The senior coach admitted Freo had rewarded effort at the expense of team balance in the earlier rounds of the season.
“We might have been one tall too many, or one midfielder too many, but because they had been giving the effort we wanted, we were worried to change it,” Lyon told 6PR.
“Every time you have a match committee, you’re sending a message about what you’re rewarding, so we were really keen to keep rewarding players who were playing with the spirit we wanted them to play with, but sometimes that costs you on the balance side of things.”
Lyon said the selectors would be picking the best side to win games as the home and away rounds come to an end.
“We have a ruthless edge to our match committee at the moment,” he said
“We will pick what needs to be done.”
And there could be some changes in the wake of Saturday’s loss to Adelaide, which disappointed the senior coach.
“On the weekend, as much as we persisted, I’m not thrilled with the way we finished the game,” Lyon said.
“That was a game that we were in but we could have been more in, so a few key people and lines didn’t stand up in the manner we accept in the match committee.”
Lyon was particularly scathing of Freo’s clearance work in the second half, which he labeled “pathetic”, and the defence, which gave up 119 points to the Crows despite conceding an average of just 76 points throughout the season.
“I just thought they (Adelaide) went in 19 times and just scored at will,” he said.
“I was really disappointed and the backs were disappointed with that as a group.
“They just had no bodywork, no contact, so we will address that in the meeting.”
Lyon said Richmond, on the back of two wins in a row, would pose a big challenge to Fremantle on Saturday.
“They have hardly been beaten by any margin this year they have been in every game they’ve played,” he said.
“They’ve got their full midfield together and they’re feeling really good about themselves.
“It’s an incredibly important game this one, so we are all on notice and we all need to get moving.”
