Fremantle Senior Coach Justin Longmuir says finding the right balance between offence and defence is key heading into the remainder of the 2025 season.

Speaking at his Tuesday morning media conference, Longmuir said the collective team defence would be a key area for improvement going forward.

“We’ve been inconsistent with our team defence all year,” Longmuir said.

“We’ve had some moments and kept some teams to low scores, but it hasn’t looked the way we want it to — as consistently as it could.

“We get criticised for being a defensive team at times, but I think our fans would’ve loved us to be a little bit more defensive on the weekend and keep a low-scoring team to under 100 points.

“Twice this year we’ve conceded 100 points. Last year it was three times across the whole season.

"We’ve lost our defensive identity at times, and we need to make sure we get the balance right with what we are coaching.”

After the first six rounds in 2024, the side had scored 458 points and conceded 424. Comparatively, this year the team has scored 542 points — an increase of 84 — but has also conceded 518 points, 94 more than this time last season.

“You probably gain a little bit to be honest, because you win the ball back in your front half more often rather than relying on end-to-end chains.”

Longmuir said finding consistency in the team’s mindset would be crucial moving forward.

“A consistent mindset and consistently trying to hunt the opposition, rather than accept being hunted,” he said.

“We just haven’t had that ruthless mindset to be able to lock in for four quarters of footy.

“The playing group has been pretty hard on themselves, to be honest, and sometimes you need to judge the mood of the group and get a sense of what they’re feeling.

"Post-game, they’ve been pretty disappointed — we’ve all been pretty disappointed with the performance (against Melbourne).”

Longmuir was adamant that Friday’s Anzac Day Len Hall Tribute Game against the in-form Crows is a perfect opportunity for the team to respond.

“We will understand and respect Adelaide’s strength on the offensive side of the game. They score from stoppage, they score from possession gain, and they’re as good as anyone — so we’re going to have to stop them,” Longmuir said.

“We are really privileged and grateful to get to play in this game (the Len Hall Tribute Game).

"Before the game, it’s a really special moment… you get the hairs on the back of your neck standing up.”