Fremantle coach Ross Lyon insisted that the sexual harassment scandal which had engulfed him and the club during the week was no excuse for the Dockers 77-point hammering at the hands of Richmond at the MCG on Sunday.
Fairfax Media revealed on Monday that Lyon was the club official at the centre of the incident which led to the Dockers paying a former female employee a substantial financial settlement.
Full blast: Fremantle coach Ross Lyon gives his players some words of encouragement at quarter time against Richmond.
Photo: AAP
A tough week for Fremantle got even tougher when the reigning premiers restricted them to two goalless quarters and their fourth-lowest score in their 24-year history (4.9.33) in perfect conditions.
“When you lose everyone likes to make excuses,” Lyon said post-match.
“We want to be a no-excuse football club and were just here to perform and we didnt get it done today.”
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Class act: Nat Fyfe shrugs off a Richmond tackle.
Photo: AAP
Lyon fears that Fremantle are starting to become poor travellers given they have now won just one of their last nine games on the road and he believes his players may have to cut down on social activities when travelling interstate.
“Our interstate (record) hasnt been as good as home,” Lyon said.
“Weve got to make sure that the expectation is when were away from home that we perform.
“We dont want the comforts at home to be able to perform and its just starting to look like that a little bit so wed like to address that during the week.
“Its young players back to Melbourne, they go and see their player manager, they go and see their mum, go and see their grandma, go and see their girlfriend, see their mates for a coffee and all of a sudden youve had six interactions when you could be relaxing and preparing for your footy. Im not saying thats happened, but its likely.”
One Docker whose performance didnt suffer at all was Nat Fyfe who was best on ground and Richmond coach Damien Hardwick admitted he found himself watching the Fremantle captain during the game.
“Hes an incredible player. He took five contested marks in the first half, he was, in my opinion, by far the most dominant player on the ground. I thought he was sensational,” Hardwick said.
“Hes so hard, his ability to run full pelt through a stoppage, take it at the same time while jumping and getting out. We couldnt tackle him.
“Hes back to his best, theres no doubt about that and hes a quality find … I dont know how to stop him.”
The ladder-leading Tigers are playing so well at the moment, they remind Lyon of top teams from the past that hes coached such as Sydney (as an assistant), St Kilda and Fremantle of a few years ago.
“Its just a real belief in what youre doing and theyre hard and theyre seasoned,” Lyon said.
“That beliefs been built up because theyve done it under pressure so they would never think theyre beaten.”
In a further boost for the Tigers, captain Trent Cotchin (knee) is expected to be available for their meeting with surprise packets North Melbourne next week but Dion Prestia (calf) and Shaun Grigg (hamstring) are unlikely.
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Ronny Lerner is a Sports reporter for The Age.
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