Ed Langdon has credited the resolve of his teammates in the wake of a 29-point win against Carlton on Sunday at Optus Stadium.
After Carlton took a 13-point lead into half time, Fremantle quickly turned the tide in the third quarter by kicking seven goals to none.
Carlton looked to be in control of the game at the major break with 24 more contested possessions than Fremantle but Freo turned the tide in the midfield by winning the count 45 to 26 in the third term.
Lachie Neale led the way for Fremantle in the middle with 34 disposals, 18 contested possessions and 10 clearances for the game.
On the wing, Langdon was Fremantle’s primary ball mover with 31 disposals, 12 marks, five rebound 50s and three inside 50s in another promising performance for the 22-year-old.
“We’ve felt throughout the year that we’ve never been outrun by opponents through the four quarters,” Langdon told ABC radio post-game.
“We knew that if we kept hitting and kept running, we would crack them and that’s what happened in the second half.”
Langdon said Fremantle had put a focus on controlling the football and maintaining possession in the lead up to the clash.
In their three losses between round 18 and 20, Fremantle averaged 76 turnovers per game – the seventh-most in the AFL.
The work to reduce the count paid off against Carlton, where Fremantle turned the ball over 56 times - the lowest total in the AFL in round 21.
“I think most teams who win these days seem to control the ball really well,” Langdon said.
“That was a big focus to control the ball and not just kick it straight back to them.
“We thought if we can control the ball and our runners get to work, we’ve got a lot more entries and a lot more scores.”
With the victory, Fremantle secured their eighth win of the season to equal their 2017 tally.
Langdon said that he’s seen the team make progress in 2018 based on the nature of the wins.
“I think we’ve played a lot better this year than the win-loss column suggests,” Langdon said.
“Last year we really scraped a few wins, with three or four by under a kick. This year our wins have been a lot more convincing and we’ve played a lot better when we have won.
“Obviously, it is about winning and that’s the industry. I think there are a lot more positive signs with our eight wins so far compared to the eight wins last year.”
