Football Department Review

[Lods]

To me, it seems the defenders are playing a lot closer to their man. Our defenders also dont seem to be getting isolated as much, players come across at the right time and help (eg Stocker filling the hole of a Lobb lead when he had Weiters beaten). Both Jones and Weiters also have the balance right between punching/spoiling and marking.

Yep
I'd agree they looked more organised and definitely more supportive.
Jones (apart from a few lapses) and Weitering (outstanding) have been very good for us the last few weeks. Stocker now looks like he really belongs.
So to the next question....Is that because there has been much less pressure the last few weeks.
With less pressure you have more time to get organised and hold structures.
When  the Freo midfield got on top things suddenly didn't look as settled.
Extending it further....would players like Dow and Kennedy have been able to make the same contribution if they were playing against the Bulldogs mid-field?

I guess the point I'm getting at is, maybe we weren't as bad as we thought earlier in the season, but a few wins might have us thinking we're a little better than we really are, and skill issues and lapses aren't the issues they were.

The quality of the opposition is a huge variable.
This weeks game may tell a story.