Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says the chance to end the Western Bulldogs’ finals hopes won’t be a motivating factor in Sunday’s AFL clash at Cazaly’s Stadium.

The Bulldogs will slip to ninth if Melbourne beat Essendon on Saturday.

If that occurs, the Bulldogs will need to at least draw with Fremantle to secure a finals berth.

The Dockers (7-9) are already out of finals contention but bringing a team down with them won’t be a motivating factor.

“No, we haven’t spoken about that at all. We’ve spoken about the motivation of playing for the jumper,” Longmuir said.

“I don’t necessarily believe in those external motivators, I don’t think they last too long.

“I think you’ll gain more benefit out of the internal motivators of focusing inwards. We’ve done that this week.”

Longmuir said Sunday’s match would be like an elimination final for the Bulldogs, and he’s preparing for them to come out firing.

But the Dockers are also desperate for victory to make further gains in what is turning into a winning culture.

Fremantle have won five of their past eight games to announce themselves as a team on the rise.

The hot form of youngsters Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw, Adam Cerra, and Brennan Cox bodes well for the future.

Fremantle have beaten finals-bound teams St Kilda and Collingwood, and they almost toppled Brisbane in round two.

Longmuir feels his team could have done some damage if they had sneaked into the finals this year.

“We’ve beaten some teams in the eight, we’ve been competitive against sides above us,” Longmuir said.

“I think our form is really competitive at the moment. We’ve improved week in, week out.

“I’d like to think if we had made it, we could have ruffled some feathers.”

The Bulldogs are expected to recall fit-again defender Easton Wood, while the Dockers are weighing up whether to include Griffin Logue, who hasn’t played since injuring his toe in round five.

Longmuir said first-year midfielder Serong, who has averaged 16.2 disposals and 3.5 clearances per game this year while also tagging some of the competition’s best players, should win the Rising Star award.