MATCH REPORT
Crows prove too much for Freo

Was the way your players moved the ball today planned or did you get sucked into that?
We got sucked into it because our intensity around the footy didn’t allow us to win the ball back when we wanted to win the ball back. I think we played with better energy all over the ground in the second half. We can talk about ball movement, but I thought our backs were winning the ball back a lot and it’s hard to start your play up against a good defensive team like that. I thought the biggest issue started around the ball and our ability to win the ball, and we should be well aware as a team now that ball movement flows off the way you win the ball. So we couldn’t get that right.

So why would the intensity be down in that area?
I thought we started pretty well, got some early inside 50s and then for whatever reason when they started to get their game going we went into our shells. I don’t have all the answers for every individual player but they just smashed us at 50/50 balls.

05:56

Justin Longmuir post-match | Round 4 v Adelaide

Hear from Justin Longmuir following Freo's round 4 loss to Adelaide.

Did that surprise you considering the steps you’ve taken in the last 18 months?
Yes. It’s not what we want to be. I thought they were much more proactive at winning the ball and then what they did once they did win it. We need to forget last year, forget what’s happened in the past and live in the moment a little bit more, and worry about what we’re doing now.

Whose leadership out on the field needs to change?
I’m not going to put it on any one person, but clearly your leaders need to stand up and set the standard. But it’s everyone’s responsibility. Once an opposition gets on top of us we’re going insular, and that’s the responsibility of everyone. Everyone needs to show courage in those moments to get outside of themselves and connect with their teammates and stop the rot. Sure, the leaders can start that but it’s everyone’s responsibility.

Was that disappointing after you took a step forward last week in the Derby?
Of course it’s disappointing because we took a step back and we wanted to go forward and our contest wasn’t where it needed to be. I think it was minus 28 post clearance, a lot of that we either have first crack at it and don’t get it done, and then they win it and off they go. That’s where it starts.

Are you worried about that mid-forward connection as well?
After half time when we decided to put our head over it and win it and drive off that and trust ourselves to take the tackler on and open the game up a little bit, we created some opportunities, and then didn’t make the most of them. A little bit of that is guys out with a grass in front of them – just trust yourself to drive and bounce and have a shot. We just probably went to the short 50/50s too often and I thought we got forced wide as well from those players when, at worst if you can get it to a one-on-one out the square and get in after it, it gives you a decent chance. So we’ve got some work to do with our mid-forward connection still but it wasn’t our biggest issue today.

You’re one and three now – do you feel like this is a quick fix?
I don’t really care about that. We need to get back to the basics of footy, and we got shown up in that area today and unless we get that right, we can’t worry about big picture.

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Will there be personnel changes?
Probably, there usually is. We need to look at the guys that have been letting us down and the guys that have been putting their hand up at Peel. But I won’t touch on it now, we need to have another look at the game and we will get to that later in the week.

Are you going to stay here in Adelaide?
Yes we will stay here.

Can that be a good thing to galvanise the group?
Yes, we’re only going to get out of it by getting out of it together. So we need to make sure we stick together. The boys will be forced to hang out with each other a bit more and build that connection, and that’s really important when you’re going through tougher times. So it’s going to be a good thing for us.

Where will your training base be?
We will be out at Glenelg. We’re going to stay out there for the next five or six days and shack up at Glenelg Footy Club.

Will you get a run on Norwood Oval?
Yes, we will train at Glenelg earlier in the week and then we will get out Norwood later in the week and have a look around and familiarise ourselves with it.

What was your feedback from the players straight after, or are they conversations that come later?
It comes later.