Fremantle skipper, Matthew Pavlich, has admitted that he is unsure if his side will be capable of picking themselves up following Saturday’s Grand Final defeat to Hawthorn.
The Dockers lost by 15 points at an extremely wet MCG, following a scrappy game that saw the Western Australians miss a number of big chances while, in contrast, the Hawks were clinical, especially in the closing stages.
After the match, Pavlich remained defiant, promising the fans in his post-match speech that they would return to the finals; they have already been placed as one of the favourites in the Aussie rules betting.
However, his enthusiasm seemed to have dampened at the club’s Family Fun Day on Sunday and he moved to explain his comments, arguing that he thinks the team may have their work cut out if they are to make it back to the Grand Final.
“I should probably qualify what I was saying because I think right at the end I said that we’ll be back,” he said. “And I still very much believe that. But we’re not guaranteed to get there.
“I’m not putting a dampener on what is a celebration of a really positive year. But it’s going to take a huge amount of hard work to get back into this position we found ourselves this year.”
Getting back to the top will surely be a massive ask but having steadily progressed over the last few seasons, Fremantle appear to be a club on the up and those who bet on Aussie rules should certainly be looking at them to possibly pick up their first Premiership title.
In all honesty, it looked as if the enormity of the occasion got to some of the Dockers players, especially in the early stages and Pavlich is certainly right in predicting a tough time next season but the experience will only benefit them, so do not be surprised to see them in next year’s final.
