Longmuir’s lament: Fremantle coach takes aim at fixturing after his side is overrun

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says that when it comes to fixturing in the wake of Opening Round, the AFL have "got it wrong". 

For the third consecutive year, the Dockers were scheduled to play an opponent in Round 1 who was scheduled* to participate in Opening Round, when Fremantle were not.

(*In 2025, the Dockers faced Geelong in Round 1, a side meant to feature in Opening Round, before weather intervened.)

The subsequent disparity in match fitness was the subject of Longmuir's impassioned plea to decision makers at the AFL. His comments came after his side - one that is expected to legitimately content in season 2026 - squandered a sizeable advantage, ultimately losing to a Geelong outfit already with a game under their belt, 16.14. (110) to 14.16. (100), at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

"Anyone who's been around football would realise it's an advantage," Longmuir said. 

"We should all start the season the same way; there should be no competitive advantage for any team playing a game before they play another team.

"It just makes so much sense to people in the industry, and we've just got it wrong."

Longmuir alluded to the fact that the comments were not coming from his mouth, nor those of Dockers officials, for the first time.

Asked whether or not their views were known to the AFL, Longmuir said: "Well, we've said it enough."

Powered by their biggest ever first quarter total outside of Western Australia, the Dockers led at every change, but not when it mattered most. Poor goalkicking was a feature of the capitulation, with the Dockers managing just 3.8 after the long break.

"We were disappointed with the way we handled the second half and disappointed with how we handled the last quarter," Longmuir said.

Geelong coach Chris Scott believed his side were wary of a fancied Fremantle outfit, but were still rocked by their opponent's fast start.

"It's not as if we predicted that start, but we were well aware of the threat," Scott said.

Speaking to Fox Footy after the final siren, Cats midfielder Max Holmes said Scott was in fine form at the first change. The Cats were looking to respond after an abysmal showing against the Suns last week, and rather obviously did not do so in the first stanza.

"That (quarter-time) was the maddest i've seen him," Holmes said, while five-goal forward Shannon Neale told the broadcaster that the word "disgraceful" was a feature of the spray.

Scott was proud of the unwavering faith in themselves and the coaches that his charges displayed.

"The most important thing is the players had belief that if we did shift a few things that we could turn the momentum of the game," he said.

"We thought we allowed them to do what they do best a bit too much, so when there was a bit more pressure around the ball, we thought we gave ourselves a bit more of an even chance.

"It obviously wasn't going to get fixed in the next quarter - it had to be a belief that over the course of the next three quarters we could work our way into the game.

"I'm proud of them for believing in the plan and getting it done.

"It's a rare situation to have that belief when you've been so badly outplayed. They were dominant."

Superstar Jeremy Cameron kicked three goals in his return from injury, ably supporting the aforementioned Neale, while Holmes and Bailey Smith were a large reason for the turnaround in the middle of the ground.

Luke Jackson, Caleb Serong and Hayden Young were predictably among the Dockers best, while Isaiah Dudley led Fremantle's scoring, with three majors of his own.