The secrets to being a successful coach are often deemed to be having a great tactical brain and having extremely good players.

But we often overlook why players are so good or why the tactics work. One thing that has become extremely clear this season is that Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has never coached better.

Longmuir will coach his 150th AFL game during Friday night’s western derby. Ross Lyon holds the record for the most games as a Fremantle coach with 184 matches, so Longmuir is still over a year away from reaching that. But the fact he’s only 11 wins behind Lyon’s tally of 96 victories and currently has the best winning record of any Dockers’ coach is a testament to what he’s doing.

Does he have good players? Absolutely. But while we all marvel at the club’s recruiting staff’s ability to unearth talent, it’s the way they’ve improved under Longmuir that has been the key to this incredible 2026 season.

Josh Treacy was a rookie who was still playing in the WAFL at the start of 2023. His rise has been meteoric. Pat Voss was overlooked by GWS despite being part of their academy and then dumped by Essendon without playing a game. He’s gone from the scrapheap to the penthouse. Few people believed the Dockers could succeed with three tall forwards. But Jye Amiss’ combination with Voss and Treacy makes them imposing.

No other clubs were interested in Isaiah Dudley until Fremantle came knocking. He gets better every week.

Karl Worner was another rookie who has gone from a fringe player to an integral part of the club’s backline. Heath Chapman, Matthew Johnson and Neil Erasmus have taken giant leaps in their careers this season.

Longmuir has driven standards and run programs that have brought out the best in absolutely everybody.

“The reason you are recruited into the AFL is you have some form of talent and traits that apply to the game. But the reason that you develop into a talented AFL footballer is the environment that’s created for you to achieve that,” Dockers footy boss Joe Brierty said.

“We talk about being your best self. List management and coaching work hand in hand in identifying the talent that will be able to come into your environment and flourish and blossom. I think players that we’ve recruited - from mature age, through the draft, or players that have come from other clubs - their footy has improved. Or they’ve developed when they’ve come into the environment..

“You’ve got to pay credit to the work that the JL and our coaching team have done over a long period of time. The likes of Worner, Johnson and Erasmus, Dudley as an SSP and Voss is an SSP. Where Chapman’s game has grown. That comes from the investment in them holistically.

“Justin’s got a really clear process that he wants our our coaches to embed in our players.”

Longmuir’s ability to combine being himself with the need to evolve has been one of his strengths. The Dockers are now ranked third for scoring along with being the number one defensive team. He’s incorporated speed and power into a game plan that is also happy to play slowly.

Longmuir has been committed to playing two recognised ruckmen, even when he had critics.

The midfield is now deeper and both Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong have happily given more responsibility to teammates instead of always being the stars.

Hayden Young’s first season as a Docker was Longmuir’s first season as coach, so he’s witnessed the full transformation from re-build to premiership contender. He said Longmuir has transformed his own coaching just like he’s transformed the team.

“Tactically in the way he sees the game, I think he’s the best in the comp,” Young explained.

“But I think the biggest thing I’ve noticed in the last two or three years is that he started handing ownership over to the players. Early on, obviously we were a young group and he had a lot of control on how he wanted us to play.

“Now it’s over to us leaders to re-enforce the way we want to play. So we run a lot of meetings during the week. JL sets the week up, but he’s always handing over a lot more responsibility to our players.

“We’ve got such a strong leader in JL, but we’re a player-led group. We lead through our leaders and our actions, and I think that’s been the best the best thing about him as a coach. He hasn’t held on to that responsibility

“”He does like to have everything ticked off. He’s very into preparation, preparation, preparation. But I think that’s been the biggest change in the last two years is his ability to trust his players.”

Longmuir has never coached better. And he may write himself into folklore in September.