Fremantle Dockers chasing bigger things after western derby win over West Coast Eagles

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Fremantle Dockers chasing ******* things after western derby win over West Coast Eagles

Fremantle have surged into third spot on the AFL ladder but coach Justin Longmuir is adamant they are far from satisfied following their 35 point win over West Coast at Optus Stadium.

The Dockers fought back from 20 points down to dominate the second half and win 17.8 (110) to 11.9 (75). Vice-captain Caleb Serong won his third Glendinning-Allan Medal following another inspirational performance.

Fremantle dropped out of the top four when they lost to Hawthorn in Tasmania during round 18 but capitalised on Carlton’s loss to Port Adelaide on Friday night by beating the Eagles.

They will face Essendon, Geelong, Greater Western Sydney and Port Adelaide in the last month of the season and Longmuir knows his team is hungry for more.

“The job’s not done. We know that,” Longmuir said.

“It doesn’t get any easier. There’s going to be more pressure as the year builds. Whichever team handles that outcome based pressure and ladder pressure will put themselves in a really good position.

“It was a great sign of maturity tonight but we’ll get back on the horse next week and go again.”

Camera IconFremantle won the derby Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images

West Coast threw everything at the Dockers in a physical contest that included a huge melee.

Longmuir said the way his players responded to the pressure and didn’t fall away like they did during the derby in round six showed how far the team had come this year.

“I thought the third quarter was dominant and the start of the last quarter was pretty dominant. I was really proud of the maturity we showed to be able to work through that,” he said.

“If you go back to the first derby, we weren’t able to work through that. I was really proud of the way the players responded. I feel like we’re growing every week.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconFremantle coach Justin Longmuir and Jaeger O’Meara. Credit: Will Russell/AFL Photos

“That’s the goal of the season and the goal of footy. Keep continually growing and learning from experiences good and bad.

“When you’re in those situations again and you’re getting challenged, you can respond in a different way. I thought they were really connected. When we’re really connected we go into problem solving mode rather than fighting our battle mode.

“At half-time, they were problem solving and working their way through it really well.”

Longmuir was full of praise for Serong and Andrew Brayshaw who led brilliantly in captain Alex Pearce’s absence.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconCaleb Serong won the Glendinning-Allan Medal Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images

They combined for 68 disposals, 15 clearances and two goals. He marvelled at Serong’s ability to consistently perform under pressure.

“He’s a star,” Longmuir said.

“He prepares consistently every week. he continues to work on his game week in, week out. He’s becoming a better player week in, week out. He’s had a phenomenal season.

“I thought he had a fair few alongside him. I thought him and Andy, when they (West Coast) were pretty dominant, those two boys just kept at it and kept at it. They were two outstanding performances from our vice-captains today.

Longmuir said ruckman Sean Darcy had a sore shoulder after a heavy collision with Jack Putruccelle early in the game. Darcy was forced from the field after receiving a second knock to the body minutes after the initial collision but returned and played out the game.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconSean Darcy hurt his shoulder Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper/The Sunday Times

“He’s going to have a pretty sore shoulder. There’s nothing structurally wrong but it was pretty sore there for a bit.

“I thought him and Jacko, as the game grew, they were able to give our mids first use.”

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