Although the Club’s 2024 campaign came to an end on Sunday night with the defeat to Port Adelaide, senior coach Justin Longmuir has said the playing group would learn from their opportunities but would not call the season a waste.
Speaking during his post-match media conference, Longmuir was questioned whether he would go as far as labelling the season a waste, with Longmuir stating, 'to term it a waste would be disrespectful.'
“You never waste a game in these (seasons), it’s missed opportunities, absolutely, and there are some real clear things that let us down against the best sides, but I wouldn’t use the word ‘waste,’” Longmuir said.
“We’ve got games into a lot of players; I think individuals have improved and have taken their careers and their footy forward. To term it a waste would be disrespectful.
“Right now, I feel like it’s a massive opportunity lost. I’m disappointed for our fans who showed up amazingly today and supported us until the end. We just couldn’t get it done when it mattered most.”
Fremantle held an eight-point lead heading into the first break, but the Power’s weight of inside 50s (56-48 at the final siren) proved too much to handle as Port overran Fremantle in the final term, kicking three goals to one to emerge 20-point victors.
“Today summed up our whole year; against the best sides, we couldn’t execute well enough,” Longmuir said.
“We’ve played three top four sides in the last four weeks, and a bit of me thinks we should have won all of them, but we didn’t because we couldn’t execute well enough. Ninety per cent of our game is in good order.”
Looking ahead, Longmuir was stern in his belief that the Club was in good order and, with a body of work over the off-season, the playing group would learn to execute these situations better, preparing for a strong 2025 campaign.
“All the areas I’m talking about, we’ve improved across the year, but we haven’t improved enough for them to hold up against the best sides under pressure when the game is on the line," Longmuir said.
“Last year, at the end of the year, I sat here and said, ‘We’re not consistent enough week-to-week, we’re not executing well enough,’ and we’ve improved in a lot of those areas.
“I think outside of the Western Bulldogs and the first RAC Derby, we’ve put in really competitive, consistent performances week in, week out, but under pressure when the game has been on the line, we haven’t handled those moments well enough.
“We’ve gone up a notch but haven’t gone far enough, so our goal will be to finish those games off and take our opportunities when they present against the best sides.”
When questioned about who the Club would target in the off-season, Longmuir said the Club would wait to see what unfolded over the next few months.
“There isn’t a magic wand… we need to do a fair bit of scenario training on how to handle tight games, close finishes, whether we’re up or whether we’re down. We need to make sure we play more consistently with the right mindset,” Longmuir said.
“That will play out in the months coming. If we go to the draft and get three of the best young kids in the nation, that will help. We’ll get another preseason into a lot of our players, and I’m pretty confident in these situations next year that with six months of work, we’ll be able to handle it.
“Some of those questions will get answered. I feel like we have the talent as is.”
