Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir tells players they should now think they can win from anywhereCraig O’DonoghueThe West AustralianMon, 4 August 2025 12:10PMEmail Craig O’Donoghue
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has told his players that winning four of their last six games after trailing at three-quarter-time should give them extreme confidence that they are never beaten and should believe they can fight back from any scenario.
The Dockers trailed by 24 points at half-time against Carlton on Sunday and were still eight points down with one term remaining, but charged home to win 15.4 (94) to 10.7 (67).
Fremantle have now beaten the Blues, Collingwood, Hawthorn and St Kilda when trailing at the final change this season and have outscored their opposition 200-93 in final terms across a barnstorming six weeks.
Longmuir said those efforts should make players think they can win from anywhere.
“We should. I definitely do,” Longmuir said.
“It’s probably the main point that I touched on with the players. I don’t think we’re winning that game at the start of last year or the year before. With our maturity, we would have got caught up in our own heads, panicked a little bit and rushed our play.
“We’ve done a lot of work on those situations. We’ve done a lot of work on the mental game over a number of years. Our maturity is allowing us to stay a bit more connected and a bit more present and we’re not internalising in those moments.
“We’ve been able to work through a lot of situations throughout the year where we’ve been either down at three- quarter-time and come from behind, been in front and are having to hold on or like today when we were down by 24 points at one stage in slippery conditions but were able to grind it out. There’s a lot of confidence in the group that we should be able to compete from anywhere.”
Longmuir also credits the intense pre-season fitness program the Dockers experienced over summer for their ability to run out matches.
But while Fremantle’s strong finishes are a positive, Longmuir has also made it clear that they cannot continue to give head starts to the opposition. They could have been more than three goals down at quarter-time against the Blues given they trailed the inside-50s 18-9 and were down 6-1 in centre clearances.
Longmuir said they must find a way to play consistent footy over four quarters.
“I said to the players that we can’t accept that first quarter. We can’t jump into games like that.” Longmuir said.
“But a game goes for four quarters. Against Collingwood, we were in front at quarter-time and then in the middle two quarters they had the better of us and we came from behind. I’d rather not be in that position but it’s a game of four quarters.
“What we are showing now is we are outlasting teams over four quarters. I’d much rather be in front at the end of the fourth quarter than in front at quarter-time. We are showing our footy stands up over the course of four quarters and we can grind wins out.”
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.
Sign up for our emails
Read more on The West Australian
