The Fremantle playing group were ‘devastated’ following a 16-point loss to Carlton on Saturday after letting an opportunity slip to climb into the top eight, according to senior coach Justin Longmuir.

Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Longmuir said the disappointment stemmed from how Freo handled the pressure situations at the start and end of the game.

Freo kicked four goals in both the second and third quarters, but unfortunately they were bookended with goalless opening and final terms.

“They were gutted but I’m not sure they were thinking about the eight, they were more thinking about the performance and the fact that we gave a head start and then didn’t finish the game off like we would have liked to,” Longmuir told AFL 360.

“They were devastated and you can tell as a coach - you feel the mood of the room pretty quickly when you see the players looking back at you.

“That’s why today, we reviewed the start but we also tried to reinforce the positives and some of the things that had gone really well.”

Longmuir said the coaches didn’t shy away from giving strong feedback where it was necessary.

“I try and read the room and read each individual. A couple got a bit of a clip but after the heat of the moment you try and follow up and give the context of the clip,” Longmuir said.

“I thought we lacked the evenness of contribution we had working for us against Collingwood and a few guys were singled out for that.

“That’s because we’ve got high expectations of them as well and they should have high expectations of themselves.

“Some of them are inexperienced players and are still finding their way in the game and they’re going to have their ups and downs but they need to be guided on what they need to improve on and areas to grow.”

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