Defender Luke Ryan believes that being harder at the contest and cleaner with the football are Fremantle's two key takeaways out of Sunday's 36-point defeat to Gold Coast.
Fremantle fell on the wrong side of the clearance count (46-30) and contested possession tally (174-157) in wet conditions at Metricon Stadium.
Despite leading inside 50s (64-36) for the match, Fremantle were also ineffective heading inside 50 at 32.8 per cent efficiency compared to Gold Coast’s 55.6 per cent.
Ryan found 19 disposals of his own, six intercepts, five marks and 331 metres gained on a tough day for Freo's backline group.
The 26-year-old said the Suns were harder and cleaner at the contest all day.
“It was a pretty poor game, we were down in the contest all day and they were a lot cleaner than us,” Ryan said.
“They exposed us on the outside as well, it’s a credit to Gold Coast, we’ve got a bit of work to do.
“Around the contest we got outdone, they were harder than us, cleaner than us and going forward we couldn’t execute.
“We have got a lot to review.”
Fellow defender Griffin Logue had career best numbers in his 50th milestone game, kept busy in Freo’s back half with 29 disposals, 17 intercepts, and 110 AFL Fantasy points, marking the highest numbers of the key backs career to date.
Logue's 17 intercepts was also the most in a single game in the Club's history, ahead of Garrick Ibbotson and Luke Ryan on 16 each.
Most intercepts in a match for Fremantle:
— Jaiden Popowski (@jaiden_popowski) May 15, 2022
17 - GRIFFIN LOGUE 2022 R9
16 - Garrick Ibbotson 2013 R7
16 - Luke Ryan 2018 R17
16 - Luke Ryan 2019 R10
15 - Garrick Ibbotson 2015 R13#AFLSunsFreo
Former Sun Will Brodie (27 disposals, eight tackles, eight clearances) was Freo’s second highest ball-winner on the ground, while Caleb Serong led all on ground with 12 tackles for the match, to go along with 26 disposals, six clearances and 296 metres gained.
Ryan said the midfield pairing of Brodie and Serong tried hard against a strong Suns outfit.
“Will was really clean, he has obviously come from Gold Coast and knew the conditions really well,” Ryan said.
“He was probably our best mid, he was hard and he was tough and I like seeing him get to work because he is a big bull in there.
“Caleb was really good as well, we all played okay, but it just wasn’t a four-quarter effort.”
