But the Dockers coach also provided a rarely seen softer side to his public persona, choking up as he used his Doig Medal speech to pay tribute to a raft of departing players, including long-time captain Matthew Pavlich.

As expected, possession-accumulation machine Lachie Neale was a comfortable winner of the Doig Medal as Fremantle's best-and-fairest, beating Stephen Hill by 30 votes and Michael Walters by nearly 50.

Pavlich, who finished fourth in the Doig in his farewell season, provided a poignant speech reflecting on his 17 years in the AFL but the most revealing words of the night might have come from Lyon, who said the Dockers went too far away from what had helped them to a minor premiership under his watch in 2015 and a grand final appearance in 2013.

Fremantle finished with only four wins in 2016, the last of them in round 23 over eventual premiers the Western Bulldogs.

"There is no doubt in 2016, and we discussed this in the leadership group, we moved too far from what we value and lost our identity to an extent as a team," Lyon said

"Our belief is we will realign to our values and embrace the possibility mind set that anything is possible and will pursue excellence as we have been done so successfully in the past.

"The Western Bulldogs showed us...really simply what is possible if everyone commits and executes in an uncompromising fashion."

Lyon predicted the returns of Nathan Fyfe, Michael Johnson, Aaron Sandilands, Alex Pearce and Harley Bennell from injury-blighted seasons would stand the Dockers in good stead in 2017 and believed the club's younger players would take momentum from Peel's historic first premiership in the WAFL.

The win over the Dogs in Pavlich's final game would also have a lasting impact, he suggested.

"It doesn't count for a whole lot but it helps fuel our self-belief going forward," Lyon said.

Lyon is often regarded as a hard taskmaster but his strong loyalty to long-time pupils was evident as he fought back tears when saying goodbye to some of his favourites from the most successful era of Fremantle's 20-year history.

"I'd like to single out Tendau Mzungu Matt de Boer, Clancee Pearce and Pavlich for the last five years," he said.

"In all your character and your work ethic your relentless preparation and you're competing you leave with all the admiration and respect that I can muster. It's really hard to say goodbye...we will miss you."

Lyon's full speech is available on the Fremantle website.