FREMANTLE coach Justin Longmuir has hailed his team's growing maturity after adjusting on the run against North Melbourne on Saturday night and winning a tight game that they might have dropped in the past.
The Dockers appeared to be on the ropes deep in Saturday night's six-point win at Optus Stadium, conceding five unanswered goals to the desperate Kangaroos and letting a 28-point lead slip.
KANGAROOS v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats
They steadied to kick the final goal of the game through Luke Jackson, however, while Josh Treacy pushed into defence to take a game-saving mark, with Longmuir proud of how his young team secured the win under fierce pressure.
"Once we got challenged, it was maybe one of those games in the past where we might not have been able to get it done, and the players were able to dig in and execute reasonably well," Longmuir said.
"I think the players are a lot clearer on what we need in those moments. They understand that we play our best footy anyway when it's in the contest, but to be able to close the game down like that for a long period of time and take their momentum away, it shows good maturity.
"There's a lot of different things, some of it tactical, some of it leadership, some of it just players being in those positions more and knowing what is needed. We were able to readjust and I'm proud of their efforts."
Longmuir described the performance overall as a "mixed bag", with the Dockers handling the Kangaroos' pressure well for periods but then getting pinned in their back half for others.
They lost the clearances (37-41), inside 50s (48-60) and contested possessions (147-150), while North out-tackled the Dockers inside 50 by a massive margin of 29-7.
Fremantle had a clear advantage in the air, however, taking 13 contested marks to four, including Treacy's grab running back in defence.
"It was unbelievable," Longmuir said of his young forward's mark. "They equalised, so he had to man up back there when we wanted him as an extra.
"I thought he was really strong in the contest all day. And then on the last line of defence, to be able to have the sticky fingers like that to mark it was handy.
"I would have rather him not kick it out of bounds on the full [after the mark], but take the good with the bad, maybe."
Longmuir said small forward Sam Switkowski had been substituted with hamstring tightness and would be assessed after playing an important role on Saturday night with a game-high nine score involvements from his 14 disposals.
Key defender Alex Pearce appears unlikely to be available against Essendon next Thursday night as he continues to recover from a hotspot in his shin.
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson said his team was disappointed not to leave Perth with two wins from its pair of relocated home games, but Saturday night provided more evidence the team was "on the right path".
A lack of polish in the front half was the difference, he said, as the Roos let several potential chances slip through skill errors.
"A big focus for us was just to get our inside 50s up. We've been averaging 45 inside 50s a game to date, and to get 60 today is a step in the right direction for us," Clarkson said.
"We just think if we get enough volume of inside 50s, the goals will eventually come. But we would just like to have a little bit more polish as we go across the arc.
"We're disappointed with the result, but really, really pleased with the process. We went about it the right way. And if you get the process right often enough, it'll eventually turn into victories."
Asked about the extent of their travel this season, playing at six different venues across their past seven matches, Clarkson said the Roos understood their requirement to hit the road in order to "balance the books".
"It's funny. I ran into Scotty Pendlebury, who was on the plane when I came back from the Hall of Fame on Wednesday, and he was laughing about the amount that we've had to travel, compared to the gift that they get playing at the MCG on a regular basis," Clarkson said.
"But the Collingwood side are able to generate their revenue from their crowds and their opportunities. They get to play at the MCG and North aren't in that position at this current time.
"We need to get on the road and play our games in Tassie, in this case WA, and we're happy to do so, because if we don't it puts the competition and our club in a perilous state if we can't balance the books."
