West Coast Eagles assistant coach Justin Longmuir has told Perth radio station 6PR that he believes a lack of composure with the football ultimately cost his side on the weekend. The Eagles were able to take the game right up to their cross-town rivals Fremantle for three quarters of Sunday’s Carlton Mid Derby, but were unable to sustain the required intensity to win the match, with the Dockers kicking away in the final quarter to win by 28-points. “We played really well for three quarters, but were obviously unable to sustain it," said Longmuir. “Some of their better players got hold of us in the last quarter, which was disappointing. “We always knew with their ball winning ability and their big bodies around the ball, that they were always going to get their hands on it at stages. “We really wanted to try and nullify their influence. “Maybe it was the young side, but personally I think it was a little bit of composure with the footy. “We got shallow entries with our inside 50s, rather than waiting to see if there was a better option and trying to get it deeper inside 50 where they couldn’t rebound it as quickly and where we were more chance of scoring.” Longmuir highlighted the defensive pressure his side applied to Fremantle throughout the first half as highly positive aspect of the weekend’s game, but admitted that the Eagles needed to be able to maintain that intensity for an entire match if they want to achieve a positive result. “To have 62 tackles in the first half of footy was an outstanding effort," said Longmuir. “We had 21 tackles inside the forward 50, so that helped to pin the ball in there, but we couldn’t sustain it for four quarters. “We regroup now and move onto a tough challenge next week.” The task doesn’t get any easier for West Coast this week, as they lock horns with last year’s premiers Sydney in a must win encounter at Patersons Stadium. Longmuir remains hopeful that midfielders Luke Shuey, Daniel Kerr and Sharrod Wellingham will all be pushing for selection in the senior side to take on the Swans on Sunday. “Shuey just has to get through training and he will play. “Kerrey trained today and did extra running after training and looked to be moving pretty well. “Wellingham also got through his second game, albeit in the reserves, so he will get consideration as well. “It’s looking positive on that front with Scott Selwood only a week away as well." Source (West coast eagles website)
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 09:50:14 +0000
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