Collingwood coach Stephen Symonds says it's no time to panic despite his side being battered physically and on the scoreboard in a 31-point AFLW loss to Fremantle.
The Dockers dominated the inside 50m count 40-10 and won the tackles 76-49 on the way to the crushing 5.8 (38) to 1.1 (7) win at Victoria Park on Thursday.
Fremantle won an astounding 17 holding-the-ball free kicks, and Collingwood were held scoreless after Brittany Bonnici scored their only goal of the match at the eight-minute mark of the second term.
The result was a major wake-up call for the Magpies, who had entered the match with a 3-0 record and were being talked up as premiership contenders.
Fremantle are now 4-0 and well placed for a major assault on the flag.
Symonds said a lack of composure and poor decisions hurt his team dearly.
"We couldn't get a connection between the arcs. The ball was going deep into their forward 50," Symonds said.
"The score could have blown out a lot, I thought defensively we held on.
"If you look at the season we're 3-1, so we're not throwing everything out and saying we're panicking.
"They'll bounce back, they always have. We're certainly not panicking, but we have to be better than what we were today."
Fremantle midfielder Kiara Bowers was influential with 26 disposals, but skipper Hayley Miller was best afield with two goals from her 19 disposals.
"She was phenomenal," Fremantle coach Trent Cooper said of Miller.
"We've gone from having one genuine A-grade midfielder to having two now. It releases some of the pressure on Kiara.
"She (Miller) is spending a bit of time forward as well which is helping us be less predictable."
Aine Tighe (14 disposals, six marks) starred in a new role at half-back for Fremantle opposed to Collingwood forward Sabrina Frederick.
Bonnici was best afield for the Pies with 25 disposals and a goal, but they simply couldn't deal with Fremantle's intense pressure.
Apart from a short period in the first quarter, the Dockers dominated the match in all facets of the game.
Cooper was particularly pleased with the team's tackling ferocity.
"Our pressure was outstanding," Cooper said.
"The tackling technique - as soon as a player looks to take you on, they're going to get caught holding the ball if you can tackle them correctly.
"It's been something we've been working on. You saw across the board today the tackling was elite.
"You'd like to think it would stand up in finals. We're fast, we're fit, and we're pretty fierce as well."
Australian Associated Press
