FREMANTLE coach Ross Lyon says there is no secret to Brandon Matera's purple patch of form.

It is just plain old-fashioned hard work that has seen the former Gold Coast small forward fulfilling his "god-given" talent.

Lyon was quick to praise five-goal star Matera after watching the Dockers stave off the gutsy Western Bulldogs to register a fourth win for the season by 19 points in club great David Mundy's 300th game.

"It's a really complex formula – it's called hard work," Lyon said post-match.

DOCKERS DO IT FOR MUNDY Full match coverage and stats

"It's about going to the break and relaxing mentally but working physically and Brandon will say he had his best break for hard work and come back in condition."

In the past two weeks, Matera, whose best season tally is 27 majors in 2014, has returned four goals against the Giants and five-straight in the victory over the Dogs.

It has taken his tally to 12 in four games after Matera missed round one due to suspension and wasn't picked against his former side the next week.

GAMEBREAKER Mundy puts on a clinic in his 300th

But after being recalled to face St Kilda, and drilling three goals in round three, the 27-year-old is turning an off-season of hard work into reward.

"We could go through all his sprint percentages at training, but he's elevated to elite small forward workrate and we know he's got the god-given talent of ability to play," Lyon said.

"Talent times motivation equals performance, so that's what you're getting."

After a huge build-up to Mundy's milestone match, Lyon was thrilled his charges showed the Dockers champion respect through performance.

WATCH Ross Lyon's full post-match press conference

The Dogs led by seven points midway through the third term, but with Mundy leading the charge, the home side rallied.

"We spoke during the week that you need to honour it with deed because word is easy," Lyon said.

"I thought for the majority of the night, or really all of the night, we were giving our best effort, the mechanics weren't perfect obviously.

"They've got 12 premiership players and a premiership midfield with (Marcus) Bontempelli, (Jack) Macrae, (Tom) Liberatore, (Lachie) Hunter.

"We knew they had the acid put on them, (it was) Anzac Day (weekend), and they'd really galvanise and come over.

"They are the number one contested ball, ground ball, team in the AFL, so we won the contested ball by 13 (15) and matched them in ground ball.

"In the contest we were fierce enough and we thought we honoured the occasion with great effort and the respect and esteem it deserved."

The Dockers have defied the critics and will finish the round second on the ladder with a 4-2 record, and with a trip to face the Crows ahead, their hopes of a finals berth are growing.

"It's a really even competition. It's going to be a war of attrition, it's going to be prepare well, recover well, and then what's left over is luck," Lyon said.

"We need a bit of that as well, as everyone does."