Ed Langdon says he won’t be dwelling on Saturday’s JLT Community Series win against Collingwood at Rushton Park, even though the victory came from his boot after the siren.
With Freo trailing by two points with 15 seconds on the clock, Langdon marked a perfectly weighted Stephen Hill inside 50, and held his nerve to slot the set shot after the siren.
“It’s always pretty exciting to get one of those kicks,” Langdon said.
“It is just a pre-season game, but any win’s a win and I’m happy we got there today.”
The goal was Langdon’s second for the day, with his first coming during a third quarter hot streak where Fremantle piled on four goals in the space of six minutes.
With Nat Fyfe and Lachie Neale firing in the midfield, Fremantle won 73 per cent of clearances and the disposal count 85 to 47 in the third term – and Langdon said that period typified the Freo brand under Ross Lyon.
“(The third quarter) was just about our pressure,” Langdon said.
“It always comes back to the pressure for us, and once that’s going all everything else seems to come together.
“That’s been our trademark for a few years since Ross has been at the club.”
Langdon credited the efforts of Michael Walters and Hayden Ballantyne up front, with Walters shining with three goals for the day.
“The real goal going into today was to just bring the pressure,” Langdon said.
“And it starts with the forwards, and Sonny (Michael Walters) and Ballas (Hayden Ballantyne) were just exceptional today.”
Freo didn’t have it all go their way as the Magpies built a commanding three goal lead in the second term, and were in control for much of the final quarter.
Langdon admitted Fremantle still had to work to do this pre-season, especially with new signings Cam McCarthy, Bradley Hill, Joel Hamling and Shane Kersten settling in and learning the game plan.
This places extra importance on Freo’s final JLT Series clash against Carlton this Friday, with round one against Geelong fast approaching.
“It’s all just about improvement from now,” Langdon said.
“The big thing with the team is our team dynamics, it’s a new group so we’ve got to keep bonding and playing together as much as we can, and getting as many minutes as we can.
“Hopefully, by round one we’re good to go.”
