A FORTHRIGHT Justin Longmuir hasn't held back after Fremantle's nail-biting four-point loss to Melbourne at the MCG, saying his side couldn't cope with the pressure.

The defeat was only the Dockers' third of the season, and the result was still in the balance right up until the final siren, but Longmuir suggested the battle wasn't quite as close as the scoreboard suggested.

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"Thought the first half, we got smashed in the contest, it was minus 25 in the contest. The game started looking a little more like we wanted it in the second half, more time in forward half, turnovers in our front half, contest was a bit better," Longmuir said.

"But they just keep coming, and we knew that going into the game, we knew what type of game we were going to get, and we just didn't handle the last 15 minutes of the game as well as we could have.

"I thought they won more critical contests, especially in that last 15 minutes. We became a little bit in-between with our ball movement – we rushed under pressure a little bit, especially under scoreboard pressure late in the game. We got caught between going real slow and taking the game on. When we became unpredictable, the ball came back at us twice as quick.

"We could have been a lot better late in the game. We haven't been in that situation much in the last 12 weeks, we'll learn a lot out of that. You're away from home, the opposition crowd gets into it, the scoreboard is real rather than make-believe (in training), and we probably didn't show the composure we needed in those moments."

Fremantle opted to rest skipper Alex Pearce for the trip over east, and Longmuir said the backline missed his leadership.

"Clearly would have helped save us a goal, which probably wins us the game. We probably lacked a bit of leadership back there, we couldn't turn the tide. I thought we were average behind the ball, our back six," Longmuir said.

"You mention the marks (14 inside 50 to Melbourne), the marks were one thing – I thought we were poor at ground level all day. Went to the side of contests, they're a really good crumbing team, and we just refused to see through those crumbing plays.

"For (Harrison) Petty to take that mark, pretty much uncontested, in the goal-square late in the game, you've got to get body on him in that moment and see that ball through. 

"We had more inside 50s in the last quarter, we could have found someone in a better position in at least two or three of them, which would have made certain goals. We just lacked a bit of composure today."

Melbourne coach Steven King now looks set to guide his side to at least a top-six finish in his first season at the helm, and knows Saturday's result was bigger than the four points.

"Not saying the players didn't believe beforehand, but it just builds more belief. The way the game was played, here, where Grand Finals are held, against a team – they're the best team in it, make no mistake about that," King said.

"For us, it was a scalp we needed to take. We needed to signify to the opposition that we're here. We're not just shooting to play a final, we want to make it count, and we have just as much of a right as every other team in the competition to have a crack at this.

"First versus sixth, we knew it was going to be a high-quality game. I'm just thrilled that the Demon Time at the end of the game there was heaving. We've played pretty well here all year, and I've no doubt it's the members wing that gets rocking, and the boys feed off that energy."

King said captain Max Gawn chose to ruck out the entire last quarter, holding firm against Luke Jackson and Mason Cox. Gawn had seven hitouts and two clearances for the term, to the Docker pair's six and one.

"I just felt like it was a game swung on those critical contests, but more so stoppage/centre bounce wins. It felt like whoever won a centre clearance, scored. That kept us on edge, particularly late when Shai Bolton went in there and was doing some damage," King said.

"We put it on our midfield group at three-quarter time that it was going to be a centre-bounce game, which is a privilege which is on their shoulders. If we break even or win some clearance in that last quarter, we might be able to play some front-half footy.

"We sense we're Max is at. We try to manage him a bit throughout the game, but when it was there, cracking, I think he understood the importance of that phase of the game, around stoppage and especially centre bounce. That's his call, and he obviously puts himself in a position to be able to do that physically and mentally. It was huge for us from the skip."