Pre-season expectations: For a team that finished on top of the ladder and had a home preliminary final last year, expectations surrounding the Dockers were relatively low. While most thought they would again be finalists, neighbours West Coast were more fancied and not even an undefeated pre-season was enough to rouse the pundits to back Ross Lyon's side. Not helping the situation was Fremantle's inability to land Greater Western Sydney forward Cameron McCarthy and Matthew Pavlich again had to front up as the club's primary forward target. Lyon's contract was extended until the end of 2020, providing extra stability for the club.
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Record: 3-11 (15th before round 14)
What's gone right? The side's struggles and injuries have at least hastened the injection of youth at the club, an area where Lyon has long been criticised. In Connor Blakely, Lachie Weller and Matt Taberner they have an emerging group of impressive young players, while several others have been used more than they otherwise would have been. Veteran Michael Barlow responded well to being dropped, showing plenty since earning a reprieve in round 10. Ex-Box Hill tall defender Sam Collins has been given opportunities after injuries to key personnel and looks to be a player of the future. Michael Walters has roamed further up the ground, and is no longer just a deadly goalsneak. A further positive is that the Dockers have rarely been thrashed. They entered round 15 with a better percentage than Carlton, but had three fewer wins than the Blues. Only one of Fremantle's losses – the opening-round defeat to the Western Bulldogs – has been by a margin of more than 50 points.
What's gone wrong? Put simply, the Dockers have gone from a team that won their first nine games last year to losing their first 10 in 2016. Three wins followed, but the round 14 loss to Collingwood was deflating. Injuries cannot be ignored. None of Aaron Sandilands, Nat Fyfe or Michael Johnson have played since April, with reigning Brownlow medallist Fyfe's season over, and veterans Sandilands and Johnson absent indefinitely. Recruit Harley Bennell hasn't been sighted, new captain David Mundy has had a stop-start year, while impressive young defender Alex Pearce's campaign ended early with a broken leg. Even mature-age West Australian feel-good story Shane Yarran's stint at the club turned sour, with the forward first hampered by injuries and last week police charged him with disorderly conduct. But injuries alone cannot be blamed for the drop-off. Too few Dockers have reached anywhere near their best, meaning they have been unable to fill the void left by Fyfe, Sandilands and Johnson. Pavlich has remained serviceable, but at 34 he cannot be expected to carry the forward line. The long-standing question marks over the viability of the traditionally defensive Lyon game plan remain. But in a catch-22 the Dockers have been left vulnerable down back when trying to improve their attacking verve. Fremantle conceded three triple-figure totals in the first month of the season, as many as they did across the entirety of last year's campaign.
Standout star: In a dismal year for his club, Lachie Neale has elevated his game to another level, averaging nearly 33 disposals per game, seven more than the next-best Docker. Despite interest from rival clubs, the South Australian last week signed a three-year contract extension, a relief to the Fremantle faithful.
Players under the pump: The Fremantle board ratified a rebuild strategy at a meeting last week, and wholesale change is expected. Having received a one-year contract extension, big man Zac Clarke has failed to capitalise on Sandilands' absence and his future is uncertain. Matt de Boer, Alex Silvagni, Tendai Mzungu and Jack Hannath could also be in danger, while Chris Mayne looks destined to be headed to a Victorian club at the end of the season. Granted a rookie contract this year, Anthony Morabito has again been hindered by injury and hasn't had a senior look-in. The desperately unlucky midfielder may have played his last AFL game. Having gone around again, Pavlich will almost certainly hang up the boots at year's end, if not sooner.
The run home: If Fremantle play as they did in the first half of the season, there would appear to be no gimme games in the run home. Matches against Melbourne (Darwin) and Gold Coast (away) loom as their best chances for wins, but plenty of losses in the back end of the season might not be such bad news for the Dockers, who hope to rebound from a shocking season quickly. A top-five draft pick certainly wouldn't go astray.
What the coach says: "I think we all know what we would like to see. It was most pleasing against Port [Adelaide], our competitiveness and our attack on the ball and the man. That's what we would like to see. We have the break now and then we go to Darwin, and then we've got Geelong at home. There are some valuable lessons to be learnt, but they're only lessons if you learn. I sit here really disappointed and my players do. There is no yelling and berating, we just feel we've let ourselves down." – Ross Lyon after last weekend's loss to Collingwood.
Grading: D
