Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has lashed his players for allowing Andrew Brayshaw to be roughed up by Carlton’s midfield in the Dockers’ thumping AFL defeat.
The Dockers onball brigade was destroyed, setting the scene for Carlton’s comfortable 45-point victory at Marvel Stadium.
After a strong first two games of the season, Brayshaw’s influence was nullified on Sunday as he received heavy attention from Carlton and finished with 19 touches and just one clearance.
Longmuir said there were some “harsh words spoken” as he implored the Dockers to protect Brayshaw and lift after the Blues kicked seven consecutive goals from late in the first quarter.
“I said to the players at half-time, that’s not acceptable to allow that to happen,” he said.
“We can’t be a team that hangs our teammates out to dry.
But I thought by the end of the second quarter, it wasn’t just Andy – (the Blues) were being more physical with us all over the ground.
“I thought we stepped up to the mark and there were a lot more physical efforts by our players in the second-half, but we can’t allow teams to do that to us.
“We need to take that lesson out of the game because it wasn’t good enough.”
Longmuir did not believe there was anything unsportsmanlike about Carlton’s tactics.
Meanwhile, Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe is in line to return for next Sunday’s clash with Hawthorn if the dual Brownlow medallist passes concussion protocols.
Hayden Young (hamstring) and Lachie Schultz (concussion) were hurt against the Blues and Longmuir flagged there could be further changes after the heaviest defeat in his tenure at Fremantle.
“We need to put a consistent brand out there, which we haven’t for the first three weeks of the year,” he added.
“We need to look at personnel all over the ground but we’re limited with who we can bring in so we’ll have to weigh that up.”