Fremantle have picked apart their round-14 AFL shocker against Geelong and are confident they will have the answers in Saturday’s qualifying final.

The Dockers only managed nine scoring shots when they last played at Simonds Stadium.

It was a week after the Cats’ stunning last-quarter fadeout against Brisbane and the 44-point win signalled a much sterner commitment to defence for the Cats.

Fremantle and Geelong have only had two losses apiece since that game to secure their top-four berths.

“It’s something we’ve looked at during the week, no doubt,” Dockers assistant coach Michael Prior said of round 14.

“Especially in that second half, we did get trapped inside their forward half a fair bit.

“We’ve looked at different ways that we’re going to move the ball.

“We think we’ve come up with some clear answers.”

Fremantle will start at long odds on Saturday afternoon and the venue is a big reason.

They have only won there once, in 2005, while the Cats are virtually unbeatable at their home ground.

But the Dockers under coach Ross Lyon are a tough lot and Prior said the hostile environment would not worry them.

“They relish it, they’re expecting it,” Prior said.

“Our players have to be realistic – it’s a Geelong crowd, so it’s going to be loud, it’s going to be noisy.

“It’s just the way our players challenge that noise.”

Fremantle brought over defender Luke McPharlin as an emergency, but he will play unless there are any setbacks.

McPharlin has not played since round 15 because of a calf injury.

“We brought him over here with a view that he’s going to play, but in saying that we give him right up until the last minute to see how he pulls up after a solid session (on Thursday),” Prior said.

This will be the 20th final for Cats star Corey Enright – almost another full season.

As the defender goes into another September, he said Geelong’s emerging group of young stars would be ready for finals pressure.

One of the features of their season has been the emergence of rising stars such as Mitch Duncan, Steve Motlop and Allen Christensen.

“They’ve shown themselves that they are actually ready,” Enright said.

“I don’t think too much needs to be said, you don’t need to go over and above.

“Obviously they’re there for a reason and they deserve their spot.

“Maybe you just give them one or two pointers that you pick up along the way, but you don’t overload them with information.”

Much has been made of the match being played in Geelong, rather than in Melbourne, but Enright does not think it will be a big factor.

“I don’t think it’s overly important,” he said.

“The main thing for us is we didn’t have to travel interstate.

“Obviously it’s nice, it’s familiar for us, but so is the MCG and so is Etihad Stadium.”