Fremantle’s Friday night prime-time appearance turned into a horror show, as they were dismantled 14.10 (94) to 5.3 (33) by St Kilda at Marvel Stadium, a result that has triggered an outpouring of criticism both within and outside the club.
The Dockers, touted as top-four contenders before the season, failed to show up under the roof in Melbourne. It was a flat, uninspired showing that saw them dominated across every key metric, clearances, inside 50s, contested possessions, all lost by embarrassing margins.
And no one felt the sting more than the players themselves. In a post-match interview with ABC Sport, half-back Jordan Clark didn’t hold back.
'We've let the Freo family down'
"It's f---in' pretty disappointing, to be honest, mate," Clark said. "We're embarrassed, we've let the Freo family down, we feel a lot of responsibility for an absolute crap performance tonight."
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It wasn’t just words. The numbers made for grim reading. St Kilda outmuscled the Dockers 151-103 in contested possessions and 50-22 in clearances. Fremantle only managed five goals in perfect conditions.
The fallout has intensified scrutiny on coach Justin Longmuir, whose tenure since 2020 has produced just one finals appearance, a brief run in 2022 that ended in a semi-final exit.
Longmuir, though, didn’t shy away from accountability in his post-match press conference.
"I think everyone at the football club at the moment should be questioning themselves," he said. "The first thing I look at after a performance like that... is, 'What did I get wrong?'"
With upcoming clashes against Collingwood and GWS looming large, Fremantle now sit 10th on the ladder with a 4-4 record, and a mountain of self-reflection ahead.