With a 5-1 record, Fremantle have been one of the form teams so far in 2022 with a clear game plan that relies on slick ball movement on the turnover.

It’s seen Fremantle rank as the number one team so far this year with their score differential from turnovers.

Speaking on AFL360 on Monday night, Senior Coach Justin Longmuir went into detail on how this game plan coming together, as well as his philosophy around how Fremantle plays.

To Longmuir, it all comes down to pressure, especially in the forward line - where according to Champion Data Fremantle are the number one pressure team in the attacking midfield this year.

“What keeps our small forwards in the game is their ability to chase, tackle and harass the opposition,” Longmuir said on Fox Footy.

“I think that’s been the biggest difference in our game this year, the constant pressure we’re bringing on the opposition. It’s an area of our game we’ve put a lot of work in through the pre-season and that’s allowing us to create opportunities for our offence closer to goal and before the opposition is able to get set.

“Our whole team is buying into that mentality but our small forwards are going to work.

“We’re trying to be a really strong contested ball team who plays the game in their front half, it’s something that I’ve always strongly believed in, the closer you can turn the ball over to your goals, the easier it is to score.

“Quite often we talk about the offensive side of the game but the defensive side of the game can make your offence look pretty easy if you’re winning the ball back in the right areas.”

Fremantle’s efforts on defence are clear, with the team ranking no.2 for points conceded this year behind Melbourne.

Offensively, Fremantle fell just three points short of registering their third 100+ point game against Carlton on Saturday night after kicking 107 points against Essendon and 102 points against West Coast.

One player leading the way, according to Longmuir, is also the player leading the AFL for coaches’ votes.

Andrew Brayshaw may have led Fremantle for disposals (27), clearances (seven) and score involvements (nine) against the Blues but Longmuir said the 22-year-old was most proud of leading the way in a defensive stat with eight tackles.

“He’s flying and he’s built his game to become a really strong inside-outside player,” Lonmgmuir said.

“He was most proud of his tackles and a couple of those tackles were goal-saving tackles. He’s doing it the right way and bringing everyone else along with him. He’s on a super trajectory at the moment.”

Longmuir was asked when captain Nat Fyfe would return from injury and was slightly tongue-in-cheek with his response, having a joke with fellow guest in Collingwood Senior Coach Craig McRae.

“We think he’ll be back probably round 10 in time for Collingwood,” Longmuir said.

“He’s really improved in the past couple of weeks and is on the right trajectory.”