With a relatively healthy list of talented players, Senior Coach Justin Longmuir has the luxury to be discerning with his team selection ahead of round one, demanding a high standard from his players every week.
Longmuir feels Fremantle are better placed to have an impact in 2022 compared to 2021, but was disappointed to see West Coast get the upper hand in the contest in Sunday’s AAMI Community Series clash at Optus Stadium.
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Fremantle may have won by 13 points, but West Coast won the clearances and the ground ball gets after Fremantle dominated in all areas a week prior in a practice game.
“I think we’re fitter, I think we’re stronger, I think elements of our game have improved but I think the challenge for us is to make sure we take every game on its merits and we’re willing to do the work week in, week out,” Longmuir said.
“I thought we got outworked today in some areas of the game and that’s not good enough. We have to understand that some of our deficiencies are not easy fixes and some of them are going to take a little bit of time. I think the last couple of weeks has been really good for us.”
New recruits Jordan Clark (24 disposals, six marks) and Will Brodie (23 disposals, eight tackles, four clearances) were among Fremantle’s top-five ball winners on Sunday, but Longmuir wasn’t ready to guarantee any player a spot in round one in a fortnight against Adelaide.
“They’ve had strong pre-seasons both of them, they’ve fitted into the group really well,” Longmuir said.
“I hope that they join a number of players that just need to make sure they bring the same effort and same application each week.
“Whether they’ve both done enough to warrant a game in round one time will tell, we’ve had some good performances at Peel over the last couple of weeks and we’ve got a bit of time to see what shape our round one team holds.
“They’re definitely putting their hand up not just with what they’ve done the last two weeks but with a large body of work since we started pre-season.”
Four of Fremantle’s star players returned for Sunday’s clash in David Mundy, Michael Walters, Luke Ryan and Sean Darcy.
While Ryan impressed with eight marks and 24 disposals and Walters kicked two goals, Longmuir said Fremantle would need more from their most experienced players once the season starts.
“I think when you look at the names on paper you think that they will just jump in and play up to their best and I don’t think they did that tonight,” Longmuir said.
“They have got a bit of work to do. It’s one of our first hitouts against another team and in a high-pressure game. I thought they got what they wanted from a hitout point of view and preparation for round one, but it’s a bit like a lot of players that have a bit of work to do before they are cherry ripe. We understood that before going into the game today.
“I think it was a good hitout for us on a number of fronts and it shows we have work to do individually and as a team before round one.”
