FREMANTLE's fall from minor premier in 2015 to the bottom of the ladder after five rounds has been as staggering as it has been swift. 

It has brought about all manner of analysis and judgment on what has happened and what should happen at Fremantle.  

When Ross Lyon spoke at the Dockers' season launch in March after it was announced that he had re-signed until the end of 2020, he set the agenda.

"Ultimately none of us are satisfied with where we're at," Lyon said.

"We're certainly aiming for a premiership and you don't shy away from that.

"Particularly by the end of this tenure, I'll have no excuse to not have achieved that because we're fully resourced, fully supported and I've certainly got a timeframe where I can make short-term and long-term decisions to get us where we want to be."

What now for Fremantle?

Lyon was confident the Dockers would be a contender again in 2016. 

"I'm sure that we'll be there when the whips are cracking," he said.

Less than two months and five consecutive home and away losses later, Lyon has admitted he has to start again.

"I've got no alternative," Lyon said following the loss to Carlton.

"We don't rebuild but re-stump, we re-wire, we re-plumb."

So what does that mean?

Firstly, Lyon's greatest challenge is re-wiring the game-plan and finding players who can execute it.

As he said, turnovers and skill execution is costing his team at the moment more than anything else. 

His players need to learn how to use the ball better, something they have worked on tirelessly over the summer but have failed to execute in the first five rounds. The Dockers are 17th for total disposal efficiency in the AFL this season according to Champion Data figures, after finishing third last year.

Compare that to Hawthorn, so long the benchmark in so many areas, has been in the top two in total disposal efficiency for the past four seasons.

Lyon has taught effort, system and defence better than just about any coach in the modern era. But now he must teach ball movement and skill in the manner Alastair Clarkson has.

Despondent, and injured, Dockers leave the field after the loss to Carlton. Picture: AFL Media

He needs to trial his players and find out who can kick and who can't. And he needs to work out how to teach several core players how to execute better. 

Incredibly one of his best kicks, Stephen Hill, has produced the highest number of turnovers by foot this season. Hill has dropped from 61 per cent efficiency last year to 47 per cent this year. Cameron Sutcliffe has also experienced nearly a 13 per cent drop from last season to this year.

As a team they have dropped from seventh in kicking efficiency differential (+0.8 per cent) to 17^th (-5.3) from last season to this season.

But the Dockers' kicking has not just failed them this year – poor execution by foot has plagued them in key matches in recent seasons.

In crunch moments in the 2013 Grand Final and the 2015 preliminary final the Hawks executed their skills under pressure better than Fremantle.

Docker Yarran set for WAFL

The Hawks kicked at better than 80 per cent efficiency in the first quarter of the 2013 Grand Final. Fremantle kicked 8.14 in front of goal and four out of bounds on the full to lose by 15 points.

In last year's preliminary final the Hawks kicked 15.4 from 42 inside 50s to 10.7 from 41 entries. They also had 10 individual goalkickers to the Dockers’ seven.

So Lyon needs to develop and find good kicks to execute a new game-plan that is going to thrive in a competition in which scores from general play have skyrocketed and stoppage numbers have plummeted. 

The analysis has been that he has to move on senior players and play kids, something he had been criticised for not doing in the past.

He has played more kids than Hawthorn. Since 2013 the Dockers have played seven draftees for a total of 32 games.

In the same time the Hawks have played four draftees for a total of 47 games. One player, Billy Hartung, has played 32 of those.

Tommy Sheridan, Hayden Crozier, Lachie Neale and Sutcliffe were four of the Dockers' five picks in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft.

Bradley Hill was the only Hawk from the 2011 draft who played in the 2013 Grand Final and the only 2011 draftee currently playing at the Hawks.

But it is clear other teams have drafted and developed better kicks than the Dockers to this point.

Drafting and trading for better kicks is one thing, but teaching players to become better kicks and decision-makers under pressure is more important.

That is Lyon's next challenge.