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Fremantle star Nat Fyfe has taken a step forward in his new role but coach Justin Longmuir won't be giving his AFL rivals a heads-up on their future plans.

Nat Fyfe's revised AFL role might be the subject of intrigue but don't expect Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir to provide a running commentary.

Fyfe played almost entirely at half-forward on Sunday as the Dockers survived an almighty scare from Port Adelaide to run out eight-point winners at Optus Stadium.

In his third match since recovering from a serious shoulder and back injury, Fyfe was virtually unseen at the centre bounces - the terrain where Fremantle's powerfully-built skipper plied his trade on the way to two Brownlow Medals.

It mattered little as an Andrew Brayshaw-led engine room powered the Dockers to a hard-fought 15.9 (99) to 14.7 (91) victory.

But Longmuir bristled when asked whether Fyfe's change of scenery would be a permanent move.

"We'll play it by ear. I'm just not going to sit here and give the opposition a head start on what we're doing with Nathan Fyfe every week," he said.

"It's supposed to be a secret, some of this stuff. And we're supposed to be able to go into a game and catch the opposition off.

"But I get asked 15 questions a week on where Fyfe is going to start his game time, his mid-forward split.

"Give the guy a break. We all want him back to his best and it's going to take a little bit of time.

"I thought he took a good step forward today and he was instrumental when we were playing our best footy."

Fyfe was held to just 11 disposals and two clearances in last week's 31-point loss to Carlton, a game in which the Dockers midfield was soundly beaten.

Longmuir said Fyfe and his midfield teammates had since been given clarity on their roles which "took a little bit of the confusion out of it for us".

The 30-year-old finished with 21 touches against the Power and slotted his second goal of the season.

"I don't think last week was because he was in the midfield. We had a lot of players down all over the ground," Longmuir said.

"He holds a lot of the blame sometimes when he's just one of 18 guys on the field."

The win over the Power lifted Fremantle a game clear in fourth position ahead of Saturday's clash with fellow finals hopefuls St Kilda.