Coach calls Freo a "mediocre team"
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon has described the Dockers as a "mediocre team" in the wake of their 18 point loss to Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval today.
The Dockers slipped to 4-4 after being outrun by the Power, who kicked nine goals to five in the second half.
After playing in the grand final last year, Fremantle have been unable to beat Hawthorn, the Power, Sydney or North Melbourne and Lyon said the team was no longer elite.
"We need to improve our football. The players and myself aren't thrilled. We're a medicore team at the minute," Lyon said.
"We acknowledge it. At the minute we are normal, good, average, mediocre. We're certainly not great. That's indisputable.
"We have played some great footy in the past but the past is irrelevant. As it sits today, we are in the ruck. There's a few elite teams around and we are not one of them.
"But we are going to work our backsides off to try and improve our footy."
The Dockers have another huge test next week when they play Geelong at Patersons Stadium. It will be Matthew Pavlich's 300th game but defender Paul Duffield is facing a nervous few days as the AFL's bumping laws prepare for another big test.
Duffield bumped Port Adelaide star Chad Wingard just moments after he kicked the ball. The Fremantle star's shoulder collected Wingard in the head so the match review panel must now decide whether the level of force was enough to warrant a report.
Stephen Hill was subbed out of the game during the third term with a leg injury.
The Dockers were without key defenders Luke McPharlin and Zac Dawson but Port Adelaide small forward Chad Wingard proved the biggest problem.
Playing his 50th game, Wingard kicked 5.2 from 17 disposals.
Zac Clarke kicked three goals for the Dockers, Nick Suban showed enormous courage to boot two majors after receiving an accidental knee to the face from Alex Silvagni while Nat Fyfe and David Mundy were influential all day.
Lyon said the Power won the game because of their ball winning.
"The bottom line is this. In the last quarter when the game was up for grabs, they dominated ground ball," Lyon said.
"It was 10 entries to one. Eight shots. Ground ball was five to 19 and clearances was two to 12. Out of the centre square bounce where you're trying to get some drive is was 0-6. In all those simple but key indicators of winning the ball and getting it forward, we struggled."
