Perfect won’t please Dockers’ AFL coach

Fremantle coach Ross Lyon wants his players to focus on penetration rather than perfection in Saturday night’s AFL clash with Melbourne in Darwin.

Lyon was critical of his team’s ball movement in their recent 48-point loss to Collingwood, saying they were too cute in possession rather than focusing on breaking the lines.

The Dockers are likely to be confronted with slippery conditions in Darwin’s humidity, and Lyon said his team couldn’t afford to repeat the way they played against Collingwood.

“Some of our first movement with the ball was good, but we played with no penetration,” Lyon said.

“Our ball use and over handball gave us no chance.

“We didn’t take the contest on. We tried to be too perfect in the conditions.

“It’s going to be 32 degrees (in Darwin). But more so the humidity – it will be quite slippery.

“We’d like to play with a bit more penetration when we’ve got the opportunity.”

Lyon said he had spent the past week addressing the issue, and he hopes the players learnt from their mistakes against Collingwood.

“At the end of the day it’s an invasion game,” Lyon said.

“If you think you can invade to the other end without taking a contest on, well, you’re really optimistic aren’t you?

“Particularly in adverse weather conditions. We’re trying to clarify those decisions for the players and those principles.”

Dockers ruckmen Zac Clarke and Jack Hannath were both dropped in the wake of poor recent showings, while midfielder Michael Barlow goes out with a broken finger.

Ruckman Jon Griffin returns after recovering from a hamstring injury, while Ed Langdon and Garrick Ibbotson are the other inclusions.

Griffin’s ruck duel with Max Gawn will play a critical role in the match.

Melbourne defender Jack Grimes has been named for his first game of the season, while Mitch White also earns a go.

Tomas Bugg and Chris Dawes were axed.

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