FREMANTLE coach Justin Longmuir has backed his team to rebound from a shock finals loss to Hawthorn, declaring the Dockers are far from "dead and buried" and have shown what it takes to go the long way through September. 

The Dockers let their chance at a home preliminary final slip on Thursday night, succumbing to both the pressure of the occasion and Hawthorn's relentless early pressure to lose by 32 points. 

DOCKERS v HAWKS Full match coverage and stats

They will now face the winner of Geelong and Carlton in a semi-final at Optus Stadium next week, with an away preliminary final in Brisbane or Sydney then looming if they win through. 

Longmuir said the Dockers' ability to stack results through a club-record winning streak this season, and travel for big wins in Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, should give the group belief it can still challenge in 2026.   

"The facts are to get to a Grand Final we need to win two more games, two games in a row. We've won 14 games in a row this year, so we've proven that we can win two games in a row," Longmuir said on Thursday night. 

"We've won on the road. We've won back-to-back road travels. So it's not the way we wanted it to go, but we're not dead and buried.

"We've earned the right for a double chance. I've got full faith that we can get back to our best footy really quickly, and that starts next week. 

"I've spoken about the week after and maybe the week after that, but all our focus needs to be on next week. We've got eight days to regroup, get a few things right, and come out and play our best footy."

Fremantle produced its lowest scoring first half of the season on Thursday night, kicking 1.4 and falling 33 points behind after its three key forwards failed to fire, combining for 0.1, seven disposals and no marks. 

Longmuir paid credit to the Hawks' backline, as well as the visitors' ability to lock the ball in their own forward half and force turnovers. 

"We had 20 back-half turnovers in the first half. We're usually keeping teams to that for a game, and we just got stuck in our back half and really that's where the damage was done," he said. 

"We didn't really function as a forward line that well, but I thought their backs were terrific. 

"They were able to work our forwards under the ball a lot. They were able to intercept. I thought they were able to roll off as well at times and come third man in. So credit to their backs."

Asked if the occasion had overwhelmed his team, Longmuir said he understood that suggestion but believed the result had more to do with Hawthorn's ability to apply pressure. 

He backed the decision to manage players through the final weeks of the season, including Jye Amiss, Heath Chapman and Sam Switkowski, insisting he would not change those decisions in retrospect. 

Small defender Brandon Walker came into the team for his first game since round one but ended the match on the bench in tears after a rolled ankle ended his night, with Longmuir disappointed for the 23-year-old, who had some good moments on Hawthorn superstar Nick Watson. 

"He's rolled his ankle, and clearly some ankles you can jab and get him back out there, and this wasn't one of them," Longmuir said. 

"So that tells me it's serious and really unfortunate because I thought he was holding his end of the bargain up. 

"It's been a bit of the story of his last two years. Every time he gets an opportunity, works his way back in the side, he hasn't been able to string multiple games together, so I feel for him at the moment.

"We thought he was up to the challenge, and I think he showed he was up to the challenge."