SYDNEY Swans coach John Longmire says Fremantle is every chance to knock off top side Hawthorn in Saturday's Grand Final.
After watching Fremantle squeeze the life out of his reigning premier outfit, Longmire said the equation was simple for the Dockers next week on the biggest stage of all - tackle like they did in the preliminary final.
"Fremantle at the moment they are hungry, they've got some talent, real top-end talent and they're putting on enormous pressure," Longmire said.
"I think they are as good a chance as anyone, their pressure is very good.
"Our pressure last year, I think we had 110 tackles in the Grand Final and got there in the end. So you need to bring your A-pressure game, which they did tonight."
Longmire was full of praise for Fremantle coach Ross Lyon's talents as a senior coach.
"He just knows his footy, it's pretty simple, he knows what wins games of footy," Longmire said.
"He works really hard and understands the game and values the defensive aspects of it. He has a strong club here and he's getting results because he values those aspects of the game.
"He has got them playing well at the right time."
Longmire tried to play down the impact of injuries in the loss but disagreed when asked if his team needed to lift its level to compete with the extreme pressure of Fremantle next year.
"I think our best team puts on enormous pressure and there is no doubt Fremantle is putting on enormous pressure at the moment – they've got their best players available, well nearly all their best players and they are playing with a fierce want and will to win," he said.
"If you go back 14 years we haven't had as many senior games missed as we have this year. It's over twice as many as we had last year.
"You need a lot to go your way but the injuries seemed to happen to our senior players this year and we didn't get a lot back.
"A lot of players on our list improved this year … we needed a few more fresh men in the end."
