Craig O'Donoghue is part of The West Australian's sports writing team. He joined The West Australian in 2000 and spent 2013-14 working in the Melbourne bureau. He now focuses on AFL and basketball.
Fremantle conceded more than 100 points against Melbourne on Saturday and coach Justin Longmuir is refusing to tolerate players reducing their focus on being a strong defensive team.
Craig O'Donoghue
Alex Pearce has had an injury scare just three days out from Anzac Day, with the captain taken from the track and appearing to be complaining of neck pain after colliding with a teammate. Here’s what happened.
Liam Reidy will get his opportunity to make coach Justin Longmuir re-consider his call to use forwards as Sean Darcy’s back up when the Dockers have their main training session on Tuesday morning.
Fremantle star Andrew Brayshaw suffered another significant cut to his head on Saturday, and he’s now preparing to start games with his head bandaged to avoid being sent to the bench under the blood rule.
Fremantle midfielder Andrew Brayshaw has blamed a lack of communication for the Dockers’ inability to stop rampaging Melbourne star Kysaiah Pickett, saying they often had no idea where he was playing.
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir declared his team wasn’t tough enough against Melbourne and Jordan Clark says he was spot on, declaring it was obvious within minutes that his team was in strife.
Melbourne star Kysaiah Pickett was on fire against Fremantle and the rampant way he tore the game apart was the perfect reminder to the league about how badly the Demons missed him while suspended.
Fremantle were no match for Melbourne at the MCG and coach Justin Longmuir has singled out their toughness as a key reason - the same issue which cost them against Geelong in round one.
Fremantle have suffered the double blow of losing a game and all but losing the chance to recruit Kysaiah Pickett at the end of the season after he dominated their clash against Melbourne at the MCG.
Fremantle forward Isaiah Dudley’s playing style has been compared to Willie Rioli and there’s a good reason why that is the case given the former Eagles helped to mentor him in recent years.
Fremantle players spent the morning training at a Victorian high school avoiding holes, the cricket pitch and large patches of dirt. It’s time for the AFL to step in and fix this mess, writes Craig O’Donoghue.
Fremantle defender Heath Chapman was picked as the sub in round one and that move was an early reminder of how difficult is is going to be to get a game in the Dockers’ backline this season.