‘Light the fire’: Brayshaw urges Dockers to use pain
Shayne Hope |
Devastated Fremantle midfielder Andrew Brayshaw has warned his teammates against complacency, urging them to use their grand final pain to drive another AFL premiership push.
The Dockers’ latest bid for a maiden flag ended in heartbreak with Saturday’s narrow defeat to the Brisbane Lions.
Brayshaw believes Justin Longmuir’s team – which won the minor premiership but fell short when it mattered most – has all the tools required to mount another serious flag challenge next season.
Small forward Sam Switkowski has retired but there are not expected to be many changes to a well-balanced playing list.
“I feel like we’ve got all the pieces in place, but you never want to assume that you’re going to be back,” Brayshaw said.
“My brother (former Melbourne player Angus Brayshaw) played in one grand final and then thought he’d be back every year, but it ended up being his only one.
“So we don’t want to get complacent at all. We’re going to work as hard as any team.
“This will light the fire in the belly for sure. We’ll fight and we’ll scrap and we’ll earn our way back in here.”
Brayshaw famously penned motivational letters to each of his teammates several seasons ago, noting the first Fremantle team to win a premiership would become “immortal”.
That dream came crashing down at the MCG on Saturday when the Lions kicked four late goals to overhaul a 17-point deficit in time-on of the final quarter.
“If you want to put yourself in a position to win it all you’ve got to be able to open yourself up to feel this disappointment and heartache,” Brayshaw said.
“It’s a mix of those two emotions.
“I’ve got no doubt we’re going to learn from this and we’re going to be a stronger team.
“It would’ve been amazing to get it done and for the fairytale to end that way today, but it will make it even more sweet when we get back here and actually get it done.”
Brayshaw was proud of his teammates’ efforts against Brisbane after captain Alex Pearce went down with a game-ending achilles injury in the third quarter.
“Oscar McDonald really stood up in Alex’s absence and I think the leaders all stood up,” Brayshaw said.
“We remained really connected and continued to try to play to win.
“It’s a devastating blow to see your skipper go down the way he did but I’m really proud of the way we fought to the very end.”
Brayshaw, Caleb Serong and Hayden Young all played well alongside Norm Smith Medal winner Shai Bolton in a midfield group that generated plenty of opportunities for their team to win.
“It felt like we were strong in there and got the ball going forward,” Brayshaw said.
“They’re a really talented midfield as well, so we tried to make their exits dirty where we could.
“Youngy was awesome for those two goals. Caleb just fights all day and he’s just an amazing leader.
“I’m really happy with the fight from the midfield.”
AAP