Saturday’s hard-fought win over Adelaide at AAMI Stadium sent Ross Lyon’s men into the break perched nicely inside the AFL’s top four entering the bye week.
Fremantle has managed to cover the absence of a number of stars in the first half of the year, but Baum said that should have come as no surprise in a Lyon-coached team.
“When Ross was at St Kilda and St Kilda were at their peak, he always said if their structure was right and they stuck to the game plan, it didn’t matter who was in the team, they could beat anybody,” Baum said.
The Saints were undefeated after 18 rounds in 2009 when Lyon famously rested most of his star players ahead of a match against then-reigning premiers Hawthorn in Launceston.
St Kilda defied the odds and the experts with a 74-49 win.
Baum said Fremantle has exhibited a similar dedication to discipline and structure that proved personnel was secondary to system under Lyon.
“Freo have not had (Aaron) Sandilands and (Matthew) Pavlich for most of the year, and other stars have spent periods out of the side, yet they’re 7-2-1 and they look as authentic a challenger as anyone else for the premiership,” he said.
“They are the real deal.”
Connolly echoed Baum’s thoughts, admitting that Fremantle’s flag chances had not been talked about enough, especially in the eastern states.
“It’s amazing what they’ve done in adversity,” he said.
“No Sandilands, no Pavlich, then they lost their back-up ruckman Kepler Bradley, then they lost Jonathon Griffin, and Michael Walters (is) missing.”
Connolly said the two most common perceptions about Freo had always been mental weakness and a lack of ability to perform on the road.
But he said Ross Lyon’s Fremantle was well on the way to burying all that in the past.
“Some of those wins this year have been full of mental toughness, and on the road, under Ross Lyon, they’ve had 17 interstate games and only lost six of them,” Connolly said.
“All those traditional knocks on the Dockers have been gradually knocked off one by one.”
Connolly added that a favourable draw in the second half of the season should have Fremantle primed for a tilt at the premiership come September.
The club resumes after the bye with matches against Brisbane, North Melbourne, Geelong and St Kilda, the Cats being the only side currently in the eight from that group.
Three of Freo’s final four games of the home and away season are against the bottom three teams, GWS, Melbourne and St Kilda.
“I think when you look at their draw for the rest of the year, it’s one of the best draws of any of the top teams,” Connolly said.
“I can’t see them finishing with anything less than 16-and-a-half wins.
“I think they’re an absolute lock for the top four and a real flag chance.”
