Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is so focused on maintaining the strength of his mantra that they must live in the moment that he did not even acknowledge his team equalled the club record for the most consecutive wins after they beat Essendon at the MCG on Sunday.
The Dockers won their ninth game in a row with a 16.8 (104) to 8.13 (61) victory over the Bombers. They led by 52 points at half-time before Essendon rallied during the final term. Pat Voss kicked five goals, Murphy Reid had a big game in the midfield and Shai Bolton produced a first half blitz.
Fremantle, who have adopted the name Walyalup for Sir Doug Nicholls Round, will now head home to host St Kilda on Friday night where they will have the chance to break the record in front of a passionate home crowd.
But Longmuir was not smelling the roses after beating Essendon.
“I just try and treat every game on its merits. They will see that we broke the record. They will know that we broke the record,” he said.
“This week was about Essendon. It was not about playing at the MCG. It was not about the record. And next week will be about St Kilda. It will not be about breaking the record or setting a new bar or any of that. We have just got to control what we can control, and some of those things do not really help.”
While the Dockers are sitting in second spot on the ladder with a 9-1 record, they have also experienced a theme of struggling to play consistent footy for entire games.
Longmuir addressed the leaders at half-time asking them to make sure the squad played out the match and he said they all finished feeling frustrated that the Bombers fought back strongly.
“I just talked to the players pretty bluntly after the game. It is what it is. They were frustrated. When they show frustration, you probably just need to give them the answers,” he said.
“We have set our season up well. We are playing some really good footy, but we are planning playing a little bit inconsistent, so we know we have got work to do. We need to make sure that we value what we are doing and the good footy we are playing, because I think our best footy would match it with anyone. It is just be able to try and bring the floor up a little bit.”
Longmuir expressed pride in Voss’ performance after a quiet start to the year and said his five goals were another example of how well he, Josh Treacy and Jye Amiss work together.
Fremantle have a five-day break before facing St Kilda but Longmuir is confident the team got through the game injury free. They will keep a close eye on Isaiah Dudley following a big collision in the second quarter, but he played out the game.
They also reduced Luke Jackson’s game time to only 68 per cent in a bid to keep him fresh after some brilliant performances so far this season.
