Fremantle coach Ross Lyon has scoffed at talk his team's premiership window is over, vowing to top up his squad over summer in an attempt to land an elusive AFL flag next year.
The Dockers crashed out of the 2014 race on Saturday night after coughing up a 31-point lead on the way to a 22-point loss to Port Adelaide at Patersons Stadium.
Inaccurate goalkicking cost Fremantle dearly in last year's grand final loss to Hawthorn and it was a case of deja vu against the Power as the Dockers' premiership hopes melted away.
Fremantle possess the oldest list in the competition and there's a strong chance star defender Luke McPharlin will retire after enduring an injury-interrupted season.
But Lyon remains bullish about his team's chances of contending for the flag next year and beyond, saying they will do whatever it takes in order to stay in contention.
"We've got plenty. We're not disappearing," Lyon declared.
"I'm not sure the other teams behind us are just going to leapfrog us.
"In fact, I'm really confident we'll come again.
"We're about sustained success.
"There's plenty of mechanisms to attract talent. We'll draft, we'll look at free agency, we'll trade, and we'll improve.
"Fyfe, our young leader, is just going to continue to grow. Yeah, there's plenty of improvement in us. That's what we need to do. That's really quite simple."
Lyon said Sydney's ability to match it with the competition's heavyweights year after year was a perfect example of what could be achieved.
And he said the Dockers' list wasn't as old as it seemed.
"If you take out our three oldest, we sit in the top four for games for players under 24," Lyon said.
"And we've debuted a number of players and discovered some this year, and we'll continue to grow and build.
"Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But at the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding."
Skipper Matthew Pavlich, 32, and 31-year-old ruckman Aaron Sandilands will play on next season, but it remains to be seen whether they can remain a force in the twilight of their decorated careers.
Lyon said his players were devastated following the loss to Port, but he admired their willingness to put their heart on the line in a bid to achieve ultimate success.
Dockers defender Zac Dawson might miss the start of next season after being reported for a head-high strike on Robbie Gray in a clumsy spoiling attempt.
Fremantle kicked a wayward 6.11 in the first half but Lyon said the series of horrible mistakes that led to Power goals was even more costly.
"We need to get better at not fumbling, not dropping marks, hitting targets, and making good decisions. That's the game," he said.
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