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Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has heaped praise on his small forwards, as they sparked a comeback from 41 points down to keep their season alive with victory over the Western Bulldogs.
The Dockers became just the third team in more than a decade to fail to score a goal in an opening quarter in a final, registering just a single behind.
They had just three behinds in the second term before a free kick to Michael Walters turned the match at the 21-minute mark.
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And from there, the Dockers took control as their small fleet of forwards ran riot.
Players like Walters, Michael Frederick, Sam Switkowski and Lachie Schultz had a massive impact on the contest after midfielders Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw won the footy.
“I thought Sonny was desperate all night … some of the contests he gave, the relentless pressure he put on – Freddy was the same. So was Switta, Lachie Schultz. They were all desperate,” Longmuir praised.
“(The win) was pretty special.
“The players were overwhelmed really. To do what we did tonight takes a lot of belief, a lot of maturity. Takes a fair bit of guts really.
“We’ve been working on our mental skills for three years really since I got here for moments like this really, where you feel like you’re done but you stick to the task and claw your way back into it.
“I’m so proud of the players. The belief’s there.”
Switkowski said it was an “awesome feeling” to get his first win in a final, especially in such a stirring comeback.
“When Sonny got that first goal through, it was probably a turning point for us,” he said.
“A bit of momentum on our side, the confidence lifts.
“We knew we couldn’t just go into our shell.
“We just had to stick with what we were doing – outrun them really. We thought we had more in the tank.”
Switkowski said he was loving playing as part of a smaller attack line.
“We’ve got a nice little crew down there (the small forwards),” he said.
“We kind of feed off each other. Defensive pressure is our thing. All the boys brought it tonight.
“Our backline has been rock solid … as a forward line we can really rely on them.”
The Dockers have now booked themselves a semi final at the MCG against Collingwood, with another massive crowd expected.
On Saturday night, they played in front of their biggest home crowd in history – more than 59,000.
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