FREMANTLE is not panicking after its 0-2 start to the season and will welcome a high stakes Western Derby as the perfect opportunity to rediscover its intensity and hunger for the contest, according to defender Hayden Young.
After a pre-season focus on starting games "fast and physical", the Dockers have trailed at quarter-time against both St Kilda in round one and North Melbourne last Saturday, failing to recover in both games.
Young said the team was not playing the brand of footy it wanted to, with the players' lack of competitiveness in the contest the main issue needing to be addressed against a West Coast team that impressed in round two.
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"Every game we play we want to start fast and physical, and it's something we probably haven't done the last two weeks. So that's certainly going to be a focus going into this week," Young said.
"The atmosphere of a Derby and the build-up will only help with that.
"We know West Coast in a Derby is always a hard contest and it's always an electric atmosphere, so it's perfect. It's just what we need and we're really looking forward to the occasion.
"There's a sense of urgency, but definitely no panic. We know that our best footy is good enough and we should be winning more games … we're confident we can turn it around quickly."
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The Dockers' ball movement has been criticised in the opening two rounds but Young said their ability to continue creating more forward entries than the opposition showed it was not the major issue in their game.
The way they were connecting with the forwards, however, needed to improve after tall targets Matt Taberner, Jye Amiss and Luke Jackson combined for two marks inside 50 against North Melbourne and went scoreless.
"We feel like we've been able to get the ball out of our back half and going forward … it's just been our execution and our delivery to our forwards that hasn't helped them," Young said.
"It's on both ends. Our delivery and our ability to take marks and execute in front of goal.
"We're looking into both things, but we're really trying to focus on what makes our footy really good, and that's our contest and our defence.
"We feel like if we can tidy up those two things our ball movement will take care of itself."
Young backed star recruit Jackson to bounce back from two underwhelming performances, admitting the 21-year-old had not been helped by the service he received up the ground.
The defender said dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe was in good spirits after a plantar fascia injury forced him out of the North Melbourne clash, and he remained a chance to face the Eagles.
Ruckman Sean Darcy hosted a team barbeque on Sunday with players and partners as the Dockers prepare for the Derby with an eight-day break, allowing the players to maintain morale and support each other after a difficult start to the season.
"It was good to stay together because we don't want to be isolated when people are going through things or struggling, so it was really good to have a laugh," Young said.
"We chatted about the game a little bit, but largely it was just about staying together and making sure everyone is all right.
"It was good to spend time together and know that we’re in it together. Hopefully going forward, we can stay connected and start winning some games of footy."
