Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir left his side in no doubt about his thoughts on their start against the Western Bulldogs, delivering an old-fashioned spray at quarter-time.
The Dockers players had looked to separate into their line groups after a slow beginning to their clash with the injury-depleted Bulldogs, conceding six goals in the opening term to head to the first break behind by 26 points.
But Longmuir quickly called his group together and delivered an impassioned address.
The move may have had the desired effect, with Michael Frederick and Isaiah Dudley quickly kicking goals to cut back the deficit at the start of the second term.
The injury-depleted hosts steadied, but the Dockers were able to reduce the margin at main break to 14 points by coming up with the last two goals of the first half, including a brilliant finish on the run from Murphy Reid as the half-time siren sounded.
Ahead of the game, Longmuir said his side would not look to employ a tag against Marcus Bontempelli, and the Bulldogs superstar promptly put the Dockers to the sword.
In the first term alone, he racked up 15 disposals and 339 metres gained and promptly slotted a set shot at the start of the second quarter when resting forward.
When asked whether his side would employ a tagger against either Bontempelli or Ed Richards ahead of the game, Longmuir said his side would back in their own system, as they had done throughout a six-game winning streak.
“We’ve got a couple of stoppage roles we’ve got in mind, but we don’t want to reactive around the contest,” Longmuir said.
When Bontempelli returned to the midfield later in the quarter, Andrew Brayshaw appeared to have been given the responsibility of playing an accountable role.
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