Fremantle legend Matthew Pavlich says his former club is ahead of schedule when contending for a premiership, but is in the mix for the competition's ultimate prize.
Speaking to Zero Hanger, Pavlich suggested that the Dockers are "20 to 30 games" away from genuinely challenging for a flag, given their age demographic.
The club ranks 11th in the league for average age (24.5 years) and 13th (66.4 games) for experience.
Fremantle boasts arguably one of the game's most exciting lists, and following an aggressive 2024 off-season that saw the club welcome Shai Bolton, as well as small forwards Murphy Reid and Isaiah Dudley, the Dockers appear ready to "challenge".
"I've had the firm view, by virtue of how young their list is, that they still might be another 20 or 30 games away from really challenging," Pavlich said.
"But that being said, we've seen it before, that if you have the right form at the right time, then, you know, great things can happen.
"Their form's really consistent; they've won away from home against finals teams, and they've won big games at home.
"But they've been challenged, and I think what they've done has been able to really handle situations, which in the past, they have gone to watering, but they're a bit more mature.
"If you think about sort of senior leaders, it looks like they're standing up when it matters most. So yeah, they're pretty robust, and I think they can challenge."
But their latest outing against Brisbane may have been a reality check for a club that has played finals only once in the past 10 years.
The reigning premiers showed why they are still a genuine contender, claiming the victory by 57 points.
Fremantle now sits precariously inside the top eight, with a do-or-die clash with the Western Bulldogs on Sunday at Marvel Stadium that will determine whether or not they feature in September.
The Dockers were in a similar position last year and failed to secure a spot in the finals after losing the last four games of 2024.
Could history repeat itself?
