Fremantle coach Ross Lyon refuses to blame the loss of Aaron Sandilands and Nat Fyfe for his team's insipid display in their 55-point AFL loss to lowly Brisbane.
Sandilands succumbed to a right calf injury just minutes before the opening bounce on Sunday, while Fyfe injured his right hamstring midway through the second term.
The Dockers will await the results of scans to determine how long the pair will be sidelined.
Brisbane made the most of the injuries by running rampant in the 18.11 (119) to 9.10 (64) win at Optus Stadium, stunning the 41,674-strong crowd.
Lions ruckman Stefan Martin dominated in the absence of Sandilands, finishing the match with 46 hitouts, 19 disposals and seven clearances in his 150-game milestone.
Dayne Beams tallied 33 disposals and 12 clearances and Lewis Taylor booted three goals.
The Dockers looked sluggish in their first game back after the bye and Lyon said the loss of Fyfe and Sandilands wasn't the reason behind the poor display.
"Somewhere in our preparation, we didn't nail what we needed to nail. That's indisputable," Lyon said.
"Now was it me, was it our S and C (strength and conditioning) team? Is it the player? Was it a collective?
"That's the debate. We won't linger on it but we'll have a bit of a look ... you would think we would have to change things going forward."
The Lions entered the match having lost all 13 of their opening quarters this year.
But they ended that rut with the opening four goals of the game.
Fyfe struggled to assert his influence on the match opposed to tagger Jarrod Berry.
The Fremantle skipper received some treatment on his hamstrings early in the match and ended the first quarter with just five disposals and one clearance.
Fyfe tallied just three more disposals in the second term before pinging his right hamstring while leaning forward to collect the ball on the wing.
Brisbane led by 24 points as Fyfe limped his way to the bench and the lead ballooned to 54 points when the Lions opened the third quarter with six of the first seven goals.
The Lions' second win of the season lifts them one game clear of last-placed Carlton.
The cellar-dwellers lock horns at the Gabba next Saturday in a match that will go a long way towards deciding the wooden-spoon battle.
For Lions coach Chris Fagan, it was the perfect ending to what had already been a memorable week.
"My daughter Jess had a baby. It was our first granddaughter," Fagan said.
"So I am officially a grandfather now. I have a lot to be thankful about."
Fremantle's shock loss leaves them two wins and a significant percentage adrift of eighth spot.
