Fremantle leader Alex Pearce says he and his teammates won’t be patting themselves on the back after a rollercoaster eight-point win against Port Adelaide on Sunday at Optus Stadium.

Freo led by as much as 40 points only to see the Power kick five straight goals, and miss multiple shots on goal late, to fall just short in their comeback attempt.

But the manner of Fremantle’s victory matters little on the AFL ladder with the win keeping Freo one game clear in fourth on 44 points ahead of Carlton and Collingwood on 40.

Pearce said there was a bittersweet vibe in the Fremantle changerooms post-game.

“It’s a very strange one. We had a disappointing last quarter, we were under the pump for a lot of the time and we could have easily lost it,” Pearce said.

“In the end, a win’s a win, we’ll take our four points and run.

“It’s a strange feeling when you get the win and you’re very disappointed with how you performed in the end.”

As Fremantle’s backline general, Pearce said it was his job to ensure his fellow defenders could stay on task as the Power surged.

 “It’s hard when they get momentum like that and everything seemed to be working for them,” Pearce said.

“We just had to try and create some energy if we could, we spoke about trying to win some contests, which we weren’t really doing.

“It’s hard when the energy gets low so we we're trying to motivate ourselves and do the best we can and we got there in the end.”

Fremantle now look ahead to next Saturday night against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium where they’ll look to have a much-improved performance at the ground after their round 15 defeat to Carlton.

Pearce said he had seen Fremantle make important changes after being outplayed by the Blues.

“I think we made some changes this week that worked,” Pearce said.

“Obviously, we got jumped out of the blocks (by Port Adelaide) but after those first three goals we played some good footy.

“We spoke about being a bit more confident with the ball, a bit more aggressive with our defence and I think we did that for large parts.

“Obviously, it wasn’t a consistent performance that we were after but I think we can really build on that and take it into next week.”