Former premiership player Peter Sumich believes Fremantle needs to tidy up their selection and some tactical areas to become true contenders.
The Dockers push for finals was made more difficult after losing to Geelong by 11-points at Optus Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
In a race for finals which sees eleven different teams fighting for a place in the top eight, Fremantle now must win their next two games to book a ticket for September.
Fremantle, now sixth on the ladder, face a tough run home with GWS and Port Adelaide – both top four still to come in the next fortnight.
Speaking to SportFM, Sumich believes the loss was poor given what was at stake.
“They needed to win that game and now they put themselves under the pump,” he said.
“Even if they just win one of these games they could still fall out of the eight.
“Not a great result. (It’s) Something that they’ve got to make sure they tidy up especially this week.”
Fremantle welcomed Nat Fyfe, Matt Johnson, Karl Worner and Patrick Voss into the side to replace Josh Treacy (Injured), Tom Emmett (Suspension), Neil Erasmus and James Aish (Omitted).
In addition, ruckman Sean Darcy was withdrawn from the match and replaced by Matt Taberner last minute due to injury.
Despite making those three unforced changes, Sumich believes there are still areas for the selection committee to rework looking ahead.
“I think to go to the next level, for them to elevate themselves into strong premiership contention, they need to tidy up these things,” he said.
“If they missed out this year, they’ve got to make sure over the preseason they’re tidying this up and making sure they’ve got the right mix.
“The core of the players running around are fine. They’ve had a very good year, but if they want a better year or a premiership year, they’ve got to make sure that they’re fixing these things up.”
Sumich also believes some match day tactics have a part to play in Fremantle’s close losses in must win games.
Five of Fremantle’s eight losses all had margins of under 15 points, in addition to the draw against Collingwood in Round 11.
Minutes before the third break young key forward Jye Amiss booted a goal ensuring his side took the lead into the final quarter.
However, Fremantle’s lead did not carry over into the final siren, although it was a hard fought out contest between the two sides.
When asked if it was a mindset or tactical fix, Sumich put it down to tactical.
“It allows opposition just to be in the hunt. Fremantle are always in the game and they’re allowing them to be,“ he said.
“They’ll destroy the odd side. Some sides they’ll win by 10 plus goals.
“The better sides, if they’re in front, they’re only in front by two or three goals, allowing the opposition a real good chance to strike at certain stages of a game.
“It’s more tactical one that I see and they’re the finer details they’ve got to fix up.”
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