FREMANTLE will use the carrot of finals to ensure its players don't "drift" ahead of a season-defining two-game stint on the road, according to coach Justin Longmuir.
Only percentage behind eighth-placed Richmond, the Dockers face Carlton in a match likely to be at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday before tackling Hawthorn in a fixture scheduled for Launceston next weekend.
On Wednesday, the Tasmanian Government shut the doors on the Dockers-Blues match being played in the Apple Isle this weekend as a COVID-19 precaution after Fremantle joined West Coast in fleeing WA lockdown on Tuesday night.
Skipper Nat Fyfe is poised to return against the Blues following a shoulder setback and trained strongly on Wednesday at Marvel Stadium.
Back at Marvel ?? #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/r7hBwe0ECz
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) June 30, 2021
"I think it's a big thing (finals hunger) … our season's on the line," Longmuir said ahead of training.
"We've got some positivity out of the last two weeks. Our playing group has kept that energy all the way through the year, but we've got something to really play for now.
"Hopefully our players can put some of the distractions behind them and be focused on their preparation for this week.
"We just had a team meeting then to make sure that we're not drifting, making sure we're investing in everything we do.
"It makes it easier when you're home and you've got normality, but when you're away and there's so many balls up in the air, sometimes your focus can get diverted to other things that don't help you on the weekend."
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) June 30, 2021
The Dockers departed with a contingent of 38 players on Tuesday night, leaving those with long-term injuries in the west.
The entire travelling party, who received negative COVID-19 results on Wednesday morning, will set up camp in Melbourne between their upcoming two matches with the hope Perth is out of lockdown after the clash with the Hawks, allowing them to return home.
Hayden Young (hamstring) and Ethan Hughes (shoulder) joined Fyfe in full training on Wednesday and will need to impress on the track in order to return from respective injuries with no WAFL matches this weekend.
Fyfe is expected to split his time 80-20 between midfield-forward just as he did before his injury, despite the Dockers' lack of firepower in attack with Matt Taberner (calf) to miss up to a month.
Luke Ryan was among a small group on lighter duties, while veteran Stephen Hill ran laps as he builds his conditioning from a hamstring injury in with the view to playing WAFL in the next fortnight.