FREMANTLE coach Justin Longmuir says "the job is not done" after steering the Dockers to a famous finals win on Friday night, with the coach declaring his team the underdog as it prepares for a preliminary final against Sydney. 

The Dockers have reached their first preliminary final since 2015 and will meet Sydney in the second last week of the season for the third time in club history after beating the Swans in 2013 and losing in 2006 when Longmuir was a player. 

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While proud of his team's ability to bounce back from a home qualifying final loss and produce a win against Geelong that was full of grit and resilience, Longmuir said there was no satisfaction in what had been achieved so far for the Dockers. 

"None yet, none. The job is not done," Longmuir said on Friday night. 

"I just spoke to the players then that it feels great, we played a really good brand of footy, and you should get a lot of confidence out of that, but the job's not done. So go 1-0 again.

"We'll go over there as underdogs, and they'll be really confident after their win against Brisbane, and they'll be heavy favourites on their home deck. But we'll go over there and give it our best."

Fremantle started brilliantly on Friday night and built a game-high 31-point lead, but it was challenged in the third quarter and had to come from behind to win a final for the first time since 2022, with Luke Jackson producing a heroic seven-minute burst on the cusp of three-quarter time.   

A proud Longmuir said the team should take confidence from the way it played early as well as the grit it showed to take control of the match again after being challenged by the experienced Geelong. 

"We've had a big focus this year on momentum, and we knew coming into tonight against Geelong that we were going to get that sort of a game," Longmuir said. 

"When they're behind, they throw a lot at teams, and when they're in front they're good at halting momentum as well.

"It felt in the third quarter a little bit like the round one game where they were coming hard at us, and we weren't able to get momentum back on our terms.

"But I thought tonight we were able to show real maturity at the back end of that third quarter and settle.

"So hopefully they understand that when we approach the game with that type of mindset, good things happen."

The coach paid tribute to Jackson, who booted two goals in the critical third quarter and had a direct hand in two more, while praising key forward Pat Voss for the disciplined role he played on Geelong defender Tom Stewart. 

Stewart finished with 14 disposals and a modest four intercepts, while Voss booted a team-high four goals, including the sealer deep in the final term. 

"We spoke about being reliable, not remarkable, and I spoke about 'Switta' (Sam Switkowski) and how he's probably the most reliable player that I've ever coached," Longmuir said. 

"We spoke about that in the lead up and we wanted to be reliable and reliable to each other tonight. 

"To get the reward with the four goals was outstanding, but it was much more than that tonight. He gave himself over to the team and then got the reward."

Key defender Brennan Cox has been targeting a preliminary final to return from his calf injury, and Longmuir said the 28-year-old had "ticked every box" so far. 

Changing the team would be difficult, however, after defender Judd McVee and versatile midfielder Corey Wagner each came into the team and performed. 

"I think the majority of players would tick their role tonight. So when you're in the team and you play your role, it is hard to make changes," Longmuir said. 

"He (Cox) hasn't main trained, so there's water to go under the bridge.

"We played 'Wags' because his form had been elite at Peel and he's been playing above the level. 

"He's had some inconsistency issues with his body, which has cost him a bit of continuity, but he's calm, he works his backside off in game, he's tough, and he's an elite communicator and a really strong leader for us. 

"So I think he added a fair bit tonight."