Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said that the reason substitute Nat Fyfe wasn't injected into the game was due to calf "awareness" during the half-time break.
In Fyfe's three matches this year, he has either started as the 23rd man, or been brought from the field and given the sub vest in a bid to build up his loads following persistent soft-tissue problems.
Longmuir opted for the safe approach to give the two-time Brownlow Medallist every chance to take on Sydney next week.
"He tried to warm up at half-time and did some run-throughs, and then he felt some awareness in his calf," Longmuir said.
"Not sure whether we could have put him on if we had an injury, but since we didn't have an injury and didn't have any players really flagging, the safe option was to just leave him out of the game.
"It's a bit of a concern, of course, but we'll see how he pulls up tomorrow, get it scanned if we need to, and see where it takes us. But from what I understand, it's pretty minor."
"It came up to the box early in the third quarter that he had some calf awareness."
Justin Longmuir provides an update on Nat Fyfe, and unpacks his side's win post-match: https://t.co/I8Fk9ryDI7 pic.twitter.com/VPMHAIeXXH
— AFL (@AFL) June 29, 2025
The Dockers extended their win streak to six games following the 12-point victory over St Kilda in front of home crowds at Optus Stadium.
The Saints managed to curb the influences of the dynamic midfield duo Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong, which left the door ajar for ruck pairing Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy to impact the game when it mattered most.
Jackson and Darcy got on top of Rowan Marshall, which instigated a five-goal-to-two blitz in the final term, with three of those coming from the Dockers' big men.
"There were a lot of contributors in the last, but I thought our talls, and in particular our rucks, were dominant," Longmuir said.
THE UNICORN ICES THE GAME ๐ฆ#AFLFreoSaints pic.twitter.com/MG5cgIxSiu
— AFL (@AFL) June 29, 2025
"Sean was having more impact in the ruck for us, and we opted to give him more minutes in the last quarter, and the great thing about Jacko is he's able to impact in other areas of the ground.
"Jacko had direct impact in three of the five goals in the last. It was a good performance for him, when it wasn't probably going his way in the ruck and midfield, but he was able to impact as a forward."
Fremantle will look to continue their push towards the top four when they travel to Sydney to face the Swans next week.
Longmuir addressed post-match his concerns over the "unsafe" conditions at the SCG after Friday night saw multiple players slipping over.
