Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says he will not throw every thing “upside down” simply because his group’s finals hopes are formally over.
The Dockers’ slim possibilities of sneaking into the highest eight had been extinguished on Sunday once they suffered a three-point loss to Brisbane in Perth.
It means final yr’s semi-finalists discover themselves in fifteenth spot with an 8-12 document heading into Saturday night time’s western derby in opposition to West Coast.
With simply three video games remaining, Longmuir is adamant his gamers will proceed to offer it their all.
And though the fourth-year coach might make minor modifications to his facet in addition to tactical tweaks, he will not be unleashing main modifications.
“The last thing you want to do is turn everything upside down and change too much, because you lose a little bit of continuity and connection if you do that,” Longmuir stated.
“So we just keep looking for opportunities to try different things without upsetting the balance.
“We had some gamers who performed very well at (WAFL facet) Peel (on Saturday), so we’ll simply preserve rewarding guys on kind and preserve throwing somewhat bit at them.”
Fremantle finish their year with games against West Coast, Port Adelaide and Hawthorn.
Longmuir is confident his players won’t lack motivation, despite finals being out of the equation.
“Every particular person, each individual on the membership has acquired one thing to get out of those final three video games. So our mindset should not change,” Longmuir stated.
“Every sport of AFL is vital, and we’ll deal with it prefer it’s crucial sport.
“This week – expect every player to prepare like it’s their most important game, just like they did for today, just like they did for Geelong.
“I’d be actually upset if the gamers thought there’s nothing to play for and lacked motivation or goal.”
The experiment of using defender Hayden Young in the midfield continues to bear fruit.
A week after successfully tagging Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield, Young helped curtail the influence of Brisbane midfield gun Lachie Neale early in Sunday’s match.
Young tallied 10 disposals in the first quarter while keeping Neale to just four possessions and no clearances.
Although Neale finished the match with 25 disposals and eight clearances, a lot of them came once the tag was relaxed somewhat.
Young finished the match with 29 disposals, 10 tackles and six clearances.
“I feel he is acquired that steadiness between locking away his man and dealing off him and getting the ball,” Longmuir stated.
“I feel he provides one thing totally different to our midfield combine by way of his physique dimension and left-footer. I feel he is proven sufficient that it is value persisting with.”
Defender Ethan Hughes will endure scans after injuring his left ankle in opposition to the Lions.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
