Former West Coast coach Adam Simpson has queried Fremantle's ability to handle the pressure of the big stage.
The Dockers are yet to win a premiership and Simpson threw a barb their way reminding them of just that ahead of a Friday night semi final which will bring enormous pressure for them to bounce back.
“We cant change our mind until they do it on-field,” Simpson said on AFL 360 of the Dockers.
“They've got a system in place. You notice at half-time, there wasn't a lot of moves made.
"(Justin Longmuir) plays a way that is predictable to each other and there is not a lot of moves made, they might have put (Hayden) Young forward, that's about it so they will go back to what they've done all year, they've won 14 in a row, give the evidence and a prickle to get them going.”
Simpson also highlighted the pressure which will surround Fremantle this week as a club in a two-team town with big expectations.
The 2018 premiership coach has lived experience of coaching a Western Australian club through several finals campaigns where there were varying expectations and pointed to the importance of keeping the outside talk external.
“It's the club more than anything,” Simpson said.
“The nerves we felt at the airport, at the hotel, it oozed onto the ground. Even when Hawthorn ran out, it just felt tense the whole night so I think the week's going to be tense.
“It's more about the club than the situation because this club hasn't achieved a lot and the expectation this year is grand final to the point you've got to book your tickets and accommodation early so there is all the tension on the outside so how do you keep the tension away. You have a team coming off a win.”
Both Simpson and former Sydney coach John Longmire expect the Dockers to defeat Geelong.
Longmire has coached the Swans three times after losing qualifying finals, going out in straight sets once and gave an insight into the mental approach the coaches must emanate through the squad.
“You always turn back to the fact that if you finished top four, we've earned the right to have another crack at it and we are good enough,” Longmire said.
“It is interesting the fact that has turned a bit since the pre-finals bye but you convince the players, the staff (that we are good enough) but you don't have to convince them too hard.
“The odds are in your favour. I think Fremantle will bounce back. Just sewing the seed and not letting the outside noise get to you.
“Reinforce the vision you show the players for why you're in the position to have a second chance is so important.”
Half-back Jordan Clark played something of a lone hand for the Dockers, with spearhead forward Josh Treacy among many who put forward arguably their worst performances of the year, while former Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd is among the critics querying Pat Voss' output after a lean recent patch.
“If you look at last week, some of their best played at a really average level compared to their standards so that will be building up in their minds,” Longmire said.
“If they can get away from it a bit and let the pressure valve release a little bit and think about other things and reinforce how good they are, that's a good thing.
“The challenge is being in Perth and being able to escape the bubble and the noise is a challenge. I back them in still, they're high quality players, it's hard to imagine them playing at that level again.”
