With Fremantle under the pressure from a slow start to the 2017 season, captain Nat Fyfe says he can see the group coming together under adversity.
Fyfe also dismissed a suggestion that “external speculation” about Fremantle’s form was having a negative effect on the side, and instead was creating a “strong galvanising effect” within the playing group.
“Ideally, we’d be playing better football than we are now,” Fyfe said.
“But our full support is behind the coaches.”
"Now is the time for some really cool heads. The blowtorch is on our club and it's on me and it's on (coach) Ross Lyon at the moment.
"Now is the time for some calm, some practical thinking and some strong leadership working through these situations.”
Fyfe said that Fremantle’s losses from the opening two rounds could be partially attributed to the opposition scoring heavily from turnovers.
“Some skill errors are really costing us,” Fyfe said.
“And some of that is the by-product of our defensive structure, so we have a number of errors that we need to tighten up on.”
“(But) sometimes it’s more in the decision making of the individual and not necessarily on the execution of the skill.”
Fyfe also backed Lyon’s intentions to turn to Fremantle’s younger players, with a handful pushing to make their AFL debut.
“We’ve got some really talented guys playing down at Peel who will get a look potentially this week and going forward.,” Fyfe said.
“The fans should be excited about what they’re going to see out of Griffin Logue, Harley Balic and guys like that.”
As captain, Fyfe said he and the leadership group would play a role in ensuring that the Fremantle’s up and coming players can continue to focus on producing their best football.
“We encourage our younger to really seek guidance from the older guys who have been and really focus on what they can control,” Fyfe said.
“Listening to the leadership of the senior coach and the assistant coaches and working our way out of a tough situation.”
