather didn’t go about it.

We should have gone into this game five and zero, or at least four and one. Where was the resulting fire? Where was the anger of the two weeks in South Australia that we should have unleashed on West Coast? To the Eagle’s credit they brought and delivered what we didn’t. They monstered us, they intimidated us, they verballed and niggled us and we allowed them to do so. 

Harley Reid is a jet. He’s a generational talent and freakish for his age and experience. But while that is the case, he’s a 19 year old kid in his 6th AFL game and we allowed him to physically and verbally bully us!   

We weren’t clean with the ball, individually we rapidly descended into self-preservation mode and seemingly, or consequentially, our footy intelligence decreased. We repeatedly made terrible decisions; we were more often than not, standoffish and we were simply destroyed by a team with a substantially greater appetite. 

Maybe the extended Gather Round trip had a far greater detrimental impact than we all know? Maybe the compound effect of the Gather Round trip and the loss of Freddy, Switta and Amiss exposed our depth? In all reality we’ve been winning games off the back of our defence. We did raise the point that if they had a rare down day we’d be picked off. Still, no one thought that would be enough to see what the Eagles did to us.

We’ve now destroyed the early work we did setting up our season and at three and three we’ve lost our advantage. We’re back to the pack, run of the mill and fighting for survival! Are we fighting though? That remains to be seen this week against the Dogs.

Some drown their sorrows with alcohol, others choose to comfort eat. For the latter, it would have been a great week to win the Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition and tuck into the $50 of 2Bros foods. Deb Albrecht did just that and we hope she remembers that sharing is caring!

I feel like we’ve got so many more questions than answers. So, let’s see if Jojo can even up the ledger and give us a few answers and provide us some direction in life. This was a really tough one to take as the result and performance was all on us, not umpires and not freak circumstances.

Apparently, a problem shared is a problem halved so join us on the pod as we all need to band together and do a shedload of sharing.

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The pent-up anger of the last two weeks, a hunger for points lost and the reuniting of Jackarce! God help the West Coast Eagles. Time to Restump preview Podcast this Saturday’s bird cull!

After erring on the side of caution last week, Sean Darcy is tip top and ready to rock and roll right through anything in blue and gold Saturday evening. We’ll send a wreath to the funeral of those who stumble into his path.

Surprisingly, after just a few touches in the WAFL, Sammy Sturt has been thrown a lifeline. Without Freddy and the injury to Switta, this career saving opportunity has opened up and Sturty needs to grab on and not let go.

We obviously are only jesting but the reality is, it is extremely difficult to not go into this game ultra confident. Last week’s win by West Coast was an improvement, but it is false form in the greater scheme of things. You can imagine the result had Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper, Dion Prestia, Noah Balta, Dylan Grimes and Tom Lynch actually been out there for the Tiges.

With two outs and two ins it means Neil Erasmus holds his spot. The question is will he be in the  starting 22 or will he don the sub vest yet again?

Bailey Banfield judged to be the 3rd best winger in the league with Champion Data. Banfield has been good this year, albeit with a couple of recent pivotal blemishes, but apparently the same crew rate Massimo D’Ambrosio in first spot ahead of Errol Gulden!

We were all on Gaff watch but sadly the treadmill runner gets to remain in the safety of the WAFL. With his contract ending at the close of 2024, we may have just one more opportunity for some retribution for Andy Gaff's indiscretion that has gone unpunished, before he saunters off into the obscurity.

Anyway, whichever way you look at the form of this game Saturday night, the numbers just don’t stack up for the Eagles. The bookies seem to think so as well given they have us priced at $1.14.

In other news it was heartening but not surprising to hear the green cap wearing Jordan Clark sign on for a further three years.

Apparently, you can now belt someone on the field, head to the tribunal, get someone to say you’re a good bloke and it was uncharacteristic behaviour and, hey presto, get your charge downgraded.

The Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition is back for the Derby and Jojo is again putting up the prize from his 2 Brothers Foods company, so make sure you get involved.  

If you’re pacing the halls and constantly looking at your watch impatiently waiting for bounce down like us then, feel free to join us twiddling our thumbs as we preview the Freo V the feather weights Saturday night. 

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Any longer in South Australia and we’d end up putting our own bodies in the barrels! Time to Restump Podcast the end of the horrendous two weeks in bandit riddled Adelaide.

We should be strutting out of South Australia with two big wins and eight fat points, sitting pretty near the top of the ladder with all but a finals campaign berth in the bag!

But no, we’ve spent two weeks getting done over by bandits and now we’re hitch-hiking home back to WA with nothing to show for it…. except Bailey Banfield who has a Zak Butters imprinted lump on his head!

We still weren’t over the Carlton debacle from the previous week and we end up with another case of the Blues a week later against Port Adelaide! We have to look where we put our feet and stop standing on rugs that can be pulled out from under us!

To be real, we were robbed against the Blues but we’ve only really got ourselves to blame for the snatching of Saturday night defeat from the jaws of victory. A combination of mistakes, lack of composure and a serious inability to score brought us undone. We did what we always do, and that is leaving the door open for the opposition to roll us. Port Adelaide cased the joint, got their foot in the door and then lifted the four points from right under our noses.

Yes, Bailey Banfield made a couple of blunders kicking a couple out of bounds on the full, as did Matty Johnson. But if we’re singling out people then Sammy Switkowski should’ve nailed his shot just prior to ¾ time and Caleb Serong should have done better on his gettable goal. No one is getting a pass but there are many moments that should have had us in a much better position leading up to the last two minutes of the game. 

It’s becoming apparent we need to find more avenues to score. Prominent teams are getting goals from their midfield and it is something we rarely achieve. Consequently, with our forward line often malfunctioning, our fortunes are unfairly far too dependent on our magnificent defensive unit.

All Australian Alex Pearce is possessed, Luke Ryan can read opponent’s minds and Josh Treacy could catch a slippery eel in an oil slick with his bare hands! We just need a few others to climb on board.

However, if we can console ourselves by taking a momentary bigger picture view, we’ve just run two, probably top four to top six, teams to the wire and all but beaten them.

Sean Darcy is due to return, Freddy is not far away and a little increase in forward craft and cohesion and a goal or two from the mids and we’re off to the serious races.

The Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition is getting traction and it’ll be back for the Derby this week so study up. 

It’s been a long painful two weeks in South Australia so let’s wrap up what was our final game there for the year. If, like us, you’re keen to extract the positives, bury the SA saga and move on, then by all means grab a shovel, join us and dig in.

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When will the flat feeling end? Blame whoever you like but Saturday’s shenanigans have Jack Newnes’ conspiratorial finger prints all over it. Time to therapeutically Restump Podcast the blatant broad daylight heist!

Yes, we know, if Josh Treacy takes that mark, we probably win the game but I’m not ready to hear that! Yes, you can tell us the plenty of ifs, buts, maybes and woulda, shoulda couldas…. but what’s your point! Let us grieve in peace and, for now, focus all our blame energy on anything other than purple!

The reality is, remove the last minute and a half of the game and we’re staring down the barrel of an overwhelming shedload of positives. That was arguably one of the tougher tests we’ll have this year and, apart from the result, we passed with flying colours…. it was the flying fluoro green colours that were the problem. 

We strangled Carlton all day making their task incredibly difficult. It was a rare occurrence when they didn’t have to kick to contest and they simply struggled to get their game going. Unfortunately, though as far as our scoreboard damage goes, we still leave the door open for opponents which, on this occasion, came back to bite us. 

He’s been building in recent weeks and on Saturday Jeremy Sharp had a monster. His continual run to space to provide an option and his subsequent ball use is a sight for sore purple eyes, not seen since the Ed Langdon / Brad Hill days! 

Tommy Emmett has been reading the Josh Carr playbook. He’s surely having team meetings with Josh, Crowley and Hayden Ballantyne and we’re just loving it. 

Jordan Clark is in super-duper hot form and it looks like continuing. His communicative manner and on field observations are absolutely on point.  

Is the Fyfe aerial work returning? While Jojo wasn’t enthused by it, I’m of the opinion he had a phenomenal game and looks to be building. His presence out there is a luxury we can’t afford to lose so let’s hope he stays fit and healthy. 

We could go on and on but let’s wrap it up here and continue it on the pod. Jojo has plenty of explaining to do regarding his preview pod comments and we had our first winner in the Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition. Congrats to Vince Costantino. 

We’re already a day late and there is at least two shedloads to get through so we better get on with it. If you’re looking for that non-pharmaceutical purple therapeutic pick me up, you’ve come to the right place as we’ve got the good gear at bargain basement prices. 

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We’re unbeaten but we’re about to face our toughest test yet…. 2 weeks in Adelaide! Oh, and we’re playing the Blues tomorrow as well. Time to Restump preview podcast the Carlton clash in Crow country.

It’s Gather Round and unless you’ve gone to South Australia to enjoy the festival of footy, it means absolutely Bo Diddley to everyone else. However, it can have its positives, like playing an inform Carlton at a neutral ground rather than on their home deck.

Whether we like to believe it or not Carlton sort of looks real-deal-ish this year. They appear very good down the spine and they’ve added, I hate to use the term x-factor-ish so lets say a bit of spark into the mix.

We go in with an unchanged line up for the third successive week and that is a very rare feat. The irony is though remaining unchanged is out of necessity and not by choice. Given the opponents tomorrow, we’d love to have a McDonald or a Cox find their way in this week…. or a Hamling!

However, the reality to date is that Carlton beat Brisbane by a point, Richmond by 5 points and North Melb by plenty. We beat Brisbane by 4 goals and North by about the same. So, we have each played the same two sides and retrieved similar results. Are they strong stackable form lines? We’ll find out Saturday arvo.

The Blues though are superior to us in goal accuracy and inside 50s. While we generate the same scoring shots, Carlton gets the ball inside their 50 metre arc on average 11 more times than us and they convert their scoring shots, going at 67% to our 56%. They kick almost 3 goals per game more than us from the same opportunities.

Our defence has done remarkable things in the first 3 games, but with our current lack of talls down there, could this be the week Carlton, and more specifically Charlie and Harry, make use of that 11 extra inside 50s? We need an enhanced defensive effort from the mids and the forwards to cut off their supply and help our defenders out.

Either that or…. does anyone have Griff’s number?

Do we attempt to get under the skin of the Blues and into their heads by going after Adam Cerra with the niggle? Given how good a friend he seems to be to many of the Docker boys, it is difficult to see them meaningfully doing so. But white line fever…. do what it takes… leave your friendships at the gate mentality, shouldn’t be beyond us!

We’re testing the competitive waters this week launching the Mi Casa Property Boutique Metres gained competition. So, while it may go pear shaped, tune in to the pod to find out what its about and what you can win. And remember if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, give the team at Mi Casa a call and tell them you’re from The Restump Podcast. We appreciate you supporting the people that support us and we’ll support you with a little something extra if you do.

Jojo’s promise that he has ‘turned the corner’ seems to be holding up at the moment so let’s get the preview pod on the road before he decides to fire up the junket jet and head off on what would be holiday number 15 this year.

So, join us as we try and pick apart the Blues and look for a weakness to exploit in the hope of starting the season four and zero for just the second time in our history. 

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The Captain deserves his own personal choir to continually sing his praises. Time to Restump Podcast Freo’s incredibly dominant performance against the Crows.    

Sure, it wasn’t exactly a game for the ages and it wouldn’t be one for the promotional video. But amongst the often fumbling, double grabbing and wayward kicking exhibition, there were fleeting passages of pure art. 

There is a feverish defence first approach we’re rolling out and it is paying lucrative dividends. It has us ranked 1st in defence in the league as we’re letting just 60 points on average kicked against us. 

Alex Pearce made Taylor Walker feel his age, dictating the terms down back with and without the ball. Luke Ryan had, at the risk of sounding flippant, another Luke Ryan day and Jordan Clark is continuing his high-end form. Brandon Walker had a couple of hurts put on him and a poke in the eye and Joshy Draper is getting a boat load of confidence each week.

Hayden Young put in a monster, having his career best game and with Caleb Serong being well held early on, it couldn’t have come at a better time. 

Have we finally found our winger? If you’d watched Jeremy Sharp at the Gold Coast in 2021 and 2022 it probably isn’t too surprising to see what he’s doing here. But a wingman performing the role and getting back to help the defenders… that’s money right there.

Josh Treacy deserves a special mention. He’s being asked to do a power of work, up forward, in the ruck and around the ground and he has responded to the challenge. 

Up forward Matty Taberner is close to kicking a handful, Freddy and Switta are applying pressure, Bailey Banfield is earning his keep while Jye Amiss had a rare day where the radar was off.

However, Sonny Walters at 33 years old wound the clock back and had a monumental impact on the game with his selfless team first manner. His uncharacteristic wayward kicking saw him with 2 goals 4, no doubt something that would have kept him awake Friday night. 

3 and zip to start the year puts us well and truly on track and placing our 2024 destiny in our own hands. Have we been seriously tested yet though? If only so we remain grounded in reality, we can point out that Brisbane has some issues, North are North and the Crows aren’t exactly travelling. You can only beat who you’re playing though and we’ve done that so far. However, you get the feeling our true test comes this week when we meet the Blue Cerras. 

We’re open to ideas on how the Mi Casa Property Boutique Metres Gained competition could work so by all means join the think tank and send us your thoughts.

Finally, Jojo tells us he’s turned the corner and back on top of things so we should see some fluency and continuity at The Restump from here on in. However, he has some work to do to win the trust back!

I’ve banged on too long here so, if your grass has grown, your sock draw is tidy and your painted walls have dried…. by all means throw away an hour on our purple gibberish. 

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How’s that saying go? “Any more laid-back, he’d be horizontal.” What a ridiculously magnificent game from the obvious deck chair enthusiast. Time to Restump Podcast the sleepy start victory over the Kangas.

Did the 10.40am WA time start throw their mindsets and bodies out? Were they jet lagged? The intensity we ended with against the Lions wasn’t what we started with against the Kangas.

As a collective we seemed a stand-offish early on and slow to react and the Roos’ top end young talent, specifically Harry Sheezel and Colby McKercher, took full advantage and cut us to purple ribbons. In the blink of an eye, we were 30 points down before we snapped out of our daze.

However, led by Luke Jackson, who was ironically jumping over Kangaroos to take marks, and Caleb Serong getting kangaroo leather poisoning, we soon saw shades of the team that tamed the Lions.

A run of nine goals straight turned the contest on its head as we took the lead and largely put the result beyond doubt at 3/4 quarter time. However, it wasn’t all plain sailing as the Roos raised a second effort in the final term, giving us a scare but not enough to steal the points.

It doesn’t sound like there is any room left on the Luke Jackson bandwagon and, oddly enough, it is seemingly being occupied by his former critics. Jackson’s game on Saturday was simply astonishing.

Andy Brayshaw got the steel wool out and got rid of the early game rust. After quarter time he showed again he’s back to his red hot 2022 pivotal moment, game changing and future captaincy form.

Are we in danger of becoming flippant about Caleb Serong’s performances? He’s in the set and forget category. There is no fluctuation in his form, its constantly top drawer.

With Mi Casa Property Boutique joining us, we’re thinking about starting a Mi Casa Property Boutique Metres Gained competition. Can it get off the ground? Does it have legs? 

We’re two games in, we’re in better shape than we have been since 2015, Collingwood is zero and three, everything is coming up millhouse and predictably Jojo is jetting off on his first in season holiday for the year. His absence and inattention to detail has allowed the Chief to sneak in and torture us all with another episode of the Neighbourhood Watch.

We’ll gladly bank the four points and take up residence in 5th on the ladder, but we can’t afford too many more of these lethargic starts. We won’t get away with them against a GWS, Sydney or maybe even an Adelaide this week. 

So, join us as we get out the Luke Jackson deckchairs, get way ahead of ourselves, throw rationality and balance out the window and refer to ourselves as the comeback kings in this hour of celebratory purple nonsense.  

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Strikingly similar features, same positions, same styles and both number 37. Welcome Josh Draper-Johnson. Time to Restump Podcast the Kangas clash at 10.45am Saturday morning, sponsored by Cornflakes! 

The horrendous loss to North Melbourne in round two in 2023 was one to forget. However, we should remember philosopher George Santayana’s famous quote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” So, while we’re warm favourites, we shouldn’t take the Kangas lightly. In fact, we’re not a club that is entitled to take any opponent lightly.

Having said all that, when you look at the lists on paper and the proposed match ups… it is difficult not being over-confident. Even with our severe injury toll, you kind of think a repeat of last week’s pressure against the Lions will get the job done against the Kangas.

It is great to see our unofficial father-son prospect, Josh Draper, get a gig. In the preseason you’d swear he was Michael Johnson reborn. Brandon Walker is a very welcomed return and the insertion of some experience in the form of Jaegar O’Meara surely won’t go astray. 

Admittedly through necessity and no real fault of his own, Matty Tabs gets another opportunity. With Paddy Voss waiting on the sidelines, Tab’s surely knows he has to make every post a winner.

The Kangas were decent in patches against the highly talented Giants last week and they welcome back two pretty handy types. Jy Simpkin goes back into their midfield after that horrific concussion and they’ll be keen to see the steady and reliable Luke McDonald assist their somewhat undermanned defence.

Plenty of other goings on so given our game starts at 10.45am Saturday morning we better get on with it! There aren’t too many hours between now and game time but if you’re looking to waste one, we’ll kill it for you. 

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After the performance yesterday, please spare a thought for the loud coach and captain critics, they’d be doing it a bit tough. Time to Restump Podcast the confidence boosting season opener over the Lions. 

What a magnificent performance to get over the Lions and set the season up on the right note. There were shades of 2022 about the defence first pressure display. It wasn’t pretty and the skills weren’t pristine but there was a cohesion, a buy in and a body on the line manner that has been missing. 

The captain Alex Pearce played a magnificent Captain’s game and, while you could probably say it about a number of players on the day, we may not get that emphatic win without his performance. 

Serong was ridiculous, Nat Fyfe… please stay fit and healthy and it was vintage 2022 Andy Brayhaw. Treacy was cracking skulls, Sonny was throwing himself around like a 20-year-old, Switta was conjuring up his rare Switta magic and then Jye put the polish on it all. 

We could go on and on…. few, if any players are unmentionable in regards to their contributions yesterday.

Tragically the host of injuries brought us back down to earth. Karl Worner was grabbing his opportunity before getting concussed, Oscar McDonald was doing a wonderful job before his seemingly serious knee and the man so vital to us, Brennan Cox, is done for two thirds of the season with that horrendous hammy. 

It’s taken some gloss off the win and it presents a bunch of challenges for the injured players themselves and the team going forward. 

The contracted extended Justin Longmuir critics will be conspicuously quiet, but they’ll be keeping their bitter powder dry, ready to reappear at the first sign of a loss. 

The carnage from yesterday’s game has created a shedload of mixed emotions, but through adversity comes opportunity. Plenty to unpack, work through and celebrate so let’s get into it all in greater depth on the pod. 

As always if, like us, you subscribe to the philosophy that too much purple prattle is never enough, then you’ve come to the right place. Come along, get involved and join us in the purple pool, the water is warm. 

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