SATURDAY night was a horror show for the Swans.
Restricted to a score of just 2.7 (19) in a demoralising defeat to the Dockers, their lowest since relocating to Sydney in 1982, coach John Longmire bemoaned an "unusual" series of events that stifled a young attacking unit at Optus Stadium.
DOCKERS STIFLE SWANS Full match coverage and stats
The Swans surprisingly won the inside 50 count, besting the Dockers 43-34 on the night, but went two full quarters without a goal and conceded six straight majors after opening the scoring through Tom McCartin in the early stages of the match.
"It's unusual that we've had a lot more inside 50s and were unable to put the score on the board," Longmire said.
"It's a bit of connection with our forwards, our kicking going forward of centre and it's also just our ability to win our 50-50s when it was in our front half … particularly in the air, it was disappointing."
Sydney's frustrations were summed up when star forward Tom Papley gave away a needless free kick in the third quarter for throwing the ball at the head of Fremantle defender Luke Ryan, an action that Longmire was upset by.
"It wasn't good enough," the Swans coach said.
"I think at that point in time, he probably was (getting frustrated). But he shouldn't do it."
Fremantle's victory was inspired by veteran midfielder David Mundy, who won 22 disposals and kicked a goal in a dominant contested display alongside a host of younger teammates including Andrew Brayshaw, Adam Cerra and Caleb Serong.
The Dockers will subsequently now look to extend the 35-year-old club legend's career by another year, hoping Mundy will agree to play into an 18th season in 2021.
"We'll keep the dialogue open," Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said.
"Me and (football boss) Peter Bell have had a chat to him. At the moment, we're all keen to push ahead with that.
"We've left it to the end of the year on purpose, because of his age and where he sits. But we're just really happy with his form and really rapt with what he's teaching our younger players.
"He's a calm head during the week and on game day, so he's a real benefit for us at the moment."
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