Quick thoughts...
General - Scrappy game. Another one with very low stoppages, just 57 in this one which is well below last year's average without even scaling up for shorter quarters. Again it seemed it's going to be hard for rucks, taking away 25% of their main scoring source like this one and then the quicker movement makes it a lot harder to get behind the ball, Gawn is the best in the game and only had a half dozen total chances that I could see, didn't help Freo moved fast and then kicked to Melbourne.
Dockers - Dominated clearances for most of the game, were solid defensively but they honestly seemed to think the Demons were their forwards. The big worry was how utterly non-competitive their forwards were, it's one thing to get genuinely outmarked but most the intercepts were completely uncontested as Freo plays all stood around and watched.
Brayshaw - Everywhere but also probably the worst offender going inside 50. Would be happy with him if you picked him.
Cerra - Really solid also, basically continuing to develop.
Fyfe - Started like a house on fire, then spent more time forward, the real concern is he looked their only forward capable of even bringing it to ground. Solid outing.
Serong - Was great, best player at the clearances for mine.
Ryan - Looks out of shape to be honest, burned several of his kick-ins which were about 50-50 with Young.
Young - Was really good, probably the highlight for Freo fans. Better on the intercept than I thought last year which is a nice progression for him, great kick, had one absolute gem lace out to Taberner, who of course dropped it, that was a real standout.
Meek - Reckon he'll get a huge tick in review, handled Gawn very well. Will want to do a bit more around the ground but he seemed very Gawn conscious to me and was definitely mostly focused on nullifying him.
Melbourne - Were far from good but got the points. Midfield a big concern given the names in there and the outcome but back them in. Goodwin still the bigger concern, not every team is going to hit their defenders lace out all day.
McDonald - Was great, ratio felt harsh.
Oliver - Solid game in which he was pretty ordinary. One of those you don't even really notice him and he's got 35 touches and had no real impact but also you kind of realise he was always around it.
Langdon - Standard, loving the extra minutes.
May - Beast, easy game for him, Taberner is pathetic and he played like it, only challenges he had all day were Fyfe forward and he handled him very well. Legit option and taking most kick-ins.
Petracca - Role was terrible as in the preseason, couple of CBA but would push forward and was essentially playing FF for most of the game. He's done very well to score what he did.
Lever - Easy role, did it well.
Harmes - Disposal and decisions still an issue, role was HF, not ideal. Probably closer to his DT than SC though for me.
Jordon - Excellent debut, more than enough to guarantee he plays next week, one of their best.
Gawn - Absolute junk display by him, that he made 93 is proof his golden ticket is still omnipresent and, honestly, I'm more concerned to not have him than those who have him should be. He basically had 3 intercept marks, one in pure junk time, a FA not even given to him, about 5 HOtA and at least as many sharked and a 58% DE and he's managed to score 93, that's a pretty epic outcome. If his name was Marc Pittonet he'd have scored 70 on that game! No real cause for concern I think for owners outside the general element of reduced stoppages being evident so far.
Brayshaw - Looked like a guy with no preseason until junk time when he actually lifted to make it seem like not an issue!
