Fremantle coach Ross Lyon concedes his team are merely grinding away at the minute, but he's looking forward to receiving a big boost in the form of a small package for next Saturday's crunch AFL clash with Carlton at Etihad Stadium.
The Dockers managed to beat Adelaide by 22 points on Saturday night despite having just 33 inside-50s for the game; an equal record low for a winning side.
Fremantle's form has been patchy over the past five games, but they've still come away with three wins to stay in the hunt for a top-four finish.
Carlton shapes as Fremantle's toughest opponent in the run home, with the Dockers expected to start short-priced favourites in games against GWS (home), Melbourne (MCG), Port Adelaide (home) and St Kilda (ES).
Although Fremantle will still be without suspended skipper Matthew Pavlich and defender Luke McPharlin (calf) against the Blues, 174cm goalsneak Hayden Ballantyne is almost certain to return from a hamstring injury, giving the Dockers vital firepower at ground level.
Fremantle are still ranked the best defensive outfit in the league, but Lyon admits his team will need to improve on their showing against Adelaide if they are to beat Carlton, who are fighting to keep their finals hopes alive.
"We're just not playing very good footy," Lyon said after the 11.9 (75) to 7.11 (53) win over Adelaide.
"We're OK, but we'll walk away knowing we're just not quite at our best.
"I thought there were patches (against Adelaide) where I thought, 'gee, we look really good'. But our consistency is a little bit down.
"Our season is well and truly alive.
"And we've got a bit of quality to come back, probably three of our very best players at some point. We know what we need to do to get to our very best."
Fremantle midfielder Nat Fyfe starred with 29 possessions and four goals against the Crows, while Stephen Hill, Michael Johnson and Michael Barlow were also crucial in the victory.
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