Darcy Tucker says he remains committed to Fremantle’s rebuild process after agreeing terms to a two-year contract extension.
Tucker highlighted that the extension, which sees the 20-year-old in Freo colours until the end of the 2019 season, goes alongside a number of recent re-signings by a core of young players.
“As you see we’ve had a lot of other younger guys re-sign in (Griffin) Logue, (Brennan) Cox, (Sean) Darcy, (Connor) Blakely, (Ed) Langdon and (Nat) Fyfe,” Tucker said.
“So everyone’s committed to the cause and we feel that we have a strong future at the club.
“I feel we’ve got a very exciting young list coming through, they’ve invested a lot in me in my first two years and I’m loving it here.
“It was a no-brainer to sign on and get a further opportunity at Freo, so I’m stoked.”
Tucker said the group was hurting after two heavy losses against Sydney and Richmond.
“It’s obviously very disappointing, the last two weeks,” Tucker said.
“It’s not the footy we want to play or how we want to be branded.
“The bulk of our playing group is made up of inexperienced players, so in the AFL if you’re not up to your best and you’re turning the ball over, teams can give you a thumping like that.
“The main focus is to respond next week against Essendon and, hopefully, finish the year on a high.”
Tucker said that turnovers were a focus from the review of Sunday’s loss to Richmond, adding that Fremantle’s effort fell away significantly after building a four-point lead at quarter time.
“In the first quarter (senior coach) Ross (Lyon) thought our effort was really great. We were able to show exactly what we’re capable of,” Tucker said.
“In the second quarter, there was a lot of defensive half turnovers that really hurt us and Richmond got seven goals from that in the second quarter.
“That composure…it wasn’t there, and our leaders can’t do it all.
“The core of our group, the young inexperienced players, have to rise and give that effort for four quarters.”
