The Dockers were widely tipped to cruise through to the grand final after snaring the minor premiership in stunning fashion.
But Thursday night's 32-point qualifying final loss to Hawthorn means Fremantle will now have to do things the hard way to reach the decider.
The Dockers will host Geelong in a semi-final at Optus Stadium on Friday night, with the winner to face the Swans in Sydney in a preliminary final.
Fremantle defender Jordan Clark was a rare shining light against the Hawks, racking up a game-high 38 disposals to go with 549m gained in what was his 150th AFL match.
The 25-year-old had a simple method for Dockers players looking to avoid getting down in the dumps by their poor display.
"You don't read the media. You don't buy into all the bullshit in the outside world," Clark told AAP.
"Everyone outside of us probably thinks it's game over and catastrophising. But inside the four walls, we're so confident in what we can do.
"The world's not over, and the sun comes up tomorrow, and we get to have another crack at it, so it's all good."
Fremantle won a club-record 14 consecutive games this season, but have now lost three of their past four matches, with Clark conceding Fremantle aren't "humming" at the moment.
"But we always know that it's never far away," he said.
"We've seen that across this year - it doesn't take much for us to turn it around and get on our bikes.
"I've got full belief in this group. We're such a good footy team when we get it right, and we're not far off.
"So as far as it was a disappointing result, I'm actually so excited about the rest of the year."
Fremantle now need to win back-to-back games in order to reach the grand final - something that doesn't scare Clark.
"It's been done before. It depends who you ask whether it is the hard way or the easy way," Clark said.
"It means we don't get back-to-back weeks off or anything like that, but if you want to look at the positives, we get to keep playing.
"We love playing footy, and that's what we're here to do. It's not the hard way for us. It's just another chapter in the story this year."
Geelong secured a spot in the semi-final with a 33-point elimination final win over Carlton in front of 96,680 fans at the MCG on Friday night.
Patrick Dangerfield wound back the clock with five goals from 21 disposals, while Max Holmes tallied 16 disposals and three clearances on restricted game time in his return from a broken ankle.
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