FREMANTLE

THE BOSS

Justin Longmuir

After retiring at just 26 because of a degenerative knee injury, Longmuir has served a 10-year apprenticeship in the coaching ranks, with Fremantle, then seven years at West Coast and two at Collingwood. He was seen as a major reason for the Pies’ rapid improvement in the past two years.

Fremantle looked set for finals action midway through 2019 after seven wins from its first dozen games. But it all fell apart from there, just two victories coming in the last 10 games, the Dockers missing finals for a fourth year in a row, and coach Ross Lyon sacked with a year left on his contract. A new year sees a considerable amount of change, Justin Longmuir taking the coaching reins, Aaron Sandilands