Round 1 of the AFL season is well-known for sticking to tradition. The Thursday night opener featuring Richmond and Carlton. A Hawthorn versus Essendon affair. A conventional nine-game round.

And then of course, there’s the traditional early overreactions in the media.

Fremantle are likely to be subject to such overreactions after being handed a brutal 78-point loss by Geelong at their Kardinia Park fortress. Through a summer of hype and anticipation, a list build regarded as premiership contending has taken shape in the west.

The Dockers’ midfield is star-studded, the defence stoic in the heat of opposition attacks, and their forward line is brimming with emerging talent. Add in an off-season recruiting coup by landing the talents of Shai Bolton as well as draft slider Murphy Reid falling into their lap, it shouldn’t be to Fremantle’s surprise that the pressure to perform has mounted, seemingly tenfold.

So hence, after a dismal Round 1 display, the AFLmedia landscape will likely change its tune on Fremantle and subject the Dockers to early criticism.

However, there is a key metric that can resolve Fremantle’s continuation of a damning trend. The ongoing trend itself is not positive for the Dockers, but it reveals an aspect amendable in Justin Longmuir‘s playstyle, which could be the fix that ensures they can rebound against a Sydney outfit hungry to overcome an 0-2 start.

The chink in the armour

An ultra-defensive play style has been symbolic of Longmuir’s tenure at the Dockers. In three of Longmuir’s five seasons coaching the club, the Dockers have ranked top five for least points conceded (fifth in 2020, second in 2022, fourth in 2024).

While only the latter two seasons have resulted in a positive win-loss record, it’s evident that a strong Fremantle defence is the key to winning under Longmuir.

This stingy structure sits hand-in-hand with the Dockers’ desire to be in possession of the football. Uncontested possessions, disposals and marks per game are all indicative stats of Fremantle’s playstyle, and their more successful seasons have seen them dominate these categories.

The most intriguing statistic is marks per game. Under Longmuir’s reign, the Dockers have ranked relatively midtable at sixth, 15th, ninth, sixth and eighth in respective years since 2020.

However, they have recorded more on average than the AFL mean in each year, except 2021. While it may not be the statistic that jumps off the paper, its importance was bare in 2024, and seemingly still is in 2025.