Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says it does not feel like his team has won six games in a row despite them retaining second spot on the ladder following their 14-point win over Carlton at Optus Stadium.

The Dockers haven’t won seven games in a row since 2015 and will enter next week’s game against the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium attempting to achieve that rare feat.

But Longmuir said Fremantle were yet to play their best footy and allowing Carlton to fight back after the Dockers led by 41 points in the final quarter was still frustrating the team.

He said nobody felt like they were enjoying a lengthy winning streak despite the 16.7 (103) to 13.11 (89) victory.

“Not really. I said that to the players after the game,” he said.

“We were disappointed with the last 20 minutes. I said to them that it’s a good position to be in, sitting here knowing that we’ve got work to do on our game to get it to the level that we want. But we’ve won six in a row.

“Sometimes you finish off the game like that, and you can walk off being a little bit disappointed. But games of footy are hard to win. I said to the players that I don’t think Carlton’s record replicates the footy they’ve been playing.

“I think they’ve been playing some really good footy. Collingwood came out and won by 90 points and Carlton had the chance to draw the game last week. Games of footy are hard to win so you need to enjoy them. We also know we’ve got some work to do.”

Shai Bolton won the Arthur Leggett Medal for his dominant performance as a midfielder and forward. He kicked two goals and had 33 possessions while Luke Jackson also dominated with 21 disposals, 31 hit outs and two goals.

Fremantle controlled clearances early and then produced a final quarter blitz to blow the game apart when they kicked four goals in six minutes. Longmuir said that summed up the strengths of his team during 2026.

“All year we have been able to win in different ways,” he said.

“Different parts of our game in different games have held up and flourished. Some games we’ve won on front-half scoring.

“Sometimes we’ve had to do it from our back half. Tonight our centre bounce and our stoppage was good at times. I feel like we’ve got a few strings to our bow.”