IN THE drama of Rory Lobb's return to Optus Stadium on Friday night and the impact that had on Fremantle, an admission from coach Justin Longmuir that exposed the depth of his midfield's issues in 2023 was lost.
The Dockers' inability to win the midfield contests this season has been among their most costly shortcomings, with last year's semi-finalists ranking last in the AFL for ground ball gets differential (-15.5) and losing the clearance battle in every match.
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Fixing the midfield and becoming more competitive when the ground ball is there to be won has been a focus for weeks, but the loss to the Western Bulldogs was a new low.
The Dockers lost the ground ball battle by 31 and ranked 18th for the round in the key indicator for the third straight week.
Longmuir's explanation of what the Dockers tried against the more experienced Bulldogs' midfield – and the impact it had on the game once that plan was abandoned – highlighted just how big an issue this is for Fremantle.
"We've been supporting the stoppage, especially the mid stoppage, with a forward," Longmuir said.
"The last quarter we tried to pull our forwards back and get even numbers and give us a shot at winning the game. But they kicked four goals out of stoppage in the last quarter. We sort of exposed ourselves trying to win the game in some sense."
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The impact identified by Longmuir once the Dockers stopped supporting their midfield with an extra number is what made the admission so significant in the bigger picture of Fremantle's season.
We knew the midfield had issues, but they were laid bare on Friday night both in the game and in Longmuir's post-match analysis.
The Dockers have gone from having one of the most exciting young midfields in the competition, which looked to be building significant depth during the pre-season, to now having one that is out-of-form and over-reliant on star Caleb Serong, who is in exceptional touch.
So, what has changed? Firstly, it is possible the Dockers underestimated the impact of losing veteran David Mundy who, on-field coaching aside, remained a key ground ball player in 2022.
While ground ball wasn't a team strength in 2022, it wasn't an obvious weakness either, with the Dockers ranking 10th across the season with a differential that was close to even.
What impact a 38-year-old Mundy would have had this season can't be known, but the team's performance without him can.
Mundy ranked No.3 at the Dockers last season for ground ball gets (6.5 a game) and No.3 for contested possessions (9.0), behind Will Brodie and Serong in each category.
Recruit Jaeger O'Meara, who is averaging 5.5 ground ball gets and 8.0 contested possessions, has contributed to replacing Mundy without going the whole way. Ruckman Sean Darcy (5.0 and 11.3) has also lifted in both areas. But neither can yet provide the wisdom and on-field coaching of Mundy in a young midfield, nor the polish of the retired veteran.
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Meanwhile, Andrew Brayshaw's ground ball wins have dropped from 6.0 in 2022 (ranked No.4 at Fremantle) to 3.8 this season (No.11). The 23-year-old's contested possession rate has been consistent, dropping slightly from 9.0 to 8.8.
Brayshaw is impacting the game in other ways, as Longmuir pointed out recently; he's averaging career-high inside 50s (5.0) and clearances (5.2), but there is a clear ground ball hole at Fremantle that needs to be filled.
When considering how they do that, it is worth remembering that the Dockers are among the youngest and least experienced teams in the AFL this season, having ranked 18th for the round in the past two weeks for games' experience and 16th for average age.
The most experienced team the Dockers fielded this season was in round two against North Melbourne, when they ranked 11th for average age (25.3) and 14th for games' experience (79.6). It was also the only match in which they won the ground ball battle (+2).
With a 2-4 record after six rounds and matches against Brisbane, Sydney, Geelong and Melbourne to come before the mid-season bye, time is running out for the Dockers to right the ship.
And it may just be that there is no quick fix this season, and rebuilding their ground ball game with a young midfield group will take longer than they may have hoped.
