What results Fremantle Dockers need in round 24 in order to reach finals

West Coast’s failure to beat Carlton means the Dockers’ finals fate is no longer in their own hands. Here’s what needs to happen in the last round of the season for Freo to secure a spot in September.

• BEAT PORT ADELAIDE

The first box the Dockers must tick is in the last game of the round: They must defeat Port Adelaide at Optus Stadium next Sunday.

Without a win in that 4.10pm start, it’s impossible for ninth-placed Freo to climb into the top eight.

The Dockers are a $1.78 favourite with bookmakers for the home clash, but face a tough ask against a Power side that sits second and will likely be looking to lock in a top-two berth with a win of their own.

• HAVE ONE OF CARLTON, HAWTHORN, OR THE WESTERN BULLDOGS LOSE

Freo fans will be tuning into these three matches and crossing their fingers for an upset.

Red-hot Hawthorn face lowly North Melbourne in a 2.35pm (WA time) bouncedown in Launceston, and if the Roos can’t provide a boilover, Dockers supporters face the prospect of a sleepless Saturday night ahead of a big slate of Sunday games.

The Dogs host GWS at Mars Stadium in Ballarat, beginning at 10.30am WA time, in a match where they’re slightly favoured by the bookies.

Then Carlton face St Kilda at 1.20pm at Marvel Stadium, with the Saints finishing the season strong but the Blues likely to get some key bodies back as they look to book their own finals berth.

There’s also an extremely rough possibility of Fremantle overtaking Brisbane, should the Lions get thumped by Essendon at the Gabba, but that is highly unlikely given a percentage gap of more than 11%.

Without a favourable result in one of those matches, Freo can’t play finals - despite sitting in the top four less than a month ago.

But if one of those games goes the Dockers’ way, they’ll have everything to play for when the ball is bounced against Port Adelaide next Sunday.