IN A GAME of two halves, Sydney coach Dean Cox conceded his side was convincingly beaten after the main break by a classy Fremantle team.

The Swans started strongly, holding the Dockers goalless in the opening two quarters for just the third time in Fremantle's 32-year VFL/AFL history. However, the tide turned dramatically as the home team piled on 100 points to the visitors' 40 after half-time (15.10 to 6.4) to secure a 38-point victory.

DOCKERS v SWANS Full match coverage and stats

The momentum swung completely once Fremantle's tall forwards got their tails up, leaving Sydney powerless to stop the onslaught.

Speaking post-match, Cox pointed to a critical breakdown in intensity for the collapse, highlighting a frustrating pattern where the Swans drop away against high-quality opponents like Brisbane and Fremantle.

"That's what we've got to fix – the consistency between that," he said.

"At the minute, we sit second on the ladder, but some of the football we're playing at times, we need to be better at. That's the biggest part of footy we need to get right."

The victory in the blockbuster between the top two leaves Fremantle two games clear on top of the ladder. For Sydney, the statistical drop-off was stark.

Sydney's sagging competitiveness saw it lose the final contested possession count 147-121, driven by a -28 deficit after the long break. Furthermore, Fremantle maintained an incredibly high tackling efficiency of 81 per cent and 89 per cent across the final two quarters compared to Sydney's dismal 50 per cent, proving the home side was simply harder for longer.

Yet, despite dominating the opening term, the Swans' wayward kicking of 3.6 to the Dockers' 0.5 prevented them from building a healthier buffer.

“That's probably part of what you have to do in these games against really good opposition – you've got to take your chances when you get them," Cox said.

"We didn't at times, but Fremantle missed a fair bit in the first half as well. So both of us probably left some out there."

Having lost to Brisbane by 43 points a fortnight ago, Cox was asked if doubt was creeping into his players' minds regarding their inability to halt an opposition's momentum.

"No, that's something that we've got to work through and make sure that we work as hard as we possibly can on that area of our game," he said.

"In moments like the first quarter, we were plus seven (in clearances). It shows you can do it; you just can't do it for long enough at the minute against the really good teams. That's what we have to strive to be like."

Tactically, Cox had flagged pre-game that the side would have to deploy a tagger. Ultimately, James Jordon spent time on both Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw, leaving midfielder Murphy Reid largely unchecked despite the Docker finishing with 12 score involvements.

"One thing you look at is that he plays forward-mid a lot, and the ability between him and Shai Bolton to do that. At times, they got off the chain doing that, so we need to be better in that space," Cox said.

"We just thought what Andrew Brayshaw does and gives them in a transition sense was one thing we could look at. We'll probably reflect on it – would we change it if you take him off someone else, and someone else has a bit of an impact? 

"The pleasing thing I find with James Jordon is his ability to be able to change in-game or set himself for a target. We'll have a look and make amends next time we play."