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Sport Nation
Duff: Justin Longmuir deserves his flowers
Mark Duffield • August 26th, 2025 9:00 pm
So Fremantle will play finals in 2025 after a stirring 15-point win over the Western Bulldogs.
We should take some time to pay some credit to the Dockers in general – but in particular their coach Justin Longmuir. I am not sure I have ever seen a bloke get less credit for his team’s wins and more blame for their losses.
Last week Longmuir in his own understated way, fired a few shots back at the critics with a gentle reminder that his team went into the round 24 clash with the Bulldogs with one more win on the board – and that a team that boasted the game’s best midfield and two of its best forwards might just be under as much pressure as Fremantle to deliver an outcome that reflected the talent on their list.
Longmuir’s team delivered for him remarkably after quarter time. The win was set up by a superb seven goal to zip second term when they split the Dogs open with the dominance of their talls forward of centre and the ability of their mids to get on top of the Bulldogs gun stoppage crew.
But if you wanted to hand out the biggest bouquets for this game I think you need to look at the power defenders Alex Pearce and Brennan Cox. Cox held Aaron Naughton to just two goals from nine disposals. Pearce held Sam Darcy goalless and also was the engineer of a crucial last quarter intercept that set up a Fremantle goal that helped keep the Dogs last ditch hail Mary charge at a safe distance.
Cox can look a bit casual at times but the urgency he showed from the outset yesterday took him back to his career high point in 2022 when he made the All Australian squad. He played with real urgency and authority in the air and significantly one of Naughton’s goals had to come from an opportunist soccer. He was unable to impose himself on the game at any stage in the air.
Pearce just bodied and harassed Darcy all day to the point that his impacts on the game came from further up the ground and the only shots on goal he took from distance.
The Dockers have played a tall team all year, two rucks, three tall forwards and Pearce and Cox in defence. It is a credit to Longmuir that he kept the faith with the structure. They exposed the smaller Dogs defenders with Jye Amiss hitting the scoreboard three times early – once to keep the team in touch when the Dogs were on top in the first quarter and then twice when the Dockers got rolling in the second term.
Treacy kicked three mighty goals including one from a long range set shot and Voss weighed in with three of his own.
Luke Jackson gave countless important contests down the line against greater numbers.
The Dogs opened the game up in the final quarter and threw caution to the wind and narrowed a lead that had blown out to more than 40 points to just 15 at the end – mainly off the back of a superb last quarter from Marcus Bontempelli who took the game over but Fremantle had done more than enough to win – and it must be said they have done more than enough to play finals as well. 16 wins is just one shy of Fremantle’s best ever season – which was in 2015 when they won the minor premiership.
Don’t stop now Freo – a home final – either against the Hawks or Gold Coast – a chance to push further into September.
