It was one of those plans that will be filed under: Seemed Like a Good Idea At The Time. Because it's looking like a stinker of an idea now.

Fremantle's strategy to rest captain Matthew Pavlich and five or six of the club's better players for Saturday's clash against Hawthorn in Launceston came unstuck so spectacularly - losing the match by 116 points - the club's coaching staff (and supporters) will be wondering whether the experience hasn't damaged team morale beyond repair.

Missing from the Dockers' best 22 for the Tasmanian trip were Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands, Adam McPhee, Roger Hayden and David Mundy - as well as brilliant youngsters Stephen Hill and Anthony Morabito.

But the travelling party did include forgotten forward Ryan Murphy, Clayton Hinkley, Tim Ruffles, Zac Clarke (pictured, above, against Brent Renouf) and Justin Bollenhagen - rookies who aren't even household names in their own homes. It was the original sending of boys on a man's errand.

Freo's inexperienced and makeshift team fared terribly against the Hawks, not registering their first goal till the 13-minute mark of the second quarter. Their second goal came eight minutes into the last quarter - and that triggered a relative scoring avalanche as they piled on four goals for the term to finish with five for the match.

In the meantime, the Hawks racked up 24 goals of their own, handing out the mother of all hidings - 116 points, one of the biggest defeats of the season. At one stage, midway through the final term, the margin blew out to 130 points - a scarcely credible scoreline given that Fremantle were in fifth place, and Hawthorn eighth, before the opening siren.

The Dockers' reasoning had some merit: the team had a six-day break before the round-22 match against Carlton; they now have a host a fresh players available for selection this week; and injuries to some of their better players in recent weeks meant it was difficult to stagger rests over the closing rounds.

But tonight they must be questioning the wisdom of the decision to field a second-string side because of the damage that might have been inflicted on team confidence.

North Melbourne premiership coach Denis Pagan always used to say: never flirt with your form, son. But the Dockers chose to ignore that sage advice and tempted fate with their radical selection policy.

Commentator Garry Lyon said on Thursday described the Freo tactics as ‘un-Australian'. Even BPL's punting pro, The Shark, highlighted midweek the great betting proposition that Hawthorn represented.

But Dockers football operations manager Chris Bond said on Friday criticism of the club was ‘uneducated'. ‘'I'm disappointed (with the criticism) really because I think all through the year we've had challenges in regards to injuries,'' he said. ‘'I understand it's a unique situation and there's going to be a lot of controversy, but our supporters and members and people who follow football should acknowledge what we've done with our list over the last two years.''

Still, winners are grinners and if the embattled club can regroup and defeat Carlton next weekend - to set up a home final the week afterwards - then the punt will have paid off in silver dollars. If, however, the Dockers lose to Carlton - and have to travel east for their first final in a demoralised state - then there will surely be recriminations, finger-pointing and perhaps some fallout.