Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has refused to blame the famed ‘Wharfie Time’ for their heart-breaking grand final defeat as he expressed both disappointment and pride in their efforts.
The Dockers led by 17 points when forward Pat Voss booted his third goal, and the renowned crowd activation was hit at the MCG to send their supporters into incredible scenes.
But the script quickly flipped, with Brisbane kicking the next four goals to over-run the minor premiers and claim a hat-trick of premierships with a thrilling 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89) victory at the MCG on Saturday.
Lions players post-game revealed Chris Fagan had on Saturday implored them to use ‘Wharfie Time’ to their own advantage as their own motivating force if it was deployed late in the grand final.
A distraught Longmuir was quick to shut down any suggestions that he would like ‘Wharfie Time’ — which had been instrumental in wins against Hawthorn and Geelong earlier this year — to never be used again.
“Of course I would. I don’t think it has any impact. Did Charlie’s (Cameron) Country Road celebration have any impact on the game? Probably not,” he said.
“I don’t think we can put it down to that. I just think we put it down to one of the better teams of all time, backs against the wall and they found something. And we just didn’t have the answer for that.”
Longmuir said the coaches, players, and club as a whole “were devastated,” but he had both a sense of pride and disappointment in how they performed.
“We came to play, we executed a plan, created so many opportunities for ourselves. I thought we competed our backsides off all day,” he said.
“There were times when we got challenged throughout the game and when we responded and put ourselves in such a great position to go on and win it. We just didn’t quite play out the 120 minutes, and clearly we’re playing against one of the better teams of all time.
“They just found something, and we didn’t have an answer for their run on late. I’m just so proud of the way we competed all day, but there’s no sugar-coating the result. It’s so disappointing, and it’s devastating. A mix of emotions.”
Among the heartbreak are the distressing scenes of captain Alex Pearce hitting the turf in the middle of the third quarter as he ruptured his Achilles.
The key defender had kept Logan Morris goalless to that point in the game, but as he chased a ball on the broadcast wing, went down and took what seemed like forever to lift his head off the turf as he was overwhelmed with disappointment.
Morris would turn the game on its head in the final term, booting three goals, including the final two in the incredible comeback, with Pearce forced to watch on from the bench with ice on the back of his ankle.
“I reshuffled the deck chairs a little bit, we had to play a bit smaller. We missed his leadership across the back end of the game and clearly missed his leadership late,” Longmuir said.
“He gives us so much in that aspect of the game. I feel sorry for him. He would’ve loved to have been out there with his teammates, and we definitely missed him.
“He’s been a little bit sore, but I am not sure that contributed to the injury.”
Pearce was spotted in the rooms in tears as he was comforted by teammates. Longmuir said Pearce had put on a brave face.
“I am sure he’s devastated, not only for today’s result but it looks like it might cost him a bit of time on the sidelines and another stint in rehab,” he said.
“He can hold his head up high, he’s led us so well across the course of the year and stood up in key moments to allow us to get here.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t go his way today, and I feel for him on that front.”
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