SKILL errors and a lack of energy cost the Western Bulldogs any chance of victory against lowly Fremantle, dejected coach Luke Beveridge says.

The finals-bound Bulldogs went into the game at Domain Stadium with a chance of finishing in sixth position and securing a home final.

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But Hawthorn's narrow victory over Collingwood, which came at half-time in the Western Bulldogs' game, meant the match was effectively a dead rubber. 

And the Bulldogs barely raised a whimper thereafter, despite Beveridge claiming his side wanted to win. 

"We still wanted to finish the home and away season on a positive note, but nothing went right, unfortunately," he said.

"So, putting it down to it, it was just that there were too many skill errors, our energy wasn’t where it normally is, Fremantle's good play (and) many, many things. But we are going to need a significant correction to be any sort of force in the upcoming finals series."

Five talking points: Fremantle v Western Bulldogs 

Beveridge said the Bulldogs' skills had been particularly poor under strong pressure from Fremantle. The visitors' kicking efficiency was 46 percent, against Fremantle's 72 percent.

"The stats will be horrific for us," he said.

"We just had a quick chat, as I said, and unfortunately, probably for the first time all year, there just can’t be a positive to come out of that game for us."

Matthew Boyd was excellent for the Bulldogs with 35 possessions, while Luke Dahlhaus had 31 and both Lin Jong and Liam Picken racked up 28 touches. Tory Dickson kicked three goals from limited opportunities and Clay Smith was always dangerous, kicking two goals and gathering 15 disposals.

But Beveridge said not one player had been up to scratch.

"We're after complete games and somewhere near our boys' very best … but all our performances individually were nowhere near what they should be, what they need to be and what they have been," he said.

WATCH: Luke Beveridge's full post-match press conference

The Bulldogs now face a tough elimination final match-up against West Coast in Perth on Thursday, September 8. Beveridge said it would be a "massive challenge" and the club might experiment with their travel plans, which hadn’t worked on this trip.

He said the week off could allow Easton Wood to recover in time for the match against West Coast, while Jordan Roughead would probably be available.

But an extra few days would have helped.

"Someone mentioned to me that the game might be on a Thursday night, which we would probably prefer the Saturday night and give everyone a chance to have an extra couple of days to be right from an injury point of view," he said.

"But we can’t fight City Hall on that."