Arabic version: فريمانتل مطالبة بمواجهة ألم النهائي الكبير

According to ABC News, Fremantle’s recovery from its grand final loss to Brisbane began immediately after the final siren at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with family members and club figures offering support to devastated players. The Dockers lost 96-89 after Brisbane kicked four goals in the final four minutes.

Coach Justin Longmuir said there was no way to soften the blow for his players, urging them to support one another rather than dwell on individual mistakes. “If we had’ve won, we would’ve won together. We lost, we lose together, so have each other’s back,” Longmuir said after gathering the team on the ground.

Longmuir said the group should not rush to move on from the defeat. He said the players needed to “sit in this” and help each other through the moment before turning their attention to next season. Fremantle’s players had believed they were close to victory when the Wharfie Time bells sounded following Patrick Voss’s goal with just over four minutes remaining.

Norm Smith Medal winner Shai Bolton said the closing stages became “a blur”, while Judd McVee also said he thought Fremantle were home before Brisbane’s late surge. McVee described the Dockers as a tight group, saying they would stick together. ABC News noted Fremantle ranked 13th in the league for experience by games played and had the AFL’s 11th-youngest list.