The Western Bulldogs are in an early-season slump, and coach Luke Beveridge doesn’t want his mini crack at the umpires to take the focus away from his group’s shortcomings.

The Bulldogs slumped to their fourth straight loss on Saturday night when they suffered a 19-point loss to the Dockers in Perth.

Beveridge’s men trailed by just six points at the final change, but their victory hopes were dashed when Fremantle piled on the next four goals.

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Although the performance was a huge improvement on the meek 44-point loss to Carlton a week earlier, Beveridge was frustrated that his group failed to stand up early in the last quarter when the game was there to be won.

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Their inaccuracy also cost them dearly in the 13.10 (88) to 9.15 (69) loss.

Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton endured a game to forget, going goalless from just seven disposals.

Such was Naughton’s struggles opposed to Fremantle backman Joel Hamling, he was moved to defence in the third quarter to try to ease the pressure on him.

The overall free kick tally was 13-11 in favour of Fremantle, and Beveridge feels his players were short changed at times.

“The free kick count was pretty minimal. There was a lot of holding going on and pushing off the ball that was interesting,” Beveridge said.

When asked specifically about Naughton and whether there was anything he could do to help make life easier for the 19-year-old forward, Beveridge replied: “What, when he gets held and you get a free-kick or two you mean? That would help.”

Camera Icon Jack Macrae and the Dogs faded late against Freo. Credit: Getty Images

However, Beveridge was quick to stress that the lack of free-kicks wasn’t the reason why his team lost.

“The headline can’t be that (the umpiring) was an issue, ultimately Fremantle beat us,” Beveridge said.

“I’m not whinging about that. That just happened in the game. If it’s missed, it’s missed, and you just hope they get it next time.

“We created enough opportunities once again.

“We need our medium and small forwards to produce some better outcomes, and we haven’t, and we’re not getting the goals we need out of our midfield either.”

Fremantle milestone man David Mundy played a key role in the win, booting two crucial goals in the third quarter in his 300th match.

The 33-year-old remains at the top of his game, and Dockers coach Ross Lyon is keen for the veteran to play on next year.

“He’s bursting through the 300,” Lyon said.

“We spoke over summer that we’d like to get our midfield back together and intact. He’s been exceptional.

“It’s one week at a time obviously. But I know he’s keen to go on, and we’re keen for him to go on.”