There was much more to Fremantle’s loss in RAC Derby 50 than just inaccuracy, according to general manager of football Peter Bell.
Fremantle did themselves no favours by kicking 2.19 (31) in the loss, while West Coast made the most of their opportunities by kicking 19.8 (122).
In their post-game analysis, Champion Data said the loss should have been closer to three goals if both Fremantle and West Coast had a regular day in front of goals.
But Bell told 6PR on Monday night that Fremantle have a number of areas to improve on ahead of this Saturday’s clash with Hawthorn in Launceston.
'Our season is still wide open' - Bell
“From our perspective…in different quarters there were different issues,” Bell told 6PR.
“In the first quarter, West Coast did score from our forward half a little too easily and then in the second quarter, out of the centre.
“They’re two areas that we need to address and address quickly.”
Bell said that it also came down to the effort from both teams.
“Overall, West Coast’s work-rate and their ability to possess the football was certainly superior to ours,” Bell said.
“Again, we can only go back and work really hard on improving our game up until the weekend.
“We’re going to train hard and we’re going to get across to Tasmania and take it to the Hawks as best as we possibly can.”
Bell also addressed the obvious conversion issue from Saturday night, with Freo kicking 2.19 from 60 inside 50s compared to West Coast’s 19 goals from 50 inside 50s.
“It’s been an issue for us at times all season, and that is the connection between our midfield and our forwards,” Bell said.
“That amount of inside 50s, you should be kicking a better score than what we produced on the weekend.
“Clearly, our accuracy and conversion contributed to that. It has been an area we’re focusing on.
“We have a number of new players up forward who haven’t played a lot of football together. There’s been some injuries as well, which has meant the personnel has changed a little bit.
“When all is said and done, with 60 inside 50s, we would have liked to have taken our chances better.”
