Defenders Luke Ryan and Brennan Cox said Fremantle ran out a gutsy win against the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at Optus Stadium.
As Luke Jackson, Corey Wagner, and Nathan O'Driscoll occupied the bench for the entire final quarter, Fremantle players had to dig deep and run out a thrilling 16-point win as fatigue set in late.
Speaking on the Final Siren podcast following the win, Ryan and Cox said a performance like Sunday’s was a confidence builder for the remainder of the season.
“The second quarter, the amount of pressure the forwards and the mids put on made our job so much easier,” Ryan said.
“We weren’t coughing up any mistakes, we weren’t letting the ball spill out, and the pressure they were bringing just made our job a lot easier.
“We are just slowly building. We played probably 100 minutes of our footy and still have a bit to go, but it’s exciting the way we are trending.”
In the final quarter, the Bulldogs were coming, kicking two goals in the final five minutes to reduce the margin to 10 points before Murphy Reid sealed the win for Fremantle with his classy finishing touch.
“It’s credit to the work we’ve done over the pre-season,” Ryan said.
“I don’t think we’ve ever run that hard and done as much weights as we did.
“It was a shorter pre-season, but our numbers went higher, and it’s a game of mental toughness. I think the boys stuck at it really well.
“We went a couple of players down, but then the boys at three-quarter time were saying, 'We love these scenarios, we love this, and this is how we grow.”
Speaking on the backline’s chemistry and ability to back each other in to impact the play both on and off the ball, Cox said much of the credit had to go to new backline coach Jade Rawlings.
“Since Twig (Jade Rawlings) has come in, he’s really encouraged us to be more aggressive and use the body a bit more on that contest line, and when we can roll off,” Cox said.
“I feel like we’ve all jumped on board with that, and everybody is playing with a bit more aggression and a bit more body work.
“It allows us from good positions to impact a bit more off the ball as well.”
Fremantle now sits 11th on the AFL ladder with two wins and two losses.
The Club now travels to Adelaide for Gather Round and a matchup with the Tigers at Barossa Park, before taking on Melbourne at the MCG in Round 6.
