FREMANTLE coach Justin Longmuir has lauded superstar Luke Jackson as a "barometer" of his team after a stunning final quarter from the ruckman that spearheaded the Dockers' fightback win against Hawthorn. 

Jackson, who has elevated to be arguably the best ruckman in the game this season, dominated the final term at Optus Stadium on Thursday night with nine disposals, eight contested possessions, three clearances, and one massive smother as the Dockers charged down a 19-point deficit. 

DOCKERS v HAWKS Full match coverage and stats

Longmuir said the big man's ability to rotate forward was allowing him to stay fresh deep into the final quarter of games, with the premiership winner doing maximum damage late as the Dockers booted five unanswered goals in a match-winning burst. 

"He's a barometer for us and he was huge," Longmuir said on Thursday night after the Dockers' eighth straight win.

"When he's up and going and doing his thing on ball, he just adds another layer to our stoppage work.

"[He] plays a big part in how he overwhelms with his physicality and presence through the middle of the ground, and that allows our mids to get on top.

"Once we get that field position, we're a hard team to stop and eventually the dam wall breaks."

Thursday night's win gave the Dockers further breathing room in second place after emerging from four games in 19 days with an 8-1 record. They have the chance to equal the club record of nine consecutive wins when they take on Essendon at the MCG in round 10. 

Longmuir said he was excited for the club's fans, and his team was mature enough now to handle the growing expectations that will be placed upon it. 

"I'm happy for our fans to be excited. We're playing an exciting brand of footy. We've won a lot of games in a row, our fans are starved for success. Our fans should be excited about the path we're on," he said. 

"But our challenge is to just stay in the moment and give every team our best. It's been a mantra all year and it won't change.

"We've done a lot of work on that, to be able to stay in the moment, to be able to ignore what the outside world is saying and making sure that we value the right things week to week and we get our feedback from the right areas.   

"It takes time for players to learn that and feel comfortable doing that. Our leaders are driving that mantra really well and the rest of the playing group's falling in behind."

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell said Thursday night's loss proved his team was "not quite there" against the best sides, with the Hawks conceding a massive 21 inside 50s to four in the final term. 

Their tendency to concede runs of centre clearances in a row was a concern for the coach after they were beaten in the key indicator 6-0 in the final term.  

"We couldn't find any way to get any field position and just get the ball into our front half. So we got taught a bit of a lesson late," Mitchell said. 

"We've talked a lot this year about being ready to play and win against the best sides, and we proved tonight that we're not quite there. 

"We shot ourselves in the foot with the way we set the game up tonight, late in the game.

"We knew we were going to be up against it, and we were going to have to have to play 120 minutes. Unfortunately, 90 won't get it done against the Dockers, and we learned that lesson. Hit us right in the face to be fair."

Mitchell said the extent of a hamstring injury for Tom Barrass was not yet known, but the gun defender would undergo scans. Key forward Jack Gunston was able to return to the field after an ankle concern.