Dockers aim to bounce back from western derby flop

Fremantle midfielder Jaeger O’Meara says the playing group were left flat in the wake of their western derby flop, and are determined to turn things around in Saturday night’s crunch clash with the Western Bulldogs.

The Dockers’ five-match derby winning streak was brought to a crashing halt last week when they suffered a shock 37-point loss to West Coast.

Although Fremantle won the stoppage battle 42-36, they were thumped 132-108 in contested possessions.

Fremantle’s ongoing scoring woes were also exposed, with the Dockers managing only four goals across the first three quarters.

The Dockers would have been 5-0 if they hadn’t coughed up late leads against Carlton and Port Adelaide.

The Dockers’ five-match derby winning streak ended with a shock 37-point loss to West Coast. (David Woodley/AAP PHOTOS)

They now find themselves at 3-3 and back in the chasing pack for a top-eight berth.

“We’ve got to make sure that’s a one-off and we get back to our footy,” O’Meara said of the derby loss.

“We fumbled a little bit around the contest. We got absolutely smacked around post-clearance contested possessions.

“At the source we were OK, but post-stoppage we weren’t good enough to work to the next contest.

“The boys were flat. The derbies are really big occasions, so the boys wanted to put on a good show for our fans, and unfortunately we weren’t able to do that.”

The Bulldogs have welcomed back Tom Liberatore from concussion for Saturday’s game, and ex-Docker Rory Lobb has retained his spot after Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (personal reasons) was deemed not quite ready to return.

Fremantle welcome back Michael Frederick (hamstring) and Heath Chapman, while Patrick Voss and Cooper Simpson have been named for their AFL debuts.

Spearhead Jye Amiss is out with concussion.

The Bulldogs (3-3) enter the match full of confidence after smashing St Kilda by 60 points last week.

O’Meara built a reputation as a clearance bull across his stints at Gold Coast and Hawthorn.

But with Nat Fyfe, Hayden Young, Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong all in strong form, O’Meara is now playing in the unfamiliar role of the wing at Fremantle.

Against West Coast, he was limited to 13 disposals and four clearances in 75 per cent game time.

“It’s been a slow build for me,” O’Meara said of his season.

“I didn’t play the first  match with an injury, and then I was sub for a few weeks in a row.

“I’m slowly building my game time up. I’m playing a different role as a wing, and sometimes as a small forward.

“It’s something I’m getting used to.”