JADE Rawlings says Melbourne has planned methodically for its next three matches, which includes games away from the MCG.

The red and blue will take on Fremantle at TIO Stadium in Darwin on Saturday night, before playing St Kilda at Etihad Stadium next round. In round 18, Melbourne will head to Perth, tackling the West Coast Eagles at Domain Stadium.

Rawlings said it was an important period for the team’s development.

“We’re well organised with our planning, from a long way out, in terms of what this phase of the season was going to look like,” he told Melbourne TV.

“It’s an important game [against Fremantle], given we were close last week, but weren’t able to execute late in the game again, which has been our trend against the teams higher up on the ladder.

“We learned from that and hopefully that can be applied on Saturday night.”

Rawlings said Fremantle was another big challenge on the road this round.  

“We see them as an opposition, which is very, very capable,” he said.

“Their season hasn’t gone as they would’ve liked, but we take their recent form … and we’ve got a high level of respect for them and they’ve got good experience across all three lines on the ground.

“We expect a really fierce contest.”