Fremantle were brought back to earth with a 100-point loss to the top of the table Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Here are some of the talking points from the night.
The non talking points
There was no shortage of cold water at a wet Adelaide Oval and senior coach Ross Lyon poured some more on any potential excuses from Freo’s loss.
“You’ve got to be a no excuse football club” was the response when asked if the rain played a factor, while “the ground was no excuse” for Freo’s 100 and 89 point losses to the Crows and Power at Adelaide Oval this season.
The silver lining
It wasn’t all doom and gloom as members of Freo’s younger brigade stepped up and ran the game out to the end.
21-year-olds Lachie Weller and Connor Blakely, and 20-year-old Darcy Tucker joined captain Nat Fyfe as Fremantle’s top four possession winners.
Weller put up season-high numbers with 30 disposals, nine contested possessions and two goals.
Blakely’s 12 clearances bettered his career high of seven from round 12 of the 2016 season.
Tucker’s eight contested possessions was a career high while his two goals equalled his career best.
The back foot
Fremantle were on the back foot from the opening bounce, almost to the point of setting a new AFL record. Freo’s eight forward half possessions in the opening term was the second lowest in AFL history as Adelaide racked up 25 inside 50s to three up to quarter time.
Changes on the horizon?
Following Freo’s 89-point loss to the Power at Adelaide Oval in round two, Fremantle made six changes and went on to win six of the following seven games.
Lyon acknowledged that new draftees Luke Ryan and Sean Darcy would be in consideration for selection for Sunday’s clash with Collingwood at Domain Stadium.
“We brought over Luke Ryan (who) has been very close, Sean Darcy our young ruckman has been very close,” Lyon said.
“I don’t think anyone will put their head on the pillow and think they are safe.”
Back to basics
Fremantle have been given eight days to regroup before taking on Collingwood. After a narrow loss to GWS in round eight, the Magpies responded with victories over Hawthorn and Brisbane.
Connor Blakely told The West Australian that Fremantle would go back to basics for Sunday’s clash.
“We simplified things really well after the Port game,” Blakely said. “We focused on our effort and intent and our tackle and hit around the ball.
“We’ll do that again, just simplify things, but also understand what went wrong (against Adelaide).”
