Fremantle will fly to Launceston on Friday intent on breaking a drought of wins at UTAS Stadium, however senior coach Justin Longmuir said the Club’s 1-11 record at the ground won’t be brought up in their preparations.
They face Hawthorn in a must-win clash on Saturday in what will be Longmuir’s first game as senior coach in Tasmania.
“I don’t tend to look too much into the past. We have to make sure we prepare our players for what they can control,” Longmuir said.
“The ground size, the weather, there’s a few different things that we’ll talk about. We can also control our brand of footy.
“It’s the first time they’ve played down there with me as coach, we’ll go on what we know and I think our footy will stand up down there.”
While it will be Longmuir’s first in Launceston, it is potentially the last time up against an Alastair Clarkson coached Hawks in Tasmania, with Hawthorn recently announcing a transition to Sam Mitchell taking the reins in 2023.
Longmuir was asked if the announcement would spur the Hawks on to get a win for legendary coach.
“It’s hard to quantify some of that stuff. We’re really just preparing for what we know,” Longmuir said.
“What I know is the Hawks have improved their footy since the bye, they’re really competitive under really a tough, good, honest brand of footy.”
Longmuir said captain Nat Fyfe was ‘definitely’ playing in what will be his 200th AFL game and added that Caleb Serong would likely continue his role as a tagger.
‘It’s probably been our go, to give Caleb some roles (on other players),” Longmuir said.
“We usually look at the opposition’s best mids. We haven’t looked in depth on who we think that is at the moment.”
Longmuir confirmed that Fremantle are planning to return to WA following the game.
"At this stage, we’ll go back on a direct flight," Longmuir said.
"Obviously WA is opening up, they’re allowed to have crowds there (from Monday) and it will open up further if it continues to improve.
"It will be good to get home but we have to get the job done first."
Incredibly tough - Fyfe to play through shoulder pain
JL backs #Mundy4Hundy
Cerra: Freo's finals faith
A Sandi-calibre effort
