FREMANTLE star Caleb Serong says the pressure on Justin Longmuir is "hard to cop" after the way the players performed against St Kilda, challenging his teammates to buy in completely to the roles and team behaviours needed to get their season back on track.
Serong revealed that he texted Longmuir over the weekend to underline his belief in the coach and the team's gameplan, believing that support was reflected across the entire group.
The vice-captain said there had not been 100 per cent buy in to team roles, however, holding the Dockers back and leading to mounting pressure on Longmuir ahead of a crunch game against Collingwood on Thursday night.
"I texted him yesterday and just made sure he knew I have full belief in the gameplan and him as a coach and I love playing for him," Serong said on Monday.
"It's on us to respond and make sure we're the ones going out there and playing the gameplan that he's setting up for us, because it's a winning gameplan in my opinion. We just haven't played it consistently enough and that's on us.
"He would have been copping a bit of heat over the last couple of days and I just wanted him to know that he's got my full backing as a leader and I've got no doubt that's a reflection of the whole playing group … he's got our full belief."
The Dockers reviewed their 61-point loss to St Kilda in Melbourne on Saturday morning, and Serong said there were some "honest chats" about the importance of playing team football and addressing inconsistency.
Asked why there was such a perceived disparity in the Dockers' talent and their on-field results, the midfield leader said getting full buy in to team roles was an issue that needed to be addressed.
"I think the best teams have individuals who can play on instincts and then guys that are playing roles," Serong said.
"We at the moment need to continue to dive into where we sit within that gameplan and, as individuals or as a group, how much we want to really give to that.
"At the moment, there's probably been not 100 per cent buy in across the board, and I think that's probably not allowing us to really bring that talent out to show.
"I think the roles and the dedication to the gameplan and the team will allow the talent to come out more."
While indicators like contested ball (-48) and clearances (-28) were galling against the Saints, Serong said he would never question his teammates' effort and they had "left it all out there" on Friday night.
The dual club champion said the club was digging into why it's form on the road was so concerning after dispiriting losses against Geelong (78 points in round one), Melbourne (10 points in round six) and the Saints.
"We need to fix it. The reality is we haven't changed anything with our travel schedule and routine, and over the last couple of years our travel results have actually been all right." he said.
"This year, definitely not. There's no beating around the bush and we need to figure out what is going on.
"We're analysing everything. We're looking at it all from a player leadership point of view, from a playing group point of view, from a holistic leadership point of view.
"We're digging deep into it because we need to be better on the road. It's not just losing games, it's the way we're performing."
