Fremantle coach Ross Lyon admits his team need to go away and lick their wounds after slumping to another loss to a premiership contender.
The Dockers conceded the opening six goals of the match on the way to a 15.14 (104) to 11.14 (80) loss to arch-rivals West Coast in Sunday’s western derby.
The shock defeat comes just five weeks after Fremantle copped a 72-point hiding at the hands of premiership favourites Hawthorn.
Despite those slip-ups, Fremantle remain six points clear on top of the table with just three rounds to go.
But Lyon concedes his team have plenty to work on following their error-riddled display against West Coast.
“We go away and lick our wounds,” Lyon said.
“It’s about playing good football at the right time, and we know that.
“You learn a lot out of your losses historically. That’s what I’ve found anyway.
“We basically know what happened.”
Dockers defender Alex Silvagni faces the prospect of missing the start of the finals after being reported for a crude elbow on Jamie Cripps midway through the second quarter.
Cripps was left with a suspected fractured jaw after copping the swinging elbow from Silvagni in an incident that occurred 80m off the ball.
West Coast’s first derby win since 2012 sees them retain second spot, although Hawthorn remain just two points adrift in what is shaping up as a tight finish.
Eagles defender Will Schofield appears set for a stint on the sidelines after being subbed out with a hamstring injury in the third term. Schofield also had ice on his left knee.
After the match, Eagles coach Adam Simpson revealed ruckman Scott Lycett (knee) had also been injured, along with several other players.
“We lost a few soldiers – so to hold on was really pleasing,” Simpson said.
“The guys who got injuries during the game had no choice but to guts it out, which I’m proud of.”
With Schofield, Jeremy McGovern (hamstring), Mitch Brown (knee) and Eric Mackenzie (knee) all injured, Tom Barrass is the last remaining key defender still available.
Simpson acknowledged his injury-hit defence would be severely challenged in Sunday’s top-four clash with the resurgent Bulldogs in Perth.
Ruckman Nic Naitanui is expected to return from personal leave for the crunch clash, while forward Mark LeCras is also available after serving a one-match ban.
Eagles small forward Josh Hill was the western derby hero, with his four goals and 20 disposals earning him the Ross Glendinning medal as best afield.
Hill was dropped for last week’s loss to Hawthorn, but he made the most of his recall in the absence of LeCras.
His only real blunder was an embarrassing miss from 8m out while running into an open goal.
“He’s at his best when he plays on edge,” Simpson said.
The Dockers dominated the second half on the back of Nat Fyfe’s brilliance and Aaron Sandilands’ ruck dominance.
But West Coast managed to snare enough goals against the run of play to break their six-match losing run against Fremantle.
