Fremantle coach Ross Lyon reviews his team’s 100-point loss to the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
On what went wrong…
“We haven’t been starting well and again we didn’t tonight. They comprehensively obliterated us around the ball, in the stoppages and then we didn’t defend that well when it went in.
“We didn’t structure up very well to get it out, it was world record pace in terms of turnovers and them scoring easily. I know they are a good team, but even by Crows standards that was quite extreme, even in the conditions.”
On arriving in Adelaide a day later than usual…
“We changed our routine coming here, because night games we always go two days out. We found that was a bit long to be sitting in hotels, so we arrived (with) one day less (to spare) but it’s ifs, buts and maybes. We tried something different and we need to get it working. We understand we are a team trying to transition. They are a very good team who sit on top of the ladder and they got a hold of us and taught us some very good football lessons.”
On how the rain affected their start…
“You’ve got to be a no excuse football club. To be honest, I didn’t even notice it was raining that heavy in the first quarter. I didn’t think it was torrential rain or anything. There was no wind, just a bit of rain. As a coaching staff that have been with me for a long time, we spoke about how some of our best wins in Adelaide have been in the wet, so that wouldn’t be an excuse.”
On missing Aaron Sandilands…
“It was a concern when Aaron (Sandilands) wasn’t there, (as) we weren’t able to stand up. He gives us first use, so we need to adapt to that better. I am not sure whether he is back or not. I think the mids and myself would walk away and go ‘we need to be better without Aaron there’. I’d like to think we don’t need silver service to compete and tackle and get the ball going our way. Maybe on the surface that was an issue.”
On the even state of the competition…
“It’s a tough competition if you’re mentally not there. If you are physically a bit off, whatever percentage that may be, you are going to be under pressure.
“We talk about it from week to week. A week’s a long time in footy. We are now seeing it in halves and then capitulating for a half. I think the physical demand and the mental demand when you’ve got to get the very best out of yourself to be competitive. Which is where we sit in that basket. We are seeing teams go from extraordinary to ordinary very quickly. They just don’t have that absolute out and out talent to sustain high level football for 22 weeks.”
