Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir urging players to keep fighting after loss to Geelong Cats

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Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir urging players to keep fighting after loss to Geelong Cats

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is adamant ladder pressure isn’t getting to his players after they gave up a three-quarter time lead for the fifth time this season to lose to Geelong and be in danger of missing finals.

The Dockers were third on the ladder after they beat West Coast two weeks ago, but successive final-term fadeouts against Essendon and Geelong now have them in sixth spot.

They will finish the round in eighth place if Carlton beats Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs beat Adelaide on Sunday.

Fremantle are also facing the huge challenge of playing against a red-hot Greater Western Sydney next week after the Giants beat Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday.

But Longmuir said his approach to games wouldn’t change regardless of what is on the line.

“The same thing applies. You give all you’ve got to the next game,” he said.

“The ladder will work itself out. I don’t think it’s the pressure over the last couple of weeks that’s cost us. We just haven’t been good enough for long enough. I’m happy with the way we’re handling that. The same thing applies next week.

Camera IconFremantle coach Justin Longmuir. Credit: Will Russell/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“Obviously they’re really flat. It’s a couple of close losses in a row and a couple of games where we gave ourselves the chance to win them.

“We’re flat at the moment but, like I said to the players after the game, ‘we’ve taken a couple of hits. This is a tough game and it’s going to deal some blows at times but we are not done.’ I’m confident it won’t take much to get them back up.”

The Dockers lost ruckman Sean Darcy just 30 minutes before the game as knee soreness ruled him out of the clash. They were already missing Alex Pearce (arm), Michael Walters (hamstring) and Josh Treacy (knee).

Longmuir expects all bar Pearce to be available next week.

Longmuir lamented his team’s poor start where they conceded the first four goals, saying that put them on the back foot early. He said the inability to close out games was a concern but felt it needed to be analysed closer.

“Of course it’s worrying,” he said.

“Five times. Clearly we don’t want that happening. It says we’re putting ourselves in (winning) positions though. Four of them were away from home. It’s the first one at home and we were playing a pretty experienced team.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconNat Fyfe was shattered. Credit: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“We were in front but it wasn’t by much. It was pretty much an arm wrestle all game. It wasn’t as though we gave up a massive lead.

“They were able to outlast us in certain areas and make more of their opportunities than us in the end.”

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