Fremantle coach Ross Lyon says the club has contacted the AFL umpiring department to seek clarification about holding and blocking tactics that opposition midfielders have employed on Nat Fyfe in recent weeks.
Fremantle had been one of the most dominant clearance teams in the AFL through the first nine rounds but have found in recent weeks that teams have sent extra numbers to stoppages to curb the influence of Aaron Sandilands and Fyfe, who have been the best clearance combination in the competition this year.
“For the first nine weeks we were (ranked) 17th (for the) least amount of around the ground stoppages… so clearly we weren't a congestion team,” Lyon said on Thursday.
"We've gone from 17 least (stoppages) to the second most (stoppages)…some of them have been 120-140 stoppages a game.
"I think against Hawthorn on the weekend there were 41 (stoppages) in the first quarter, but that's what you get when you get a high intensity team.
“Initially I thought it was the weather but teams are rolling up more players around the ball and that's fine we'll work our way through that.
"There is a lot more attention going into players. We've certainly made contact with the umpiring department about what's legal and what's not legal, which teams have done to us with Ryan Crowley (in the past).
"Obviously a lot of time has gone into Fyfe.”
Lyon believes the debate about increased congestion at stoppages could be solved in part by stricter policing of holding and blocking of players to avoid secondary ball ups.
"It's topical and our view is if you can adjudicate around the ball strongly so the clearance players can clear the ball and then you don't get secondary (stoppages)," he said.
The coach held a long one-on-one discussion with Fyfe on Thursday at training.
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Lyon said he was not concerned with Fyfe being close to suspension after receiving a second fine for the year from the Match Review Panel on Monday.
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"You have to play on the edge," Lyon said.
"So it doesn’t interest me. I don't want to lose him, but he's a big boy, he can look after himself."
Fremantle still sit a game clear on top of the ladder but following a 72-point hammering at the hands of Hawthorn, their premiership credentials have taken a hit.
Freo's scoring over past six matches has dried up, averaging just 66 points per game compared to the 97 they averaged in the first eight rounds.
Lyon said he was happy to wear the criticism.
"They're saying we're no good and can't play, can't score, can't win and can't win the premiership," Lyon said.
"If that's the summary, we're happy to wear that until we prove otherwise."
Lyon said his side's ball use was as much to blame as a dysfunctional forward line.
"We need to improve," Lyon said.
"We were disappointed with our performance, there is no doubt about that.
"(Hawthorn's) pressure was really good and we went into our shells a little bit.
"It's a work in progress. We need to get back to where we were, but it's not going to happen overnight."
