Fremantle coach Ross Lyon has laughed off claims by old mate Paul Roos that superstar Nat Fyfe's defensive game is "bottom end".
The Dockers began the AFL season in style, thrashing North Melbourne by 82 points before falling on the road to Gold Coast by three points heading into this Sunday's clash with St Kilda at Optus Stadium.
Following the loss, Lyon's former Fitzroy teammate and coaching partner at Sydney, Roos, was outspoken on Fox Footy's On the Couch, calling out Brownlow Medallist Fyfe's defensive running.
Lyon was quick to defend his captain who he believes does what is required defensively but like all greats, has to deal with the opposition trying to take him to the least dangerous parts of the field.
"That's only been happening for the last eight years, so not long," Lyon said.
"I was at Carlton when (Anthony) Koutoufides was the most dominant player in the competition and we coached against Michael Voss and (James) Hird.
"Opposition midfields are always trying to take the best midfielders away from the ball and forward. Really it's about maximising your strength and keeping it where you want."
The Dockers coach only entered into the discussion because Roos brought it up but he is fully aware that just mentioning Fyfe's name will make it big news in Perth.
"I'm not surprised because everyone needs to be heard and if you want something to be heard in Perth you mention Nat Fyfe's name," he said.
"Paul is clearly a very good friend of mine and that's why I'm addressing it but I don't talk to Paul about my players and I won't address assertions on any of our players moving forward."
The other big name attracting headlines at Fremantle at the moment is gun recruit Jesse Hogan.
After missing round one, he played against the Suns on Sunday and spent significant time in the midfield rather than forward.
Yet it wasn't because Lyon thought the Dockers were top heavy with Rory Lobb, Matt Taberner and Cam McCarthy up forward.
"Fortunately Jesse was there because our midfield needed a lift," Lyon explained.
"He actually went in and helped to swing the momentum of the game."
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