Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir laments too many mistakes when games were on the line

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Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir laments too many mistakes when games were on the line

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has described the 2024 season as a huge missed opportunity which shone a light on the team’s weaknesses after they lost their last four games to miss the finals.

Port Adelaide beat Fremantle by 20 points at Optus Stadium which left the Dockers in 10th spot on the ladder. They plummeted from third place after their last win over West Coast in round 20.

Longmuir said getting close against Essendon, Geelong, Greater Western Sydney and Port Adelaide but losing all four matches in similar circumstances had shown their weaknesses.

“I feel like it’s a massive opportunity lost. I feel disappointed for our fans. We just couldn’t get it done when it mattered most,” Longmuir said.

“It summed up our whole year. Against the best sides, we couldn’t ******** well enough. Basic ********** in terms of being able to ******** with ball in hand didn’t stand up against the best sides, and we didn’t ******** under the pressure of the game well enough tonight and all year.

“So there’s a couple of learning opportunities there that will ***** in preseason, and are shining lights on how we’re going to get better.

“I can’t fault their effort. They’ve played three top four sides in the last three weeks, and a bit of me thinks we should have won all of them. But we didn’t because we couldn’t ******** well enough.

“We didn’t stand up in big moments, and we didn’t ******** those moments well enough. Ninety per cent of our game is in really good order, but the 10% – whether it’s discipline, whether it’s game scenarios and and understanding what the game needs in that moment, we didn’t get right again in those games.”

Camera IconLuke Ryan. Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Longmuir denied it was a wasted season, saying the improvement from a large group of players had been crucial for their future.

He said losing Alex Pearce (arm), Sean Darcy (knee) and Josh Treacy (knee) to injuries late in the season had been hard to replace. Darcy may require more surgery.

Fremantle must now decide how to handle their bevy of early draft picks after spending the season working through potential trades for players such as Chad Warner, Shai Bolton, Liam Baker.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconFremantle have missed finals Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images

The Dockers paid a high price for ill discipline throughout the year with free kicks and 50m penalties costing them goals at key moments. They included a free kick ahead of play against Liam Reidy which gifted Port Adelaide a goal late in the third quarter.

“It’s shone in the last two weeks in critical moments,” he said.

“it’s making sure that the intensity directed in the right spots because I don’t think players mean to do it. It’s just understanding the situation of the game. We’ll work through that. They are individual moments.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconJye Amiss. Credit: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“I think the intent is in the right areas, it’s just the method and how you go about it. Good teams are sucking us in at times. We’ve got so many of those moments wrong at critical times.”

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