The AFL later said Nicholls had “officiated correctly” when penalising Sullivan. The league began to crack down on the trend in 2022 and sent a memo to clubs ahead of the 2023 finals because it was concerned players were wasting time to give teammates more time to set up.

The draw proved costly, the Magpies finishing the season ninth on the ladder, missing finals only on percentage.

Almost a year on, the Magpies – coming off a five-day break after a nail-biting loss to Geelong – arrived in Perth on Tuesday, and will have a light run on Wednesday. They are bracing for the parochial crowd determined to aid the Dockers’ bid to regain their groove after a heavy loss to St Kilda poured more pressure on coach Justin Longmuir.

“When you travel away, there is a different noise when the opposition kicks a goal. And it’s real. The MCG has got that at 82,000 when we kick a goal. You have got to accept it’s going to be a bit different,” McRae said.

The Dockers have slipped to ninth on the ladder, having been strangled at stoppages and clearance by the Saints. McRae said he had taken note of how the Saints had held their opponent to only five goals.

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“Defences won, flooding back, outnumbering, which makes it hard to score for both teams. [But] we play a slightly different brand to that,” McRae said.

“Defensively, you have got to be on against Freo. They can be really damaging with ball in hand. Their clearance and contest has been their strength … you would expect a spike in that area.”

Longmuir insists the Dockers are united, having had “good chats” with key leadership figures of the club this week, and has promised a more proactive unit on Thursday.

They will be without injured midfielders Hayden Young, Nat Fyfe, Jaeger O’Meara and Nathan O’Driscoll.

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