Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir spruiks Dockers blueprint for success ahead of finals campaign

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said the Dockers revealed the best version of themselves against Western Bulldogs and he has confidence it won’t be a one-off.

With their season on the line, the Dockers easily accounted for the Bulldogs by 16 points at Marvel despite being largely written off following their loss to Brisbane.

However, Longmuir said he and his side embraced the pressure.

“I really like those moments when you’re under pressure to reset the group and peel it back for the players,” he said on Seven.

“That’s probably the best we’ve handled that type of pressure for the last couple of years. We really showed what our footy looked like when we play for each other.

“It felt like we really trusted ourselves and leaned in on the game plan when needed and we really flourished.”

As they now enter the finals cauldron for just the second time in his tenure, Longmuir believes the effort shown against the Bulldogs is a repeatable one.

“We thought there was a blueprint there for how our best footy would stand up,” he said.

“I’m really proud of how the players executed their roles and the plan in turn.”

The only downside to their performance was a season-ending injury to utility Corey Wagner, with the club confirming he had been sent for surgery after tearing his pec.

“He’s ruptured his pec major muscle, so he’s gone into surgery today to repair that,” high-performance manager Phil Merriman said.

“He won’t be seen again for the rest of the year.”

Longmuir said Wagner will be sorely missed.

“It’s disappointing for Wags, he’s played a variety of roles for us throughout the season, he’s the ultimate team player, so he will be missed,” Longmuir said.

His injury could open the door for a return for Matt Johnson, who has been working his way back from an ankle injury suffered back in round 19.

“Matt Johnson is tracking well; he played 70 minutes over the weekend and I thought he executed his role really well,” Longmuir said.

“It was a really good strong performance from Peel to finish the season off so there’s plenty of players putting their hand up if the opportunity arises.”

Sam Switkoski will also be a test for their first final after copping a knock to his knee.

“He’s still sore; it was a pretty solid contact injury on that knee,” Longmuir said.

“But that’s the beauty of having a couple of weeks is he’s got plenty of time to rest up and get it right.”

The Dockers said they were confident he would recover in time.

“We’ll work him through the gears, and it’s great to have the week off for him,” Merriman said.

“We’ll hopefully get him up to be available next week.”

James Aish is the only other player who could return from the injury list before finals, as he recovers from a concussion.