Justin Longmuir said his team was comprehensively smashed in contests, while Adam Simpson lauded the performance of young star Harley Reid
FREMANTLE coach Justin Longmuir concedes his team was “smoked” in the contest by an inspired West Coast on Saturday night, with concerns around the team’s scoring also hitting home after a shock Derby upset.
The Dockers were stripped of their contest and groundball strengths by a determined Eagles team, which put its foot down in a clinical third quarter to win the hardball battle 38-18 while piling on five unanswered goals to build a 64-point lead.
EAGLES v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats
Longmuir said the Eagles’ contest dominance was crucial, leaving his team with a lack of supply, poor front-half connection and a fourth consecutive score this season below 70.
“From the 20-minute mark in the first quarter for about two-and-a-half quarters, we got smoked in the contest,” Longmuir said after the match.
“We knew what we were getting. Their form over the last two weeks has been really good and they did to us what they did to Richmond. We prepared for that, but we weren’t good enough to handle it.
“We’ve got to be better than that. We’ve got to be able to respond quicker, and I thought once they got on top on the scoreboard, we started getting reactive … so a lot went wrong.”
Asked if he was concerned about the Dockers’ low scores, Longmuir said: “Of course … but it’s probably more about supply tonight. We just couldn’t get the ball in our front half.”
The Dockers will lose spearhead Jye Amiss after the young goalkicker suffered concussion in an accidental collision with West Coast defender Jeremy McGovern.
Midfielder Hayden Young was also removed from the game in the fourth quarter after suffering hamstring tightness, with the Dockers hopeful he will be available to take on the Western Bulldogs next Saturday night.
“The game was done, and it wasn’t worth risking. So hopefully we dodged a bullet there,” Longmuir said.
West Coast coach Adam Simpson was careful not get carried away with his team’s first Derby win since 2021 and one of the great upset wins in the history of the crosstown rivalry.
Asked if he had expected the elements of a new game style to click like they had in just the sixth game of the season, the coach said his team was nowhere near the finished product and had enjoyed a strong performance against a team that was off its best.
“We’ve had a good couple of weeks,” Simpson said.
“We’re not the finished product at all. We had a good day today and we played a really good side we highly respect and they had an off day as well. So we’re pretty steady on this one.
“I’ll have a quiet one tonight, but I won’t be doing a lap of honour this week.”
Simpson said young star Harley Reid, who finished a narrow runner-up to Glendinning-Allan Medal winner Elliot Yeo, was exceeding his club’s expectations of him through a thrilling start to the season.
Awarded with a Rising Star nomination against Richmond last week, the 19-year-old produced an even better performance against the Dockers, kicking three goals, winning seven clearances and taking a brilliant pack mark.
“We love what Harley’s doing and our internal expectations are not what he’s producing – they (his performances) are a lot higher,” Simpson said.
“They’re probably just meeting expectations publicly, so I’m really cautious to not overplay it … it’s hard to sustain that coming into the AFL.
“But while he keeps doing it, I think we should all enjoy it. Let’s not get too worried if he has an off day.
“He’s playing with that spirit and freedom that I think we all appreciate and enjoy. Today he did a little bit differently, he kicked three and really energised the crowd and the players but we’re not expecting that every week.
“I’m sure Harley will be the first to say it’s not about him.”
