FREMANTLE skipper Nat Fyfe expects top picks Andrew Brayshaw and Adam Cerra to make an impact for the Dockers at AFL level as early as next year.
The club bolstered its midfield talent by grabbing Brayshaw and Cerra with their pair of top-five selections at last month's NAB AFL Draft.
They have already impressed Fyfe enough for the Brownlow medallist to suggest they should be seen in the senior side next year as the club kicks into its aggressive rebuild.
"They're highly credentialed individuals coming in," Fyfe said from the club's AFL Community Camp in Pinjarra.
"The exciting part is that they're both really willing to learn and we want to fast-track their development as fast as we can and be playing in the Fremantle strip in 2018, which as an older player, that's going to bring a fresh bit of youth and exuberance to us.
"They’ve been picking our brains and picking other players' brains – [David] Mundy, [Aaron] Sandilands, [Michael] Walters – just figuring out how they can get the most out of us."
Brayshaw leapt into the top rungs of club draft boards with a late-season form patch that saw him strongly considered by the Brisbane Lions with the No.1 choice.
When they didn't go for the Sandringham Dragons product, the Dockers swooped before choosing the classy Cerra at No.5. They were two of eight players the club selected at the national draft, before also adding two new rookies.
Fyfe said the group of 10 draftees, plus their traded-in targets Nathan Wilson (from Greater Western Sydney) and Brandon Matera (Gold Coast), had brought a new energy to the Dockers, who finished 14th last season with eight wins.
"I'm quite excited. Hats off to (list manager) Brad Lloyd and the recruiting team for the personnel they've brought in," he said.
"Particularly players in Wilson and Matera, who bring in a bit of experience and then the draftees, the 10 guys that we got across, they come with great character and personality, so hopefully we can fast-track their development.
"I think we've had 22 new players joining our team since the end of 2016, so we've got to find our identity as a group and that will take a number of months to do and we’ve got to get on the same page as Ross Lyon and the coaches’ game philosophy. We've got to train hard over the summer as every other team is doing.
"It’s a big job for the leaders and the whole group."
Nat Fyfe's new favourite toy #AFLCommunityCamp #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/owRpUHaUjL
— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) December 8, 2017
Fyfe has already had a busy off-season, including claiming the Jim Stynes Medal as Australia's best player in the International Rules Series in November.
He said he had a week off after the two-game series but is now hitting training head on in preparation for 2018.