He looks like he’d use a ladder to pick strawberries! Yet this Murphy Reid character continues to show us all he’s never out of his depth. Time to Restump Podcast Freo’s paddling of Port.

We don’t want to jump to early conclusions... God knows we’re not doing that injury again. However, a question need asking. Have we ironed out the kinks, rectified the glitches and exorcised the psychological demons?

Admittedly there'd be some concerns in the Port Adelaide camp but regardless of their issues, Saturday night Freo was impressive. We weathered the storm on multiple fronts, took all Port Adelaide could muster, before upping our game and returning serve.

The numbers escape me, but if memory serves me correctly, and it usually doesn’t, we’ve rarely been good wet trackers. Aren't we often the side throwing everything at an opponent, not getting scoreboard reward and leaving the door open? We reversed those roles on Saturday and it felt a little mature. Our efficiency and skills in the wet were something to behold.

And speaking of maturing, while they definitely lifted in the 2nd half, holding our own and not having to rely on Andy Brayshaw and Caleb Serong early, was an important growth.

If Murphy Reid isn’t leading the Rising Star award... open an investigation! His body of work, his nomination and now absurd 4-goal feat in what were often torrential conditions, should have him at unbackable odds. How can an 18 year old possess such composure and creativity! I’m starting to get nervous about his future and he’s here til the end of 2027!

Give whoever it was at the club that found Izzy Dudley, a pay rise. He’s been in the system 5 minutes and he’s doing ludicrous things. Imagine lining up on him… you’d be whispering to yourself, “I’m sorry what you’re about to be put through, ankles, but hang in there.” What is he going to produce when he gets a couple more preseasons under his belt?

 What a tribunal result for the Captain. Our first win ever there? Maybe the AFL saying, ‘we want you to play this fast, brutal, full contact game but make instant decisions, at times while airborne, to protect someone who has no duty of care for themselves. And if you don’t defy the laws of physics and gravity and work intellectually at AI speed, you’re not playing within the spirit of the game, so we’ll penalise you 3 weeks’ has realised its own nonsense! 

Charges aside, Alex Pearce is flying. Who would've thought we’d ever refer to him as a “good for a goal a game player?” He's been in super form and Saturday night was no different. He looks more fluent, comfortable and even nimble. Physically and mentally he must be tip top.

The off-field lead ruck battle isn’t behind closed doors any more. The 'sharing is caring' arrangement is gone as Luke Jackson is making his intentions clear. And in his current form, it’s hard to argue. Isn’t possession 9/10ths of the law? However, as good as Jackson is going, he's had a couple of favourable opponents of late. Sean Darcy has to first find some resilience, but there's still a bit to play out.

Dare we say it? Have we turned the corner? We still haven’t really beaten genuine top 8 sides, but our form feels different, like something has clicked. There’s a freer flowing footy style with greater balance and it seems players are more assured of their role. That said, Gold Coast on their home deck where they’re virtually unbeatable, will tell us where we’re at.

We’re 6 and 5 and just % out of 7th. Our season somehow feels very much alive and, damn it, if there isn’t cautious optimism growing.

So, you know the drill. If this written nonsense doesn’t fill your quota, then, providing you've no respect for your ears, tune into the pod and supplemen

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