Luke Beveridge says the drastically lopsided ruck dual between Ayce Cordy and Aaron Sandilands was "inconsequential" in Fremantle's 13-point win over the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
The Dogs' coach also said veteran ruckman Will Minson was no guarantee to earn a call up to support Cordy next week against Melbourne despite showing some form in the VFL on Saturday.
The Bulldogs went into the clash with the Dockers at Etihad Stadium prepared to lose the battle of the big men – and they did, 69-13.
RECAP: Match report and highlights from the Bulldogs and Dockers' round seven clash.
Cordy lined up against Sandilands at the centre bounces and conceded 7cm and 20kg.
Around the ground stoppages were left to Tom Boyd, Marcus Bontempelli and Jordan Roughead when Cordy moved forward.
Despite the skewed hit-out count (Sandilands had 50 on his own) – and those in the centre 27 to three – Beveridge said it didn't dictate the result.
"We knew we were going to lose the hit-outs so it was inconsequential," he said.
"It wasn't really the ruck situation that we had an issue with, it was what was going on around the footy.
"In a sense what we did ... is we thought we'd challenge them with two bigs up forward with Tom and Ayce, so we got another mid around there and it started to work for us."
Minson, who played in the first three rounds but has been out of the senior side since, again lined up in the VFL on Saturday.
VFL MATCH REPORT: Read how Will Minson fared in VFL action for Footscray.
When asked if his 20-touch performance in Footscray's 62-point win over Geelong was enough to warrant a recall, Beveridge was blunt.
"We'll see," he said.
"Will was OK yesterday."
Beveridge said the players had a strong week on the track after last week's disastrous loss to St Kilda when they conceded a 55-point lead to lose by seven.
Overall, he was fiercely proud of the young side for nearly toppling the team none has managed to beat so far this season.
"I think the most important lesson we'll learn is that it's a strong group and they're willing to persist under some duress," he said.
"Like the Sydney game in particular, it's just another feather in their caps to fight their way back and learn a little bit about playing a side like Fremantle. who don't let up."
