Fremantle Senior Coach Justin Longmuir says that everyone at the Club - from the playing group to the coaches, including himself, will be looking within and analysing themselves after the team’s disappointing 61-point loss to the Saints.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Longmuir said any good leader and professional should start by demanding more from themselves.
“I think everyone at the Football Club at the moment should be questioning themselves,” Longmuir said.
“The first thing I look at after a performance like that - and any good leader should - is, ‘What did I get wrong?’
“I’m not sitting here blaming the players. I’ve got to look at my own performance this week. Am I contributing to us being an inconsistent team?
"Our fans are really disappointed, we're really disappointed, but we're going to work our backsides off to become a consistent team that can produce top end footy more regularly."
Consistency in performance has been a key issue for Fremantle in 2025, with Longmuir conceding that although he saw “no alarm bells” during the week’s build-up, the problem needed to be addressed and overcome if the team was to go deep into the season.
Scoring only seven points in the first half and trailing by 61 points at the final siren, the Senior Coach acknowledged that plenty of work was needed. But he was clear that his playing group and coaching team were up to the task.
“When we get challenged early in games, I’m not sure if we’re up for the fight - and you can’t be that team,” Longmuir said.
“Clearly, our consistency has not been where it needs to be in the early part of the season.
“The main message to the players after the game was: ‘Are we up for the challenge that an AFL season confronts us with?’
“We can’t be that team that has the high highs and the low lows. We want to be a consistent team that goes back to zero each week, understands each team’s strengths, and is willing to prepare week in and week out.
“I’m sure we’re up for the fight.”
Fremantle now face Collingwood at Optus Stadium on Thursday 8 May, in a huge fixture for the side.
