Inconsistent performance leaves room for improvement

Senior Coach Justin Longmuir has said the team will own its 78-point defeat to Geelong

Fremantle Senior Coach Justin Longmuir has said the team will own this defeat after his side went down to Geelong by 78 points on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking at his post-match media conference, Longmuir described it as a performance where Fremantle were not as tough as their opponent.

“I thought that after the first five minutes, we weren’t tough enough,” Longmuir said.

"It was really disappointing, obviously. What we spoke about yesterday in our pre-game discussion was that in Round 1, the pressure goes up a level, and we just weren’t ready for that.

"We had enough experience out there, we had enough players out there... the team we put out today is capable of much better than that.

"I'll put my hand up, I clearly didn't prepare them the right way, we'll review all aspects of our week, I'll review my performance and we'll put a better showing out next week."

08:18

In the third quarter, Fremantle had 114 disposals to Geelong's 68 and won the inside 50s 16-7, capitalising on the scoreboard to kick 6.5 (35) to 1.2 (8), something Longmuir believed wasn’t displayed for long enough throughout the game.

“At three-quarter time, we were clearly in the game,” Longmuir said.

“We showed in the third quarter that the game was about contest, field position, and putting the opposition under pressure.

“Minus 20 in contested ball in the last quarter. The contest was one thing, but they were able to get on the outside of us far too easily.

08:15

“This is not the brand of football we want to be playing. We aren’t going to come out and win every quarter, but we’ve got to be able to compete in every quarter.”

A large contributor to the scoreboard attack in the third term was debutant Murphy Reid, who kicked four goals in the space of 10 minutes, clawing the margin back to within 21 points before Geelong reclaimed control of the game in the fourth quarter.

Fremantle forward Michael Frederick was full of praise for the 18-year-old.

“The third quarter was great because it showed what we can do at our best, but we’re chasing a consistent four-quarter effort, and that wasn’t shown today,” Frederick said.

“I actually spoke to him (Reid) at halftime and just asked him how he was going. We try to come in and get around each other and let ourselves know that the game is played over four quarters.

02:35

“For Brucey (Murphy Reid) to start that way in the third quarter, I felt that he energised the team a lot.”

Fremantle will now face last year’s grand finalists, the Sydney Swans, at Optus Stadium in front of the Purple Army for the Club’s first home game of the season. Frederick expects the team to respond strongly.

“It’s always a challenge facing Sydney… knowing our history against them in the last few years, it’s going to be a strong contest. They’re a great contested team,” Frederick said.

“Like today, if we can be stronger like we were in that third quarter, we should have a good matchup against them.”

Click here to read article