Justin Longmuir has dismissed suggestions the Western Bulldogs have uncovered a blueprint for stopping Fremantle, wishing any finals opponent “good luck” if they’re considering copying the tactic.

The Dockers coach said the Bulldogs’ defensive approach of consistently perching multiple extra players in defence was driven more by personnel shortages than a deliberate strategy and doubted Fremantle would encounter the same style of football during September.

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“Good luck,” Longmuir said when asked whether rival clubs would follow the Bulldogs’ lead.

“They’ve got a few numbers out, especially in their front half, and probably a couple of issues down back with their size as well.

“I think it’s probably more circumstantial for them. I don’t think we’ll face that sort of look in the finals.”

The Bulldogs did succeed in slowing Fremantle’s usually potent attack for much of Friday night, but the Dockers’ persistence eventually paid off as they broke clear in the final quarter to secure a 37-point win, a top-two finish, and a club-record 18th win of the season.

Longmuir said the performance highlighted the maturity his side had developed over the past 18 months, as their victory essentially sealed their first minor premiership since 2015.

Longmuirduring the Round 21 AFL match between the Fremantle Dockers and Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium, on July 31, 2026, in Perth, Australia.Source: Getty Images

“I think the growth in our maturity across the last 18 months is that we haven’t panicked when we’ve been in those situations,” he said.

“We’ve just kept our head, kept playing, kept problem solving and kept working our way through the situations the opposition have thrown at us, and usually we’ve come out on top.”

Despite regularly topping 100 points in recent weeks, Longmuir said the Dockers embraced the challenge of winning an ugly, low-scoring contest.

“It was hard to score and they kept the scoreboard pretty even until halfway through the third quarter,” he said.

“I was proud of the way the players worked their way through that.”

While Fremantle has now guaranteed itself a top-two finish, Longmuir insisted there was no sense of complacency.

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In the lead up to the finals, he has consistently stated he didn’t think they were in a position to manage players. After Friday’s win, he said they were clearly still searching for their best football ahead of the finals.

“If you’ve watched our games closely over the last month, we haven’t played 120 minutes of footy, which is what it’s going to take in the finals,” he said.

“We’re still on that journey.

“We approach the season like we’re still in the finals hunt, where we’re still looking for improvement and looking to better our game.”

The victory also established a new club record with an 18th win for the season, but Longmuir said the milestone was only meaningful because it had strengthened Fremantle’s premiership credentials.

“We’ve got to stop and enjoy the journey and smell the roses along the way,” he said.

“We’ve set a new benchmark for our club, but we understand there’s bigger fish to fry as well.”

Longmuir said the record had helped secure the all-important top-two finish that gives interstate clubs their best chance of winning a premiership.

Reflecting on the contest, he praised his players for refusing to become frustrated by the Bulldogs’ defensive set up.

“We had field position on our terms for the majority of the night and we just persisted really well,” he said.

“The wall eventually broke in that last quarter. It was a really mature performance.”