Latest news with #Xerri
West Australian
2 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir wary of much more than North Melbourne big man Tristan Xerri
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says dominant ruckman Tristan Xerri is not the only midfield force the Dockers need to be wary of heading into Saturday night's away game against North Melbourne at Optus Stadium. Xerri is in white-hot form, ranked fifth for hit-outs with 440 this season, but it's his efforts at ground level that will clearly challenge the Dockers. The Roos ruck is ranked second in the competition for clearances, with 94, behind only Dockers midfielder Caleb Serong (103), 10 of them coming in last Sunday's narrow win over West Coast in Bunbury. He is poised to take on Fremantle's much-talked about combination of Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy for the first time. 'Clearly, he is in great form. He'd have to be All-Australian ruck at the moment or close to,' Longmuir said. 'That's going to be important. But they've got a lot of mids who go through there and get their hands on it and put good pressure on. 'The last four (games) they've been number one pre-clearance, number one pressure. So they make it a good, honest battle in there, and have been getting it going their way more often than not.' Xerri and Jackson are both cat like at ground level, but Roos prime movers Tom Powell, Colby McKercher, Luke Parker, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Dylan Stephens and Jy Simpkin combined for 25 clearances against the Eagles. The Dockers coach said they would look at structure and strategy, rather than major midfield change, backing in the proven combination of Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong, Shai Bolton and Jackson, who are all clearance kings. 'Just understanding what they're going to bring and rolling up our sleeves and getting to work just on that,' he said. Veteran Nat Fyfe returned from injury for his first AFL game this season before the bye, having a major impact as the sub in the last quarter. Longmuir said Fyfe's impact was also big off the field and they were weighing up whether to again start the dual Brownlow medallist as the sub or on limited minutes in the starting 22. 'It is important when games get tough and tight to have wise calm heads, especially as a sub against Gold Coast,' Longmuir said. 'Every time someone comes to the bench, they look at the back of the bench and they've got someone who's really measured and calm talking to them and helping them problem solve and work through those situations.' The Dockers will stick with their forward line structure of three talls - Josh Treacy, Jye Amiss and Patrick Voss - which could stretch a North Melbourne defence missing the in-form key back Charlie Comben, who is out for two to three weeks with a shoulder injury suffered against the Eagles. 'I'm sure they've got some coverage to come in and replace but I think we can utilise that,' Longmuir said. 'The beauty about our talls is, they can provide good aerial targets and threaten aerially, but I feel like they're good at ground level as well, Vossy, Jye and JT. 'They join in at ground level and put pressure on and you don't even realise that we're playing three talls at times down there. 'So everything is an advantage there, but we also think we don't lose anything by playing those three talls.' The Dockers are coming off a hot run of form, with confidence inspiring road wins over GWS and Gold Coast, with a comfortable home victory against Port Adelaide wedged in between. But they are coming off the bye and have lost in the last three seasons off their mid-season break. Longmuir said they had made minor tweaks to their preparation. 'Slightly different,' he said. 'We've been changing up our schedule a bit, so it hasn't been specifically to the bye, but it's probably been specific to long breaks, the way we come out of the weekend in particular we've changed up, and probably most importantly, we've tried not to make it a narrative,' he said. 'We're a different team. We understand that the things that we've been doing prior to the bye have been working. 'So it's probably been more getting back to that process, rather than getting caught up in we need to win off the bye or that previous byes haven't worked for us. A few tinkers to the schedule, but it's mainly been getting players back to the process. ' North Melbourne will be playing its second successive 'home game' in WA, having edged the Eagles in Bunbury last Sunday in front of 12,700 fans with ticket sales for Saturday's game at Optus Stadium tracking on 30,000. The Dockers coach said it was 'critical' Freo fans turned up to the game, even though it was not included in their membership package. 'It's going to be unique. Clearly, it's an away game at Optus and it's not against West Coast, which is something new,' he said. 'It's something new for our players and we are desperate for our fans to get there. 'We understand it's not part of their membership, but we'd love them to fork out a few bucks and come and support us. 'We want to make our home ground a fortress and we need the purple army there to support us. The weather looks like it's clearing up, which may have held a few people back early in the week. 'I'm not 100 per cent on the financials, I don't get involved in that, but it was a bit like Gather Round, in some sense, to the Adelaide teams, where they get to stay at home for an extra week. 'It's an important part of our season, but it's also important part of equality of the fixture, in some sense. So yeah, we want, we want as many to get there as possible.'
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Matty Johns ignores Latrell and Crichton in call for centre to make Origin debut
Matty Johns has given Bronson Xerri the ultimate compliment after declaring the Bulldogs centre is ready to play State of Origin for the Blues this year. Xerri will be up against the likes of Latrell Mitchell, Stephen Crichton and Bradman Best for the NSW centre spot and Blues coach Laurie Daley will have a tough selection call to make when it comes to picking his side. Johns says he would have seriously considered picking Xerri in last year's Origin series after Mitchell was ruled out and Best came in for Game 3. The selection of the Newcastle centre proved to be a masterstroke, however, and he was one of the Blues' best as they stunned the Maroons at Suncorp Stadium to seal the 2-1 series win to reclaim the Origin shield. But Johns is adamant Xerri's superb form and all-round ability in attack and defence means he has to come into serious consideration for this year's Origin series. "He's ready to be picked now," Johns told SEN radio about Xerri's Blues prospects. "He's a powerhouse, he's a good finisher, he's a great defender but he just works his arse off in yardage and he's a State of Origin player." Xerri enjoyed a superb first season back in the NRL in 2024 after serving a four-year doping ban and he's been in sensational form to start the new season too. Xerri scored the match-sealing try in his side's impressive round four win at Cronulla, finished with a team-high 146 run metres and two linebreaks. And Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo was quick to sing the praises of his hard-working centre. "I thought he was awesome," the Bulldogs coach said. "Bronson just impresses me more every week, he's really walking towards pressure situations and he's working hard on his craft. We all knew he was a talented guy coming through but at the moment he's become the real work ethic guy, so we're challenging him to bring back those talent plays that he's known for and add that to work ethic plays he's had for the last 12 months. Nothing fazed him... I thought he was brilliant." Xerri's hopes of breaking into the Blues squad this year won't be easy though, with Crichton, Best and Mitchell considered by many to be the frontrunners for the two NSW centre spots. Manly superstar Tom Trbojevic will surely factor into Daley's calculations too after his performances for the Blues in the past, but his injury record makes him a risky prospect. RELATED: Roosters make call on star's future after admission about signing DCE Nicho Hynes moment backfires on Sharks as coach cops it after loss Reece Walsh detail that saw Jye Gray walk out on Brisbane Broncos Another Bulldogs star who has rocketed into Origin discussions after showing equally impressive form this year and last, is back-rower Jacob Preston, who Johns believes is also close to making his NSW debut. "Jacob Preston is just so impressive," Johns said on SEN radio. "His first couple of seasons you could see he was a terrific player and had leadership qualities but this year he's just gone to another level. You see this sometimes with guys where there's the realisation of potential and they go from being a very good player to a great player and he's on his way there, you can see that." Preston was sensational in Canterbury's tough away win at Cronulla, where he scored a try, ran for 114 metres and made 31 tackles without missing one. The 23-year-old edge forward has been an integral part of the Bulldogs' impressive defence that has been central to their undefeated record so far in 2025. Daley has plenty of quality back-rowers to choose from when it comes to selecting his Blues squad this year, with incumbents Liam Martin and Angus Crichton, Manly wrecking ball Haumole Olakau'atu and Raiders star Hudson Young among those vying for contention. But Johns reckons the form of Preston means he has to be part of the conversation. "We're very strong in the back-row but half an opportunity to put him in and I reckon Loz (Blues coach Laurie Daley) will give him a go," Johns added. Four-time premiership winner Cooper Cronk is another league great who's been mightily impressed with Preston's form. And while the Bulldogs back-rower says he's been flattered by the praise, he's determined not to read too much into it, despite admitting that playing Origin has always been a major goal of his. "I think every player would be lying if they said they didn't have those ambitions (to play rep footy) but the main priority for me is just playing good footy for the Bulldogs and whatever comes from there (is a bonus)... Whatever happens, happens but I'm just making sure I keep playing good footy for the Dogs."
