THE SUCCESS that Fremantle has promised since a 2022 finals campaign will not arrive any time soon unless the club can find an answer to its diminished form on the road and stand up to a month of challenging clashes away from home. 

The Dockers and coach Justin Longmuir are under the blowtorch following a dispiriting loss to St Kilda on Friday night, continuing an up and down season that has included only one win away from Optus Stadium.

That win against Richmond at the neutral Barossa Park venue during Gather Round sits alongside losses to Geelong in round one (78 points), Melbourne in round six (10 points) and the Saints (61 points).

The next month includes away matches against top-eight teams Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast, with star midfielder Caleb Serong declaring on Monday that the club was digging deep into the reasons why it wasn’t performing on the road.

The challenges of travelling as a WA club should not be dismissed, but overcoming those obstacles is essential if this Fremantle team is going to become a premiership contender.

The contrast in performances so far this season has been galling as strengths at home in front of the Purple Army become weaknesses when venturing into enemy territory.

It stems from the contest, where the team is applying less pressure and winning far fewer clearances and contested possessions away from home, impacting the way they play the game thereafter.

After ending 2024 as the fourth-best team on record for clearance differential (+7.1), they have slid in 2025 to so far produce the worst stoppage returns under Longmuir’s tenure.

The Dockers’ defensive strengths have been broken away from home as a result this year, conceding 99 points a game on the road as the game is played more and more in their back half.

Longmuir spoke on Friday night of not becoming a team that has the “high highs and the low lows” and the importance of resetting each week, with a composed Serong reflecting that approach on Monday while delivering a firm message.

The vice-captain was upbeat about the team’s start to the week and the challenge of taking on second-placed Collingwood at Optus Stadium.

A win against Craig McRae’s men would no doubt be a significant response, but it won’t prove the Dockers are ready to achieve anything this season. The first chance to show that will come against the Giants in round 10.

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If belief is needed that the Dockers can turn it around on the road, there are examples for them to follow close to home.

Longmuir was an assistant coach at West Coast in 2017 and will no doubt remember the struggles that team had away from Subiaco Oval, leading to labels like ‘flat track bullies’.

For three years, they had periods within seasons where form yo-yoed between home wins and away losses, finishing 2017 with a 3-7 record on the road before it clicked in 2018 and a premiership was delivered after a 7-3 season on the road.

The Dockers themselves showed in 2022 what they are capable of on the road, losing just twice on their way to a breakthrough finals win against the Western Bulldogs.

From that moment, success has felt like it is just around the corner with arguably the most talented group the club has assembled in 30 years.

That was more than two years ago now though, and the corner will only be turned if Longmuir and the Dockers can fix the team’s issues on the road and, by extension, their consistency.