Source : ABC NEWS
“Half-hearted.”
“Not tough enough.”
“Too comfortable.”
“Absolute crap.”
“Are we up for the challenge?”
Those were words used by Fremantle players or coaches to describe performances in recent weeks, as the club stumbles from one inconsistent performance to another.
And after a 10-goal loss to St Kilda, in which Fremantle was held to the third-lowest half-time score in its 30-year history, the spotlight intensified on a squad which experts said should be a top-eight side.
The Dockers have lost four of eight games to start the season. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett)
It also led to questions about coach Justin Longmuir’s tenure, as his side slid to a fourth loss in eight games.
“Does he [Longmuir] have the ability to stand up in front of the group, and make them want to run through a wall?” Collingwood premiership player Sharrod Wellingham said on ABC Perth.
“Can he build the players up to want to jump out of their skin?”
A quick scroll through thousands of comments on the club’s social media posts highlighted the frustration Dockers fans felt at the side’s performances, summed up by poster Alex Merendino.
“Being a Fremantle Dockers fan is like signing up for emotional masochism year after year. It’s as if the club exists to show you how far they can fall from their own potential, all while making sure you’re along for every crushing second,” he wrote.
A rod for their own back
The frustration from fans is understandable, considering statements made by chief executive Simon Garlick in the build-up to the 2025 season.
“We believe that in 2025 and beyond, what we’ve built here will be something opponents fear, the competition respects, and most importantly, our fans love,” he said at the Dockers season launch.
“When you add the little things up, like we have over the last five years, we are giving ourselves the best chance we’ve had to be in contention for a decade or more.”
Dockers CEO Simon Garlick backed Justin Longmuir to be coaching in 2026, just hours before the clubs 10-goal loss to St Kilda. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
At four wins and four losses to open the season, finals seems a stretch, let alone contending for a premiership.
Before Fremantle ran out onto the Docklands surface to face St Kilda, Garlick made a statement which would have surprised most fans wondering when the talented side would deliver.
Asked on ABC Sport if Longmuir would be the Dockers coach at the start of 2026, he was adamant in his response.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Garlick said.
“JL [Longmuir] is doing a fantastic job. I think like any senior coach, they tend to get all the blame when a result doesn’t go their way.
“And then when you win games of footy, the credit tends to get spread around a whole bunch of people.”
Three hours later, those words looked even more surprising, with experts slamming Fremantle’s performance.
The Dockers recorded their third-lowest ever half-time score in Friday’s loss to St Kilda at Docklands. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett)
“I’ve seen too many Dockers today, no names mentioned, ducking and weaving to avoid contact,” coaching great Mick Malthouse said on the ABC’s coverage.
“You look at it and you go: ‘Hang on, you’re in a position to actually impact that ball, and why did the St Kilda player get there before you?’
“You look like you’re going to get there, but you ran past it. That’s damning.”
Geelong premiership captain Cameron Ling agreed.
“We had a team totally committed to an attitude of we are here to do everything we can to win this game. And then we had a team who clearly picked and [chose],” he said.
“They jumped out of the way a couple of times. They weren’t up for the fight. The attitude wasn’t there.”
Even Fremantle defender Jordan Clark didn’t mince his words following the loss.
“To be honest, it’s pretty f***ing disappointing,” he told ABC Sport.
“We feel a lot of responsibility for an absolute crap performance tonight.
“There’s a lot of frustrations, feelings running through each and every single one of our bodies at the moment.”
Six seasons and no return
Longmuir is in his sixth season as Dockers coach, a team that played finals once in 2022.
Last season, they lost the final four games to drop from a top-four spot to outside the eight.
In 2025, the Dockers have lost to Geelong, Sydney, Melbourne and St Kilda, with only the Cats considered a realistic chance of making the eight.
There are serious questions Fremantle must wrestle with: Is the team not as good as analysts believe? Or is Justin Longmuir incapable of getting them to perform to their potential?
The Dockers play Collingwood (H), GWS (A), Port Adelaide (H), and Gold Coast (A) in the next four weeks. Their season, and possibly Longmuir’s job, could be decided by the bye in round 13.
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