FREMANTLE coach Ross Lyon has remained philosophical about his side's shock loss to St Kilda despite the result throwing the Dockers' chances of a top-two finish into peril.
The result snapped an eight-game winning streak for Fremantle and an 11-game losing streak for St Kilda.
It was the upset of the year. Particularly given what was at stake.
An easy Freo victory would have had the Dockers atop the AFL ladder, albeit perhaps momentarily with the Sydney Swans having a game in hand.
Lyon paid due credit to St Kilda, which he described as a "very good opposition" that had triumphed comprehensively in all facets of the game.
The most galling aspect of the contest for Lyon was that his team had been out-worked. And, as he pointed out, effort is directly linked to attitude.
Some stats jumped out at Lyon, who reeled off, without citing any paperwork, that his team conceded 140 uncontested marks when they average about 80; and they allowed St Kilda 270 kicks when they restricted opponents to 189 in wins.
He revealed there would be a "meaningful" review of his own team's efforts – or lack thereof – before the players take four days off in the second week of the split-round.
The Dockers coach also suggested some players would be axed as a result of their lack of competitiveness against the Saints.
"It's certainly not panic stations but it's not ideal," he said. "I would've liked to go to the break with a better feeling than this, and we all would've.
"But our guys have done a lot right for a long time. There will be some prices to pay, but we'll give the majority the opportunity to get going again.
"Somewhere at a subconscious level, something affected our effort.
"Did we train hard enough? Did we train long enough? Did we train early enough? Were the meetings sharp enough? Were the right questions asked? We'll go back and review. You can't just ignore a performance like this.
"Clearly something somewhere in our preparation has meant we haven't been ready to play.
"(We had) a lighter week on the track so we've got no excuses for heavy legs. We're pretty much fit and available. We're a no-excuse footy club.
"We seriously need to improve our footy … The actions we saw today were unacceptable to get a win in the AFL."
Lyon refused to criticise, publicly anyway, small forward Hayden Ballantyne for missing the game through suspension.
"I don't condemn anyone. We win and lose together," Lyon said.
"I didn't see Hayden out there today. We had 22 fit and available players. My position on Hayden is exactly as it was last week. It's certainly not changing."
When asked whether Ballantyne would walk straight back into the side, Lyon broke into a wry smile.
"I would've thought," he said. "Not too many kept him out today."
Lyon said ruckman Aaron Sandilands hadn't simply been rested: "He had a number of indicators that told us he was at risk – short week, back, sit and reach, all that stuff."
Will Stephen Hill be back for the Blues clash?
"Apparently, yep."
And is Michael Walters still no chance?
"Unless miracles do happen."
They do, as those who watched the boilover at Etihad Stadium will attest.
