Dockers fans in Fremantle are sombre despite a valiant effort by the team in the grand final, where they failed to break their 19-year drought.

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt said the team had done the port city proud, closing the gap in an impressive third quarter comeback, and had shown they had finally come of age.

“It was a great match and they did really, really well,” Mr Pettitt told AAP.

“There’s only 25 games until the next grand final.”

Mr Pettitt said at least 20,000 purple-clad Dockers fans had packed into the jam-packed cappuccino strip, South Terrace, but some unconfirmed estimates put the crowd at a whopping 40,000.

Gathered on purple blankets in front of big screens with the street closed to traffic, there were groans and face-palms for every missed goal.

But when the Dockers got them through, the roars were heard for miles around.

“It’s disappointing but it could have been a whole lot worse,” Dockers fan Nigel Bill told AAP.

“They fought the whole way to the end.

“Their nerves got the better of them in the first half but they didn’t chuck it in.”

Fellow supporter Taryn Doughty said the wind proved a problem for both teams, preventing them from converting all of their goal opportunities.

Families shuffled home soon after the match ended, saying they hoped the team would make it to the grand final again next year.

Others drowned their sorrows or wandered aimlessly, saying the Dockers gave the game away, rather than congratulating the Hawks for a strong match.

At the heritage-listed Sail and Anchor pub, where the specially brewed purple Freo Victory Lager sold out one hour before the game, alcohol stopped being served upstairs midway through the match after some balcony patrons poured beer on people below.

The Dockers will be welcomed home at Patersons Stadium in Subiaco on Sunday, followed by a parade in Perth’s Forrest Place on Tuesday.