Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir defends Nat Fyfe’s form amid criticism from Kane Cornes

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has defended the form of under-fire two-time Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe amid criticism over his defensive work and ball use.

Fyfe was put on notice by AFL analyst Kane Cornes who highlighted players beating him on the spread away from contests, particularly Collingwood’s Jack Crisp in Friday night’s draw.

And the former Dockers captain’s ball use has also come in for criticism in recent weeks.

In an interview with 7NEWS, Longmuir pointed to Fyfe’s outstanding 37-disposal performance to help beat the Western Bulldogs just weeks ago and believes he is not too far removed from that kind of form.

“I don’t think it’s as bad as everyone is saying,” he said.

“Four or five weeks ago against the Western Bulldogs he had his best game in three or four years and we are not far away from that.

“He has probably been a little bit indecisive with the ball at times, but a lot of his game is in good order and I’m really confident he can bounce back.”

It comes as the Dockers prepare to face a firing Melbourne midfield headlined by the explosive Christian Petracca.

Cornes went as far as to say Fremantle’s midfield is better without Fyfe in an explosive assessment at the weekend.

Kane Cornes has put dual-Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe under the blowtorch and declared Walyalup (Fremantle) are a better midfield when he isn’t playing.

“I think Fremantle are at their best when there is speed on the ball. The amount of time in transition or when his direct opponent (gets the ball and) Fyfe is burnt,” he told the Sunday Footy Show.

“He only had 20 touches and one effective kick. His kicking is an issue. Fyfe is great in the phone box but when it gets outside of the phone box, look at the explosion from the Collingwood players. I think they’re a better midfield when he’s not in the side.”

Longmuir lamented their ball movement in the draw, particularly in a goalless third quarter that opened the gate for Collingwood to storm back into the game.

“I wasn’t happy with our ball movement. I thought we over-used the handball, didn’t trust ourselves — especially in that third quarter — to go at the game with our handball and that probably caused the over-handball and really fuelled their pressure,” he said.

“There were times where we didn’t look to take field position and play with the right intent, but it was only one of our issues.”

Michael Frederick “still has a few boxes to tick” and will be assessed after Fremantle’s main training later this week in his push to recover from a concussion in time to face the Demons on Sunday.