Fremantle coach Ross Lyon was a frustrated man as he stormed onto Patersons Stadium to deliver a three-quarter time spray in Sunday’s AFL clash with Greater Western Sydney.
The Dockers were up by 73 points and doing it easy, but Lyon was clearly unhappy with his team’s drop-off in intensity and a series of 50m penalties conceded.
Fremantle went on to win by 95 points, with skipper Matthew Pavlich booting seven goals in the 18.24 (132) to 5.7 (37) triumph.
Although the victory was important, the percentage boost could prove just as crucial when the fight for top-eight spots gets down to the nitty gritty at the end of the season.
Ninth-placed Fremantle (9-7) are now just 2.6 per cent adrift of eighth-placed North Melbourne, with the Dockers’ percentage going from 97.6 to 105.1 after their latest win.
But Lyon couldn’t care less about percentage after the game and was instead focusing on the areas his team need to improve if they are to match it with the AFL’s heavyweights.
GWS registered just 0.3 in the first half, but exploded to life in the third quarter with four goals as Fremantle’s intensity waned.
“I was a bit animated at three-quarter-time because some basics were not adhered to and they were a little bit costly,” Lyon said.
“Even just talking about rotations, people staying on too long, four 50m penalties – all of those things add up.
“We’re a club that tries to practice excellence and do it at every moment, so I thought we missed an opportunity there for a patch.
“But overall, I think you tick the performance.”
Fremantle could have easily won by 120 points or more but for their return of 2.13 in the second quarter.
Pavlich has now booted 31 goals over six matches, his season tally of 45 behind just Lance Franklin (51 goals) and Jack Riewoldt (47) in the Coleman Medal race.
The 30-year-old was simply unstoppable in the first quarter, kicking four goals for the term to set the tone for the match.
Fremantle take on Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium next Sunday and could be bolstered by the returns of star midfielder Nat Fyfe (shoulder), defender Zac Dawson (knee), forward Chris Mayne (calf) and utility Greg Broughton (back).
GWS have lost their past five games by a combined margin of 548 points, but are set to welcome back some big guns after making 10 changes against the Dockers.
Coach Kevin Sheedy admitted he took a risk by making so many changes, but said the team would be primed for next Saturday’s home clash with Collingwood.
“We’ll be competitive next week. We won’t be far off our best side next week,” Sheedy said.
“We’ll have (Chad) Cornes come back in, maybe (Dean) Brogan.
“We might bring four back in and keep three in that played well (against the Dockers).”
