A hard-fought battle against GWS in round 23 has ended in the club’s third straight loss, meaning Fremantle will likely be playing for their season in the final home and away game at Optus Stadium next week.
With it all to play for, Fremantle were unable to match GWS goal-for-goal in the final term as the Giants edged in front to secure a nine-point win.
“Clearly not the result we were after,” Jaeger O’Meara said post-match.
“We came here wanting to put it all out there, and I think we did in terms of our effort, but their class maybe outshone us.
“This one stings a lot. We’ll have to lick our wounds over the next 24 to 48 hours, but then we’ll get back on the horse.”
The loss means that Fremantle will almost certainly be playing for their place in the finals next week against Port Adelaide unless other results take away that opportunity.
“We probably need a couple of results to go our way this weekend, but we are absolutely still in the mix,” O’Meara said.
“We are playing for everything next week, so hopefully the Freo faithful can get behind us. Similar to GWS, they’ve (Port) been playing some really strong footy, so we are going to have to be at our best next week.”
On a positive note, O’Meara credited debutant Liam Reidy who competed hard all day in a tough matchup.
“I’m not sure what the numbers suggest, but it was a hard-fought effort by Liam Reidy in his first match, going up against a very good ruckman in Kieran Briggs,” O’Meara said.
“We wanted him to just bring his physicality. He (Reidy) was pivotal for us, and I think the guys got to work for us in the midfield.”
Fremantle currently sit sixth on the AFL ladder but could be outside of the top eight by the end of the round, pending wins by Hawthorn, Bulldogs, and Carlton.
Next week's against Port Adelaide will be the Club’s Member Thank You round, where the Club will pay thanks to the record number of devoted members who have shown their support throughout 2024.
