Fremantle midfielder Jaeger O'Meara says the Dockers need to play their brand of football for a full four-quarter effort if the club are to overcome an 0-2 start in their grudge match against West Coast this Sunday.
The Dockers were startled by a rampant Geelong side at GMHBA Stadium in Round 1, unable to prevent a scoring onslaught and lost by 78 points.
On home soil in Round 2, judgement errors with the ball in the clutch moments cost the Dockers holding onto a slim margin against Sydney, as the Swans found their own first win for the season.
Late-game fadeouts have become a concerning trend for the Dockers, losing five of their last nine games after leading at three-quarter-time.
O'Meara said there were positives from the performance but reflected that the Dockers needed to maintain their "brand" of football until the final siren.
"Obviously a disappointing loss on the weekend. I think we improved from the week before against Geelong," O'Meara said.
"I think we brought good physicality, we had a really good week on the training track. We just weren't good enough for long enough, so that's the challenge for us - to be able to sustain the type of footy we want to play for four quarters.
"We weren't able to do that on the weekend again.
"...There were some moments in the game that we'd like back, but we've reviewed it now and we'll move on and get into West Coast this week."
O'Meara said the winless start to the year was a wake-up call for the Dockers despite losing to quality opposition, as the club came into the season with a train of hype riding their potential ascension up the ladder in 2025.
However, he pointed out that the Dockers vastly improved on Sunday and could've been just seconds away from taking the four premiership points.
"It feels like we've had a bit of a punch in the face," O'Meara said.
"We had a really good pre-season and felt like we're building some blocks in terms of where we want to go, and where we want to get to.
"Obviously, we haven't got off the start that we'd like, but if it (the game) went for a second longer, and Jye (Amiss) takes that mark, siren goes a second later, potentially we win.
"So it's a good step forward in terms of where we were in Round 1, but we've got a lot of steps to go.
"I think the biggest thing for us, as I've said already, is trying to play our brands for you for as long as we possibly can. We haven't seen that just yet."
In what is anticipated to a blockbuster encounter between a fiery West Coast side and hungry Fremantle unit, the two Western Australian clubs will duke it out on Sunday in Round 3.
Following the Derby, the Dockers play the Western Bulldogs, Richmond and Melbourne.
