Justin Longmuir (born 21 January 1981) is a former Australian rules footballer who is the current senior coach of the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 139 games for Fremantle from 1999 to 2007, as a forward and ruckman.

Justin Longmuir
Longmuir with Collingwood in August 2018
Personal information
Full name Justin Longmuir
Nickname(s) JL
Date of birth (1981-01-21) 21 January 1981 (age 43)
Draft No. 2, 1998 national draft
Height 196 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 98 kg (216 lb)
Position(s) Forward / Ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1999-2007 Fremantle 139 (166)
Coaching career3
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
2020– Fremantle 107 (53–52–2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2007.
3 Coaching statistics correct as of the 2024 season.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Playing career

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Fremantle Football Club

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Longmuir playing for Fremantle in 2006, with a bandaged knee

Longmuir was recruited by the Fremantle Football Club as the number 2 draft pick in the 1998 AFL Draft (from West Perth Football Club) and made his debut in Round 22, 1999, against Geelong at Shell Stadium. Longmuir played for Fremantle Football Club from 1999 until 2007, where he played a total of 139 games as a forward and ruckman, kicking 166 goals.[1]

He played 21 of the 22 games in 2005 and led the club in hard ball gets and finished third in the club for contested marks and overall marks. The most memorable moment in 2005 was his after-the-siren goal to snatch victory over St Kilda in Round 21. He took a big pack mark, which prompted Nine commentator Eddie McGuire to shout "Longmuir's taken a screamer!".[2]

Longmuir showed plenty of composure under pressure and was considered dangerous when he was at his peak.

Longmuir's career was put on hold as he battled a degenerative knee injury, and eventually conceded his retirement from AFL on 31 October 2007 due to the knee injury, which saw him play just 18 games in his last 2 years.[3][4]

Coaching career

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West Coast Eagles assistant coach (2010-2017)

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Longmuir was appointed as an assistant coach in the role of development coach of the West Coast Eagles under senior coach John Worsfold at the end of the 2010 season.[5] At the end of the 2011 season, Longmuir switched his assistant coaching position to the role of forward coach, replacing Peter Sumich, who switched to Longmuir's former club, Fremantle.[6] Longmuir then spent seven years as an assistant coach at West Coast Eagles, including under senior coach Adam Simpson, who replaced Worsfold at the end of the 2013 season. Longmuir left the West Coast Eagles at the end of the 2017 season.[7]

Collingwood Football Club assistant coach (2017-2019)

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At the end of the 2017 season, Longmuir was appointed as an assistant coach in the role of the defence coach at Collingwood under senior coach Nathan Buckley.[8]

Fremantle Football Club senior coach (2020–present)

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In September 2019, after nine years as an assistant coach with both West Coast and Collingwood, Longmuir was appointed senior coach at his former club Fremantle, replacing caretaker senior coach David Hale, who replaced Ross Lyon during the 2019 season with one game left to go.[9][10][11] Longmuir's first season as senior coach was during the shortened COVID-19-affected 2020 AFL season.[12] Fremantle under Longmuir finished twelfth on the AFL ladder with seven wins and ten losses and did not make the finals.[13]

The 2021 AFL season saw the Dockers under Longmuir finish eleventh place on the ladder, with ten wins and twelve losses.[14] He signed a two-year contract extension at the seasons end.[15]

In the 2022 AFL season, Longmuir guided the Dockers to fifth position on the ladder and a return to finals for the first time since 2015.[16] Fremantle under Longmuir defeated and eliminated the Western Bulldogs in the elimination final, but the Dockers were however eliminated by Collingwood in the semi finals.[17]

The 2023 AFL season saw Fremantle under Longmuir finish 14th on the ladder with 10 wins and 13 losses.[18]

Already contracted until the end of 2024, Longmuir signed a one-year contract extension in March 2024, tying him to Fremantle until at least the end of 2025.[19] He coached his 100th game in round 17 of the 2024 AFL season against the Richmond Tigers at Optus Stadium.[20] Despite spending a large majority of the season inside the top eight, Fremantle under Longmuir would lose their last four games to finish tenth with twelve wins, ten losses and one draw and narrowly missing finals.

Personal life

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Longmuir grew up in Koorda, 236 kilometres east of Perth.[21] He is the brother of former Melbourne, Fremantle and Carlton player Troy Longmuir.[22]

Statistics

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Playing statistics

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Statistics are correct to the end of 2007[23]
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T H/O G B K H D M T H/O
1999 Fremantle 20 1 1 0 2 3 5 1 1 4 1.0 0.0 2.0 3.0 5.0 1.0 1.0 4.0 0
2000 Fremantle 20 12 3 2 58 35 93 27 8 97 0.3 0.2 4.8 2.9 7.8 2.3 0.7 8.1 0
2001 Fremantle 20 22 28 13 161 120 281 95 31 248 1.3 0.6 7.3 5.5 12.8 4.3 1.4 11.3 4
2002 Fremantle 20 22 36 29 152 78 230 111 26 101 1.6 1.3 6.9 3.5 10.5 5.0 1.2 4.6 1
2003 Fremantle 20 22 38 29 121 50 171 78 24 81 1.7 1.3 5.5 2.3 7.8 3.5 1.1 3.7 3
2004 Fremantle 20 21 26 14 170 129 299 106 47 219 1.2 0.7 8.1 6.1 14.2 5.0 2.2 10.4 0
2005 Fremantle 20 21 15 6 178 120 298 107 34 226 0.7 0.3 8.5 5.7 14.2 5.1 1.6 10.8 3
2006 Fremantle 20 16 19 14 116 80 196 74 21 98 1.2 0.9 7.3 5.0 12.3 4.6 1.3 6.1 4
2007 Fremantle 20 2 0 1 8 10 18 5 2 6 0.0 0.5 4.0 5.0 9.0 2.5 1.0 3.0 0
Career 139 166 108 966 625 1591 604 194 1080 1.2 0.8 6.9 4.5 11.4 4.3 1.4 7.8 15

Coaching statistics

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Statistics are correct to end of 2024.[24]
Legend
 W  Wins  L  Losses  D  Draws  W%  Winning percentage  LP  Ladder position  LT  League teams
Season Team Games W L D W % LP LT
2020 Fremantle 17 7 10 0 41.2% 12 18
2021 Fremantle 22 10 12 0 45.5% 11 18
2022 Fremantle 22 14 7 1 67.5% 5 18
2023 Fremantle 23 10 13 0 43.5% 14 18
2024 Fremantle 23 12 10 1 52.2% 10 18
Career totals 107 53 52 2 50%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "JUSTIN LONGMUIR". Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Memorable Fremantle moment: Justin Longmuir". fremantlefc.com.au. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Knee injury forces Longmuir to quit". 30 October 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Longmuir calls it quits". 30 October 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Longmuir settles in quickly at Eagles". 27 November 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  6. ^ Former Docker Justin Longmuir to coach Eagles forwards
  7. ^ "West Coast Eagles assistant Justin Longmuir defects to Magpies". 22 September 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Collingwood thanks Longmuir". www.collingwoodfc.com.au. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  9. ^ Niall, Jake; Cherny, Daniel (30 September 2019). "Justin Longmuir appointed Fremantle coach". The Age.
  10. ^ "Justin Longmuir appointed by Fremantle Dockers as new head coach in AFL after Ross Lyon sacked". 30 September 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Justin Longmuir confirmed as Fremantle's new senior coach". 30 September 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Coronavirus forces AFL to slash season to 17 rounds". Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Fremantle Dockers' strong second half of season brings hope for Purple Army after tough 2020". Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Fremantle Dockers finish season in 11th place after losing to St Kilda at Hobart's Blundstone Arena". thewest.com.au. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Justin Longmuir extends to 2024!". fremantlefc.com. 20 March 2023.
  16. ^ "THE FINALS ARE HERE: Who plays who, week one fixture revealed". AFL Media. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Pies prelim bound: AFL's most unlikely surge continues as Freo's woes laid bare". 11 September 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  18. ^ Geleit, Lachlan (20 March 2023). "What the 2023 ladder would look like without Gather Round results". sen.com.
  19. ^ Schmook, Nathan (20 March 2023). "Locked in: Dockers extend coach's contract on eve of opener". afl.com.
  20. ^ "'I always wanted to coach here deep down': Longmuir". fremantlefc.com.au. 3 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Longmuir podcast: The experiences that made a coach". Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  22. ^ "'I wouldn't have found footy if it wasn't for Troy'". Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Justin Longmuir". AFL Tables. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  24. ^ "AFL Tables - Justin Longmuir - Coaching Record". afltables.com.
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