AFTER Fremantle had decisively defeated Geelong at Patersons Stadium, Dockers midfielder Michael Barlow bumped into Cats coach Chris Scott somewhere in the bowels of the old stadium.
Scott, a former assistant coach at Fremantle, clearly wasn't living by the old footballer's adage of ‘one week at a time’.
In fact, he had already had a look at the rest of Fremantle's fixtures for the year.
"It all opens up for you boys, now," Scott told Barlow, alluding to the fact that Fremantle had just racked up its fifth win of the season and would start favourites in most, if not all, of its next nine games.
But Barlow was quick to toe the company line. "There's no easy games in AFL footy," he replied.
Just 20 metres away, in another room, Ross Lyon was telling the assembled media that he still thought 2014 would be one of the most even seasons in many years.
"If you're off, not playing your best, you are going to lose," he said. "So, there are no easy games of AFL football."
It's not unusual that Barlow and Lyon should be singing from the same hymn sheet. The pair has done so since Lyon joined the club for 2012.
For his part, Barlow says Lyon is a "genius".
"I have a huge amount of respect for him," Barlow said. "His foresight is, well, I don't really have the words to describe it."
Against Geelong, it was hindsight that would have told Lyon that Fremantle needed a quick start. The Cats hadn't lost a first quarter all year.
Barlow said it was a major focus for the team going into the match. And the five-goal lead Fremantle built in the first quarter was never pegged back.
"We just had a really good week and a really positive review, even though we were coming off a loss," Barlow said.
"We trained really well and we were just able to start well, but I think it all started with just getting our hands on the ball in the middle and forcing it forward, in major contrast to the Port Adelaide game last week where we were 2-12 in the clearances in the fourth quarter.
"So, that was a big emphasis for us. The heat was on the midfielders and Ross, and Mark Stone and Brett Kirk, put the acid on us to perform."
Barlow, whose 26 disposals put him among Fremantle's best, praised the efforts of tagger Ryan Crowley, who shut Steve Johnson out of the game in the first half.
But he also said several other Fremantle players had stepped in to ensure Johnson's impact was negligible.
"He's a super player, Steve Johnson and a real indicator for success for us is Ryan's job on shutting down key players for the opposition," he said.
"As a team, as a collective, we really try and help Ryan. Last week we let Boak get off the chain as a collective. The games we've lost, like against Hawthorn, Sam Mitchell had a stack and again, as a team approach, it wasn't good enough and we let Ryan down.
"(Against Geelong) we saw a lot of selfless acts. Chris Mayne was super at picking up Steve Johnson if he saw him get out, Stephen Hill, Dave Mundy, too. It's a real collective approach to some of their better players."
And Barlow said the good news for Fremantle supporters was that there was competition for positions in the team, including from Anthony Morabito, who is coming back from his third knee reconstruction.
"He's been really good. I'm just stoked to see his positive attitude around the club, which he has maintained throughout his injuries,” Barlow said of Morabito.
"He's such a positive person and to see him train twice a week and play on weekends and do really well is as pleasing as anything. It's a matter of when, and not if, he steps into the Fremantle 22 and that will be a big occasion."
Barlow said the players would enjoy a break before their next game and some would fly home to see their families.
"It's really important for us to have some time away from the club and mentally freshen up, but physically we'll keep going and maintain an acceptable work-rate to play the Bulldogs in 15 days time," Barlow said.
Back in the media room, Lyon was saying the same thing, almost word-for-word.
