Longmuir reveals several players almost missed Swans clash after McCarthy's passing

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has revealed multiple Dockers “came close to not playing” in their side’s eventual 48-point loss to Sydney after the passing of former teammate Cam McCarthy on Thursday night.

McCarthy’s passing was revealed on Friday morning and came as a shock to the football community, with the 29-year-old last playing for Fremantle in 2020.

Ahead of Friday night’s clash at Optus Stadium, both sides took part in a moving tribute to McCarthy’s life. Several of McCarthy’s former teammates, including Nat Fyfe, Alex Pearce, Luke Ryan and more, were visibly emotional.

Despite the loss, Longmuir praised the way his players handled the occasion.

“Some of our players have done it tough and I was really proud of the way they were able to go out there and compete tonight, given the difficulties of the last 24 hours,” Longmuir said. 

“I'm really proud of the way the club came together and put our arms around those who are hurting, and I was really proud of those players for going out there and competing the way they did.

“We had players that were very close to not playing, so I'm proud of the way they went out and competed in difficult circumstances.”

Fremantle kicked themselves out of the contest with their eventual score of 4.15 (39), especially considering the Swans kicked nine goals straight to half-time.

The Dockers had 18 scoring shots to Sydney's 21.

Longmuir pointed to that when defending his side’s performance, stating his belief that it hadn’t been impacted by the tragic news.

“That's what makes me proud. If you look at three-quarter time and you look at the stats, we were up in contested ball, we were up in inside 50s, we were turning the ball over in our front half, and we've had more shots from stoppage,” he said. 

“If you had have given me that at the start of the night, I would have taken it.

“So clearly at one stage they'd kicked 10 straight and we kicked 1.9 … and we had 26 shots on goal for I think 18 scoring shots and eight missed shots. That was the story of the game.”

Fyfe and Pearce lay flowers on the Optus Stadium turf following the game in tribute.

The loss left Fremantle teetering on the edge out the top eight and vulnerable for the remainder of the weekend, while the Swans have pinched a break atop the ladder given Geelong’s loss earlier on Friday night.