Fremantle’s apparent last quarter fade-outs are due to reducing rotations and managing players, according to senior coach Ross Lyon.

Freo led Essendon by 54-points at three-quarter time before the Bombers pulled the margin back to 28 at the final siren.



Freo too strong for Bombers

Lyon told 6PR’s Sports Today on Monday that Freo mixed up rotations and positions in the final quarter to take the load off some players.

“We had some concerns with our backs, so we wanted to look after him,” he said.

“We did a bit with our rotations, we let our midfielders go a lot longer to look after our backs, so we lost a bit of structure.”

It is not the first time Freo has allowed the opposition kick multiple back-to-back goals this season, after similar moments against Essendon and West Coast earlier this year.

But Lyon said after dominating the third-quarter against Essendon, he was not surprised or concerned by the final quarter.

He said the tightness of the AFL this year, showed how hard it is to maintain dominance for four-quarters.

“It’s not perfect,” he said.

“We dominated the third and really we should’ve been a 100 points at three-quarter time.

“When you work that hard against a league team, a good league team, you’re going to expend some energy.

“It’s human nature, we don’t want to, but you’ll tune off a little bit.”

Lyon said Essendon played well in the final term, sparked by a lot of run from its midfield.

“We’re not worried about the last 30 minutes to be truthful,” he said.