FREMANTLE produced arguably the best football of its season in the second quarter against the Western Bulldogs, but there is still room for improvement according to senior midfielder Jaeger O’Meara. 

The Dockers set up their brilliant win against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday with a seven-goal burst at Marvel Stadium after quarter-time that was built on high pressure and aggressive ball movement.

The quarter set a season-high mark for points scored from defensive 50 chains and overall score differential, while the match was the Dockers’ best performance since 2010 for points generated from the defensive half.

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O’Meara said it was the type of football the team would love to reproduce frequently after standing up under pressure and charging into a finals series for the second time under Justin Longmuir.

“That second quarter was some of the best footy we’ve played all season, so if we could just bottle that up and play that way all the time, that’d be nice,” O’Meara said on Tuesday.

“There’s still areas for improvement, like our last quarter we let them back into the game and our first quarter we didn’t quite get our contest right.

“It wasn’t a whole four-quarter performance, but it was a lot closer to the way we want to play. We were obviously under a fair bit of pressure to try and keep our season alive, so it was good to bring it out.”

The Dockers’ second quarter was notable for the players’ willingness to take advantage, with defenders Jordan Clark and Alex Pearce both launching early goals after making quick decisions to play on.

The team’s clearance ascendency and front-half pressure and intercepting was also critical as the Dockers built a match-winning lead, going on to score a season-high 71 points from turnovers.

They are now in the unique position of waiting until Wednesday night before their finals opponent is confirmed, with either Hawthorn or Gold Coast set to travel to Optus Stadium for an elimination final.

The Suns and Hawks are coincidentally O’Meara’s previous two clubs as he prepares to play his 200th game and second career final, with the midfielder not fussed about which team he lines up against.

The 31-year-old is more concerned about playing in the first winning final of his career after suffering a knee injury in the Hawks’ qualifying final loss against Richmond in 2018 in his only September appearance.

“I just want to play finals footy and I’m excited about that. I’m more worried about us,” he said.

“It’s why I’m still playing. Finals have eluded me over my career. I’m averaging one final per 100 games at the moment, so hopefully there’s a fair few more to play out for me.

“I’ve been dreaming of playing finals ever since I played in 2018. I got injured in that game and missed the second final, so it’s been a long time coming.

“I’m just super excited. It’s why you play footy.”

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Corey Wagner will miss the Dockers’ elimination final after suffering a torn pectoral muscle against the Bulldogs in a bitter blow for the 28-year-old, whose flexibility has been important for the Dockers.

O’Meara said the team would rally around the midfielder/half-back and try to play with Wagner’s selfless approach when they run out at Optus Stadium.

“It’s really hard. He’s one of the best teammates we’ve got, in terms of just doing anything for the team,” O’Meara said.

“He’s really cemented himself into our best team, and you ask any of our players, they absolutely love playing with him because he’ll do anything for the team and play any role that the coaches ask of him.

“Hopefully we can try and emulate some of what he does for us over the next few weeks.