Sydney coach John Longmire says he will find out just how much his side wants to play AFL finals after an 11-point loss to Fremantle, their fourth defeat in five weeks, left the Swans clinging to eighth spot on the ladder.

The Swans mounted a stirring final-quarter comeback at the SCG after trailing by 38 points at the final break but ran out of time as the Dockers hung on to record a dramatic 15.8 (98) to 13.9 (87) win.

Longmire was left ruing a third-quarter fadeout where the visitors slammed on six consecutive goals after the 14th minute en route to victory.

"I thought we lost a bit of focus for five minutes, but they did a fair bit of damage in that five minutes," Longmire said.

"It's a real blow for us. We were playing a team that's right next to us on the ladder. We knew the importance of it going in.

"(Next week) we'll find out how much we want to participate in the finals and that's our challenge. We clearly know the Bulldogs are back in a bit of form and they'll be tough to beat here."

The home crowd of 23,415 felt their side's chances weren't helped by the umpires, who were a factor in a physical game that was often scrappy, a result of the frenetic tackling and intense pressure showed by both sides - and the wet conditions.

The crowd's displeasure was not so much directed at the free kick count, 22-20 in the Dockers' favour, but more the perceived inconsistency with which the rules were applied.

In the dying stages, Tadhg Kennelly gave away a questionable free kick on the half-back flank and then copped a 50m penalty, allowing the Dockers to work the ball forward where Swans' defender Heath Grundy was penalised for a throw.

Nick Lower then kicked the sealer after the Swans had booted five consecutive goals, the highlight being a miraculous boundary-line snap from co-captain Jarrad McVeigh, to reduce the margin to six points.

Longmire didn't want to talk too much about the umpires but said he would review the game and consider calling AFL umpires boss Jeff Gieschen.

"It's hard to comment straight after the game," he said.

"I'll watch it and, if there is something there, I'll speak to him. I generally try not to focus on it too much, because I've just found, over 10 years, that you can talk and get frustrated about it as much as you like - but in the end, you can't control it."

Serial niggler Hayden Ballantyne kicked three goals while Nathan Fyfe was best on ground with 31 disposals, 22 of them contested, eight clearances and four tackles.

Fremantle, who are sixth on the ladder, will be sweating on scans of Roger Hayden's leg while Luke McPharlin could come under scrutiny for a late bump on Craig Bird.

Dockers' coach Mark Harvey was happy to take the points ahead of next week's derby against West Coast.

"It was a hard, tough game. It was warrior-like: contested, tackling, pressure - all of those elements and your blokes are going to be sore," Harvey said.

"It's up to us and how we pull up and how we make sure that we're ready for next week."

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