FREMANTLE'S quick feet and movement around stoppages can be its weapon against Carlton's bigger bodies in a crucial clash at Optus Stadium on Sunday, according to star ruckman Sean Darcy.   

The Dockers have adjusted to a smaller midfield this season after the retirement of champion onballer David Mundy, with Nat Fyfe's absence also robbing them of a big-bodied option.

Caleb Serong (180cm) has been a star in his fourth season, AFL Players Association MVP Andrew Brayshaw (185cm) remains a class midfielder, and recruit Jaeger O'Meara (184cm) has effectively replaced Mundy as part of the main centre bounce unit.

While second-year midfielder Matthew Johnson (193cm) and forward/ruck Luke Jackson (199cm) have rotated through, the Dockers lack the big-bodied midfielder in the style of Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps (195cm), who they confront on Sunday.

Darcy said losing Mundy had been an adjustment for the team, but Serong, Brayshaw and O'Meara had other weapons they could rely on to get a result in the middle on Sunday.

"They're really good players, and once the ball is on the ground, their hunt and their pressure is first class and that's what we really want to strive for," the ruckman said.

"If we can get our movement right, our patterning and our movement through stoppages, we feel like we're really comfortable and dangerous and it doesn't matter how tall or big they are.

"Once the ball is on the ground, they're really efficient and quick and pounce on it. They have fast feet and pressure through the stoppage.

"We feel like it has been a bit of a change without the bigger mids and we've had to rely on movement through the stoppage and movement around, and I feel like we’re doing that really well and can be hard to stop."

The Dockers midfielders can bank on excellent service from Darcy on Sunday, especially after Carlton named undersized pair Jack Silvagni and Lewis Young as their ruck combo, given knee injuries have sidelined rucks Marc Pittonet and Tom De Koning.

The makeshift duo were beaten 61-27 for hit-outs against Hawthorn last week, and now confront Darcy, who ranks No.3 in the AFL for hitouts (38.8) and No.1 for hitout win percentage (55.8 per cent).

The 2021 club champion said consistency had been the key to his excellent season, which was interrupted briefly by a hamstring injury but is back on track after he took the points against Western Bulldogs opponent Tim English last Saturday with 50 hitouts and 18 disposals.  

"It's been a difficult season because we haven't got the wins like last year, so that's been challenging, but I've just tried to be consistent, be level, be grounded and not ride the wave and the emotions too much," the 25-year-old said.

 "I used to be pretty up and down, depending how we were going and how I was playing.

"If we came in after a win and I played well I would be pretty happy and be up and about, and the next week if we lost and I wasn't too great, I would ride the waves pretty badly.

"So I'm just trying to find a good routine and understand that you've got to stay pretty equal through the wins and the losses. You can't ride it."

Darcy, who has also focused on growing his leadership this season, said he had realised in recent years that his body language and attitude after wins and losses had a big impact on teammates.

Mentor and former Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands had provided advice on staying level-headed during the ups and downs of a football season.

"He is someone who I still talk to now and he was just so calm and the same person week in, week out," Darcy said.

"It's about learning your game and learning routines that you're going to stick to whether we win or lose.

"The last three or four years I've tried to get a routine and also have things outside football I can concentrate on, and that's been really beneficial."

Darcy is studying accounting, commerce and management, and said volunteer work with disability support service What Ability helped keep him grounded outside football.

"My older brother has a disability. We've had a pretty lucky family and he's been able to do anything he wants growing up," Darcy said.

"He's pretty high functioning, but you see a lot of people who aren't as lucky as our family are.

"Heath Chapman and I do a bit of work with that and, talking to Heath about it, we leave happier than the participants with how happy and grateful they are for everything in their lives.

"It makes you realise that the world is a good place."