Achi news desk-
Fremantle midfielder Andrew Brayshaw has urged his teammates to adopt a proactive mindset in a bid to “throw the first punch” in their clash with Adelaide on Good Friday.
Slow starts were a huge problem for the Dockers last year – when they trailed at quarter-time in 17 of 23 games and missed the finals – and the trend has continued this season.
Successive wins to open the new campaign have come the hard way, with Justin Longmuir’s side clawing back from significant early deficits of 25 and 33 points against Brisbane and North Melbourne respectively.
Fremantle host Adelaide at Optus Stadium on Friday, with the 0-2 Crows desperate to get off the mark for 2024.
“We’ve got to have a very proactive mindset … in that first quarter we’re going to try and throw the first punch,” Brayshaw told AAP.
“(We need to) be very physical, be very aggressive and try to score early in the first quarter.”
Brayshaw admitted rebuilding North Melbourne were much hungrier than the Dockers in the first half last week and “sliced” us through the corridor for almost an hour.
But Fremantle drew on their round-one experience, when they fought back to beat Brisbane in last year’s final.
They turned the tide before half-time against the Kangaroos and kicked seven goals in a row in the third quarter after taking control of the midfield battle.
“We took a lot of confidence out of (round one), and probably last year … in situations like that we might have started to second-guess ourselves and go away from our brand,” said Brayshaw.
“But especially after (round one) we knew our way could do it, so we stuck to our guns.
“We’ve shown now that we haven’t had a quick start but we can wrestle it our way.
“They haven’t been the prettiest wins, but they’ve been wins nonetheless, so that will give us confidence.”
Fremantle have won their opening two games of the season for the first time since 2015, when they claimed the minor premiership under Longmuir’s predecessor Ross Lyon.
Brayshaw insists the Dockers are not about to rest on their laurels.
“It’s a good start. It’s the position we want to be in with a couple of early wins, but we’re not getting any credits going into this week,” said Brayshaw.
“Adelaide are going to be very hungry and they are going to be physical and try to be very aggressive and attack us from the first bounce.
“We will look at how we can improve – and there is plenty to improve on.”
