A DEFIANT Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has declared the Dockers will rise to the challenge of playing for their season next week after a disappointing 57-point loss to Brisbane on Friday night left them in a fight to play finals. 

While the Lions locked away their finals spot at Optus Stadium, the Dockers missed their chance to secure a top eight position and must now beat the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium next Sunday to guarantee a September return. 

DOCKERS v LIONS Full match coverage and stats

The Dockers slid from third to 10th in the final month last year to miss finals, but Longmuir said his side had grown a lot since then and was not ready to concede its season without a fight in the final round. 

The coach said it was clear what the Dockers needed to do next week after losing just their second game since round 10. 

"Well, win. We'll go over there and give our best shot," the coach said on Friday night. 

"We've won 11 of 13. I know everyone will be doom and gloom and write us off again after tonight, but I've got a lot of faith in this team. 

"We've grown a lot. We've already won three more games than last year. 

"Everyone wants to talk about the last four games of last year. We had some injuries through that period to really key players. People forget about that as well. 

"But we'll review this game, get better, and take our best over to Melbourne and play the Dogs.

"I haven't said farewell to 'Fyfey' yet. We've got plenty of footy left in us."

Longmuir said he wasn't sure if the high stakes nature of Friday night's match had been a factor in his team's disappointing showing, but it was clear that the players had lacked composure in a wasteful performance, kicking 1.5 in the critical third quarter. 

"It felt like it was the first time we've been in that position for a while where we've probably felt the pressure of the game and lacked a little bit of composure to finish our work off," Longmuir said. 

"I don't know whether it's occasion or the emotion of the week. I deal in facts and the facts were we just didn't chase the game as well as we should have, the way we have shown. 

"We put ourselves in that situation where we had to chase the game, but bad kicking becomes contagious. The shots that we missed weren't all difficult and 0.8 - that becomes contagious. 

"We were never able to make the most of opportunities. Whether that was the occasion or not, I'm not going to guess on that."

Longmuir said he was disappointed in some ill-discipline after two goals were conceded to 50m penalties at crucial times, while a free kick was paid well off the ball to Logan Morris when Brennan Cox shoved him inside 50. 

"I'd love to see what the umpires say about that Cox one. He pushed Morris in the side and Morris goes down 100m off the ball, and that's a big penalty to pay for something that's not that much in it," Longmuir said. 

"I'm disappointed in our players because it's unnecessary when you're struggling to convert down one end and then you gift a couple goals to the opposition. It's a big difference in a low scoring first half, so it's disappointing."

A relieved Brisbane coach Chris Fagan paid tribute to his players for securing a finals spot for the seventh consecutive year, with a top four spot now possible if they beat Hawthorn next week. 

The premiership coach highlighted his team's outstanding form on the road after a ninth win this season away from the Gabba, where they have a 7-4 record this season. 

"We just should travel somewhere and play next week, to be honest," Fagan joked.

"I was sitting in my hotel room today, thinking, if we lose tonight and we lose next week, we could miss finals having 14 wins and a draw, that's unheard of. But it's a relief to have that out of the way. 

"This is our seventh year in a row that we've qualified for finals. That's hard to do, particularly if you're an interstate club, I reckon, because you got to travel more, and there's a few more obstacles.

"There's probably 1001 different ways the ladder could end up next week, but we're in control of our own destiny."

Fagan said premiership wingman Jarrod Berry would undergo scans for a shoulder injury after suffering a dislocation in the fourth quarter when midfielder Andrew Brayshaw cannoned into his back. 

"It didn't look good, but sometimes they can find a way to strap them up and get them through the season and have an operation at the end of the year," Fagan said.  

"I'm not 100 per cent sure on that, but it's not ideal. He's been one of our better players this year and a very reliable leader, so fingers crossed for him.

"He's OK. I had a quick chat to him, so we'll just see how it all pans out in the next few days."