Dual premiership Kangaroo David King has taken aim at Fremantle’s “uncompetitive” style, claiming Justin Longmuir’s side is in “real danger” of missing finals if the game plan doesn’t change fast.
The Dockers, who reached the semi-finals last year, sit 13th on the ladder after losing three of their first four matches, including a 39-point defeat at the hands of Adelaide on Saturday.
King in recent weeks has voiced his concerns about the Dockers’ “fake footy” and “yesteryear” style.
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The dual All-Australian doubled down on his view on Sunday night as he highlighted vision from Saturday’s match at Adelaide Oval where the Crows squeezed the Dockers in defence and disallowed them from taking uncontested marks.
“They (the Dockers) have been on the radar for a long time here and we‘ve been waiting and waiting for this ship to come in – and it’s still waiting,” King told Fox Footy’s First Crack. “I think their game has taken off them far too easily.
Crows forwards ravage dour Dockers | 00:55
“I reckon they run for uncontested footy. I reckon this is junk the way they‘ve set up to play footy.
“We’ve seen teams roll back and say ‘have 130 marks if you want’ – and then we see the other version – which the Adelaide Crows went with – and said ‘no, let‘s not give them any marks, let’s not give them the switch and force them down the line’.
“They (the Dockers) only took 61 marks because they had to go down the line, they had to go to a contest and they don‘t engage in the fight it’s as simple as that.
“It‘s a groundball game. They’re 17th in the competition for groundball. It’s uncompetitive: -21 against Adelaide, -19 against West Coast the week before – and if West Coast stayed healthy, they’d be 0-4 … Force them down the line and you’ve got them.
“It‘s a plan that’s broken down way too easy. It’s a groundball game now. If you don’t engage in the groundball game, you’ll miss the eight.”
Fremantle Dockers Press Conference | 05:55
The Dockers on Saturday looked slow and tentative with the ball in hand, compared with the daring Crows who were intent on taking risks and moving the ball quickly once their stifling pressure created a turnover.
Longmuir said he felt his side‘s poor ball movement was the product of a lack of intensity at the contest.
“I thought our biggest issue started around the ball and our ability to win it,“ Longmuir told reporters post-game.
“We should be well aware as a team now that ball movement flows from the way that you win the ball and we couldn‘t get that right.
“I thought we started pretty well and got some early inside 50s and then, for whatever reason, when they started to get their game going we went into our shells.
“I don‘t have all the answers for every individual player, but they smashed us at 50-50 balls.
“It‘s not what we want to be.”
King said he was sick of the excuses from the Dockers coach.
“He blames a lot of things. I‘ve heard the same press conference 15 times and the way they play is self-defeating,” King said.
“If nothing changes, I‘m telling you now the heat will come over there. They shouldn’t be in this position.
“We’ll watch this game again in the next couple of weeks and if they decide to just chip, chip, chip, chip and have 130 marks, we‘ll be having the same discussion.”
The Dockers have a tough run in the lead-up to their bye, with clashes against Gold Coast, Western Bulldogs, Brisbane, Hawthorn, Sydney, Geelong and Melbourne.
“They’re in real danger now,” King said.
Rachele rolls out the celebrations | 01:02
“I can‘t stress enough that they have to change the way they’re playing.”
Longmuir urged his players to forget last season‘s successes and live in the moment.
“I‘m not going to put it on any one person but clearly your leaders need to stand up and set the standard,” he said.
“Once an opposition gets on top of us we‘re going insular and that’s everyone’s responsibility to show courage in those moments to get outside of themselves, connect with their teammates and stop the rot.
“It‘s disappointing because we took a step back when we wanted to go forward.”
— with NCA Newswire
