The pressure is mounting on Fremantle to prove they can live up to lofty expectations after suffering their second upset loss of the AFL season on Sunday.

The Dockers started the season vying with reigning premier West Coast for flag favouritism after reaching a preliminary final last year, the most successful result in their history.

They unashamedly loaded their list for a premiership tilt this season, trading away draft picks to recruit Collingwood star forward Chris Tarrant and experienced Essendon defender Dean Solomon.

Those gains, combined with questions over how the Eagles would handle the fallout from the Ben Cousins saga, tipped the Dockers into outright favouritism with some bookmakers.

But it is Fremantle's focus that is under the spotlight heading into next Saturday night's derby at Subiaco.

While the Eagles have cast aside concerns over their emotional state by following their impressive first-round victory over Sydney with a solid win over Collingwood on Saturday night, the Dockers have started dismally.

A surprise home loss to Port Adelaide in the opening round was followed on Sunday by a 19.8 (122) to 17.10 (112) defeat at the hands of Essendon at Telstra Dome.

It is the first time in six years the Dockers have started a season with consecutive defeats, both coming against sides that were in the lower reaches of the ladder last year.

Connolly conceded the Dockers had some work to do on their attitude but said they could not use the weight of expectations on them as an excuse.

"We're moving into a realm where we expect the expectations," Connolly said.

"We expect to make the eight, we expect to win games."

Having topped the 100-point mark in both losses, Connolly said it was defensive intensity that was the issue.

"If you told me at the start of the year these are the two scores we'd kick in rounds one and two, I'd have thought we'd have won for sure," he said.

"We have some defensive issues to take care of, our tackling has dropped off and that will be a major focus for us, and we've got to maintain a desperate attitude.

"We've got a forward line which can give us a good return, but again our defence hasn't been up to scratch."

The Dockers were missing several players on Sunday, with Michael Johnson, Jeff Farmer and Steven Dodd all out suspended.

Heath Black, Troy Cook, Byron Schammer and Robert Haddrill were out injured.

But Connolly said the team had to be able to cope with those issues.

"We've got sufficient depth to win games with players unavailable, so there's no excuses on that front," he said.

The Dockers will be one of four winless clubs by the end of the round, assuming Hawthorn and Melbourne, who both lost their first round matches, do not draw their MCG game on Monday.

Richmond and the Kangaroos are the other two, with the `Roos going down to Port Adelaide 17.20 (122) to 15.14 (104) at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.

Adelaide notched their first win of the season in emphatic style, streaming away from the highly-rated Western Bulldogs for a 16.14 (110) to 11.6 (72) victory at the MCG.

It was a superb performance from the Crows, given they are struggling with a huge injury list and were coming off a shock loss to Essendon in the opening round.

However, they lost another player in the process, with running defender Graham Johncock stretchered off with an ankle ligament injury in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs were also hit by injury, with 250-gamer Jason Akermanis injuring a hamstring in the final term.

The Crows' win sets up an enticing showdown with the Power at AAMI Stadium on Saturday, with Port undefeated.

In other results so far in the round, Brisbane beat St Kilda on Thursday night to also stay on the unbeaten list.

Sydney and Geelong notched their first wins of the season on Saturday, beating Richmond and Carlton respectively.

Hawthorn play Melbourne at the MCG on Monday to complete round two.

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