Fremantle midfielder Caleb Serong has labelled the criticism levelled at Luke Jackson as unfair, saying the whole team is to blame for the dire 0-2 start to the AFL season.
The Dockers' top four hopes are already looking shaky following losses to St Kilda and North Melbourne.
Sunday's western derby looms as a crunch affair for Fremantle, and the spotlight leading into the game has been firmly shone on Jackson's form.
The big-money recruit has taken just one mark across the first two rounds and is yet to kick a goal.
In Saturday's one-point loss to North Melbourne, Jackson dropped a series of marks he would normally take.
Serong feels Jackson has been hard done by, saying the whole team needs to lift.
"I think it (the criticism) was pretty unfair. I don't think he's the only one that's a little bit out of form," Serong told Triple M.
"It's definitely not on him, that's for sure. It's on the whole collective ... the way we're playing at the moment.
"I think it's unfair to put a lot of the blame on him and single him out like that."
Serong said the team were doing their best to support Jackson.
And he feels the former Demon isn't far away from producing a big display.
"All we can do is support him and make sure (he knows) what we value internally from him," Serong said.
"You look at the way he's playing - he's getting his hands to a lot of balls.
"It's just a matter of time before they start sticking. He takes four marks inside 50m and the narrative changes pretty quickly."
Nat Fyfe is a chance to return for the derby.
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir initially said Fyfe would need about two weeks to recover from a plantar fascia injury.
But the two-time Brownlow medallist is pushing hard to play in the derby.
"He's going well. He was really positive yesterday," Serong said.
"His plan is to see if he can get out on the track (on Thursday) and push his fitness for the weekend.
"From what I was gathering from his conversations yesterday, he's really confident and excited about how his body is feeling, but it's just whether he gets through (training).
"He's had some tough injuries. He's played with a broken leg.
"This thing ... to keep him out of the game on the weekend it must be pretty sore."
West Coast will be without ruckman Nic Naitanui (Achilles) for several more weeks, while Elliot Yeo (calf) is only a slim chance to return for the derby.
