Fremantle coach Ross Lyon revealed his side may have to take action into their own hands if the umpires don't look after superstar captain Nat Fyfe.
Speaking after the Dockers' 31-point Round 17 loss to Hawthorn in Launceston on Saturday, Lyon said Fyfe deserves more protection.
"He got checked off the ball heavily, I think he got a couple of free kicks but we'd like him to be looked after more," Lyon said.
"We'll probably have to take it into our own hands really if he doesn't start getting looked after - I don't say that lightly but I've probably had enough of it.
"All teams do it (tag) - maybe in the heat of the moment I've got my red-head hat on and I'm a blue-hat thinker, I'm not sure, but sometimes you've got to protect your own.
"I'm pretty protective of my players, we'll see what happens."
Dockers superstar Nat Fyfe headed down to the rooms after this passage of play.#AFLHawksFreo pic.twitter.com/YiT9DGtwCt
— AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) July 13, 2019
Fyfe had Hawks tagger Dan Howe for company for the afternoon and finished with 24 disposals, three goals and two free kicks.
Lyon admitted the Dockers (7-9), who have dropped four in a row, need to become "tougher" and "a bit more ruthless".
"People that were in really good form have just tailed off a little bit, and we've got to fight to get our form back as a club," he said.
"There's no isolating of individuals. We need to protect our own, we need to become a tougher club and we need to become a tougher team and a bit more ruthless.
"We're just maybe a little bit nice at the minute, but I think that's something I can help coach."
Fremantle hosts Sydney at Optus Stadium next Saturday night.