Sean Darcy didn’t hold back when assessing how Fremantle fell short in a 24-point loss to Brisbane at the Gabba on Sunday.
A final term fight-back disguised a result where Freo never really threatened to take the four points from the high-flying Lions, who have now won four in a row.
On the other hand, Fremantle have lost two straight and Darcy felt Fremantle let themselves down in a number of factors.
“It’s really disappointing, really frustrating. The boys are hurting,” Darcy said.
“We can’t give a good team like Brisbane a two quarter head start and try and catch up in the last quarter.
“We need to go back, work on our skills. We went a bit too safe in the first quarter; we didn’t take the game on or spread the ball. We need to go back and work on that.
“Initially, the first half, we were too safe with the ball, we were going down the line, we weren’t spreading or going for our kicks. The last half we started going for our kicks.
“Stoppages in the third quarter, they got on top, their transition, there were a few lapses in concentration which cost us heaps.
“We need to go back to the drawing board and work harder.”
With the loss, Fremantle fell to 10th with a 4-4 for the season. Darcy said the team was better than what they have showed in the past fortnight against West Coast and the Lions.
“We can play, it’s just about doing it for four quarters. I don’t think there’s been a game this year where we’ve done it for four quarters,” Darcy said.
“We need to get off the bus a bit better than what we did today. They’re a good team and we saw what they do in a half of footy, they put the game away.”
Darcy said the team were eager to bond and improve on the Gold Coast as they prepare for a second-straight game on the road – taking on Essendon at Marvel Stadium next Sunday.
“It's just basically a long away trip (but) that’s no excuse,” Darcy said.
“We’ve got to regroup and hit the track really hard this week and go down to Melbourne and see how we go.”
