Josh Treacy has lamented a deviation from his side's best in their humiliating loss at the hands of Brisbane on Friday night.
Treacy pinpointed obvious lapses in team defence as the catalyst for the 67-point demolition, which has put them in a 'win and you're in' scenario, ahead of their clash with the Western Bulldogs this Sunday.
In front of a heaving home crowd, the Dockers gave up 147 uncontested marks to the reigning premiers, but Treacy insists "stage fright" was a non-factor.
"We went away from what our best is. We clearly played a really good opposition that challenged us in a lot of ways, but stage fright was not the issue," said Treacy.
The Dockers are preparing for the Bulldogs to implement a similar 'keepings off' style this weekend, after watching the Lions pick Fremantle apart to such great effect.
"We want to limit teams to a lot less than that (147 uncontested marks). We wanted to see if they could pick us apart, and they did. We didn't deal with that well.
"I feel like we've done that (combat uncontested marks) all year - we've worked well together, team D-wise."
Treacy says there was almost disbelief amongst the group when reviewing footage from their most recent outing.
"You sit there and laugh at it almost. We went away from what we value. The team D stuff, capitalising on our opportunities, bringing your mates into the game. We understand it's a simple fix," said Treacy.
"It's been a taxing year," Treacy continued, pointing out the side was coming off back-to-back six-day breaks ahead of the loss, and that the Dockers have a large contingent who've featured in every game this season.
One player who does not meet that criteria is game-breaking midfielder Hayden Young, although the impactful left footer remains a live chance to feature in this weekend's critical clash at Marvel Stadium.
"I'd love to have him back," Treacy added.
The nine-day break the Dockers are currently enjoying works in Young's favour as he pushes for a return, but it has also allowed the group what Treacy calls a "mental and physical freshen up".
"It's a brutal industry, physically. We've just had three days off, which was nice."
Treacy is confident his side can bounce back after just their second loss since Round 11, citing multiple big wins "over east" this season.
Recent developments, such as the announcement that the 2025 season would be club great Nat Fyfe's last, as well as the grey cloud that is Fremantle's chase for a maiden AFL premiership, have enhanced external narratives regarding this season's urgency, but the Cohuna product offered that internally, the language is different.
"We understand that pressure, but it is more of an external narrative. What we're trying to value inside these four walls is probably a lot different to what the fans want, although we're trying to achieve the same goal.
"We're just going about it differently. What we're doing every day, every week to set us up to perform on weekends, is what's gonna hold us in a good spot."
Fellow key forward Jye Amiss has been maligned this season, with a goal tally significantly below that of the last two seasons, but Treacy offered unflinching support for his running mate.
"I love playing with Jye," he said. "I wouldn't say it's a different role (for Jye), but we're impacting in different ways. Lots of players have stepped up, which is allowing guys to take a bit more of a back seat; we're scoring more as a collective. It may seem like Jye isn't having an impact, but he still well and truly is impacting for us, without or without the ball."
Amiss' next opportunity to trouble the scorekeepers comes in a monumental clash with the Western Bulldogs this Sunday afternoon, with the winner claiming the coveted final spot in September.
