Freo admit they took Melbourne lightly and paid huge price
Fremantle midfielder Hayden Young has admitted players took Melbourne lightly at the MCG on Saturday and revealed they addressed their inability to perform when expectations rise in recent seasons.
The Dockers lost by 10 points to the previously winless Demons at the MCG and coach Justin Longmuir was damning when discussing their attack on the ball after the game.
Young said the performance came down to a poor mindset and not treating the Demons with enough respect.
“I think it was pretty evident if you watch the footage. Maybe going into the game, we might not have said we were comfortable, but it was pretty evident with some of the footage,” Young said.
“We spoke about how we feel like when we play with a ruthless mindset – almost a backs against the wall mindset – we are a better team.
“When we get too comfortable with how we are going, we just lose that ruthlessness. That got brought up today and it’s something we will take into next week.
“We feel like our best footy in those areas, when we bring it, beats anyone. We think sometimes it is a mindset thing. Coming off three wins against maybe some weaker opposition, and just expecting it is going to happen. Against any AFL team, that’s not going to be the case.
“If you are off by a couple of per cent in any area, you’ll get touched up. That’s what happened on the weekend.”
The Dockers reviewed the clash on Monday and Young described some of the clips as “uncomfortable” as Longmuir highlighted their lack of aggression at the ball.
Fremantle started the round in the eight after beating West Coast, the Western Bulldogs and Richmond but started poorly against Melbourne. They have had a trend in recent seasons of putting themselves in good positions on the ladder and then being unable to take the next step.
Fremantle will address the isses raised in the meeting at their main session on Tuesday as they prepare to play Adelaide at Optus Stadium on Friday night. It will be the club’s second successive six-day break.
Young said the players had been left in no doubt about where they need to improve.
“It was a long meeting,” he said.
“I feel like after a poor loss, sometimes there is a bit of detail you have to go into. Particularly when largely the things that went wrong on the weekend were to do with our team defence which is something we pride ourselves on.
“We went into it with a bit more detail which was good. the positive is, although we didn’t get it right on the weekend, it is something that has been a really strong part of our game for a long time. So that’s some pretty easy fixes.”