Fremantle coach Lisa Webb says the finer details let the Dockers down as their derby streak ended, but she is confident they can bed down a finals spot in the last month of the AFLW season.
The old adage of moments winning games came true for Fremantle as they fell to their first defeat to West Coast since their rivals’ inception, going down by 12 points at Sullivan Logistics Stadium.
But it was perhaps not the big moments which eluded Fremantle, but the smaller, more granular moments where their poise and execution failed them.
Fremantle did go scoreless in the final term, but they won the tackle count, only lost the clearance battle by five, had just five contested possessions less and enjoyed 32 more uncontested possessions.
Webb said their first-ever derby loss stung and Eagles’ game-long pressure on their ball-carriers was a big factor in Fremantle’s defeat.
“We didn’t absorb the pressure as well. We couldn’t get the ball back on our terms, and some of the things we did were quite uncharacteristic,” Webb said.
“It’s four points against the team that’s been hunting us for a while. We would have liked to have started our ball chain in different areas of the ground, defended the ground better than we did.
“They stepped into those moments, and we went for kicks that maybe weren’t on, or we were forcing the ball when we didn’t need to and we had players out.
“We’ve got to make sure we get back to the footy we can play, and take those moments, because as much as we can say we’ve got to keep taking those moments, if we don’t against a team like this that were raring to go, we lose the game.
“We didn’t execute.. We were just off in some some areas as well, and they got off the chain on us. They marked the ball really well, and they played the conditions well and when we fumbled or ran over ground balls or didn’t execute tackles in key moments, they got inside and out on us and made the most of their opportunities.”
Webb said there was still confidence within the group they could hold onto eighth spot, despite having to play top-of-the-ladder North Melbourne next week, with third-placed Geelong and seventh-placed Sydney still to come.
“We’re good enough in key areas that let us down today. We have to get better, and it’s all 21 of us to be honest, plus myself in the coaching group, clearly,” she said.
“We’ll get back to the to the coaches’ board and ook at what areas of the game we need to improve on, and what personnel we might have to look at to make that work.”
