Beleaguered Fremantle coach Mark Harvey admits his current players may simply not be good enough to compete at AFL level as he prepares for his most daunting week in charge of the Dockers.

Harvey's future looks set to come under serious scrutiny after his Dockers produced one of their most dire performances in an 83-point thumping by St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

Rarely has an AFL club emblem been so appropriate as the Dockers' anchor - the 22 Fremantle players on show scraping the sea bed of acceptable AFL playing standards as St Kilda did as they liked in a 17.9 (111) to 4.4 (28) win.

In two of the four quarters Fremantle were held to a solitary behind.

Three of their four goals came in the second term before they crumbled again in a goalless third quarter.

The Dockers' sole major in the fourth quarter spared them the shame of the club's lowest-ever score.

Harvey refused to be drawn into speculation about whether his job was in jeopardy, telling a post-match media conference: "If you want to write it up that way, you do it."

When asked what his short-term plan was to turn around Saturday night's woeful display for the weeks ahead, Harvey said: "Work as hard and as close as I can with them and try to get the best out of them.

"The best of them might not be good enough at the moment until we can get a couple of players back, and also enhance whatever we've got on our playing list from a first year and second year point of view.

"You look for answers when you go through a defeat like that and sometimes they can be very hard to find.

"But simply, right across the board tonight, there are all areas we never looked like getting involved in the game."

One positive the Dockers can take from the match is that St Kilda, whose pressure and tackling has been the competition's benchmark so far in 2009, did hold Sydney goalless for two quarters in round one.

The Swans have since rebounded to win two of their next three matches.

The Dockers also had onballer Byron Schammer reported for head-high contact over a third-quarter clash with Saints defender Farren Ray.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP