FREMANTLE coach Ross Lyon is refusing to buy into the hype surrounding the Dockers, saying his team has achieved nothing so far.
Lyon took umbrage to comparisons between his side's seven-match unbeaten run and the club record nine-match winning streak achieved by Chris Connolly's team in 2006 that led to a preliminary final berth.
"Those that want to compare, it was a decade ago. They got it done, we haven't done anything," Lyon said on Wednesday.
"There's a significant difference between 2006. They finished top four. They won their games. I don't see us sitting top four. I don't see us with 15 or 16 wins.
"That's the significant difference."
As the Dockers prepare for the clash with North Melbourne at Patersons Stadium on Sunday, Lyon said his group had been boosted by the return of Michael Walters, Matthew Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands to the main training sessions.
"It's good for the group. We'll assess things as they go for the week. But Michael would be the only one that could possibly play out of the three," Lyon said.
The coach was pleased with the progression of Pavlich and Sandilands had made in their return from injury, but the club was still taking a cautious approach with its star pairing.
"Matthew and Aaron have really hummed along over the last two weeks," Lyon said.
"They've got a lot of work into them. It's in the near future rather than the longer term.
"They've jumped a lot of hurdles and if you ask Matthew he'd want to play next week and Aaron would too.
"With 11 games to go, you are going to get one run at bringing them back, so you wouldn't want to make a call that would expose them to soft tissue (injuries).
"We'll be on the conservative side I would think."
Lyon said he was wary of North Melbourne's offensive weapons, saying Sunday's game was a huge test for his team.
"They've been exceptional getting hold of the ball and counter-attacking," Lyon said.
"(Sam) Gibson has been fantastic for them, experienced recruit, and then they've got their stars, (Daniel) Wells, (Brent) Harvey, (Drew) Petrie, and (Andrew) Swallow.
"It's a really big challenge for us, really big."
Lyon felt that North Melbourne's lowly position on the ladder showed the exceptional depth of the competition this season.
"If they're 13th and they could easily be top four - it tells you how even it is. It's those that win the close games," Lyon said.
"We've won one, drawn one, lost one, and North to their frustration have lost their close games.
"It's those that take their opportunities at the right time that find themselves in pretty good positions on the ladder.
"But it tells you if they're 13th the competition is pretty healthy.
"I never go to the ground thinking, 'gee, we're going to win today'. I always feel physically ill.
"It's a tough competition."
