FREMANTLE coach Justin Longmuir concedes Brennan Cox might miss the Dockers' first final, but insists there's hope for the defender to still feature in Freo's finals campaign.

Fremantle's fourth loss of the season did not affect their position on top of the ladder but did come at a cost, with Cox hurting a calf muscle early in the Blues' 37-point win.

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"It's concerning, we'll get it scanned," Longmuir said post-game.

"He clearly hurt his calf so we'll get it scanned and see what the damage is.

"I feel for Coxy, he's had an interrupted year and has been battling to get back to his best fitness and form, and we saw evidence of that but he's been stomped again so that's disappointing for him.

"He's upset, but he's putting on a brave face and I'm sure he's giving good energy to the group. 

"There's hope [it might not be too bad]. He just felt something go in his calf... chances are he probably misses the first final but there's hope behind that."

With the Dockers resting Jye Amiss, Heath Chapman and Sam Switkowski, Brennan's absence after quarter-time presented a structural problem for the remainder of the match. But Longmuir was adamant they'd be able to cover for Cox should he miss matches.

"Our hand is probably forced, right? I haven't thought too much about selection in two weeks' time," Longmuir said.

"[We have] plenty of options, 'Chappy' [Heath Chapman] is going to come back into the side. It wasn't ideal today because we wanted to look at Oscar [McDonald] forward in case that was an option going forward. But that was short-lived, so that was disappointing."

The coach was concerned with the manner of the defeat, noting Freo were "dominated" for long periods by a far more energetic and hungry opponent.

It was the biggest score Fremantle has conceded all season, resulting in their heaviest defeat.

"It was frustrating because we weren't strong enough in the contest to be able to control the game," Longmuir said.

"But I thought we got out of it pretty well in terms of what we wanted to do with minimising risk and game time.

"In the back of my mind I understand that we've got four players that are in our best 23, if not better, to come back into the side.

"So not all is lost and that was the message after the game."

Meanwhile, freshly installed Carlton head coach Josh Fraser was urging his side to not get distracted by outcomes as the Blues head into a finals spot that was unthinkable earlier in the season.

"We've got a method right now that is working for us and if we stray too far away from that there's some danger attached to it," Fraser said post-game

"As we keep building this brand and this identity, I still believe that we've got to attach ourselves to a process more than an outcome.

"With that said, this appears to be a group that just wants to embrace everything that comes our way, which I'm really excited about.

"Today was another example of that when you're playing a team as good as Fremantle have been."

With Francis Evans kicking five goals up forward while Patrick Cripps (24 disposals, eight clearances), Sam Walsh (32 and eight), Jagga Smith (31 and five) and George Hewett (30 and six) combined beautifully with ruck Marc Pittonet (20 hitouts and seven clearances) around the ball, there was plenty to like for the Blues.

"It was a really strong performance overall," Fraser said.

"We managed the momentum of the game quite well, at times we had to embrace imperfection, which we've done well, and we had a really even spread of contributors across the ground."