ROSS Lyon says Fremantle is "dog-hungry" for success this season and Sunday's Western Derby is part of the road to September.
The coaches of both Fremantle and West Coast got together for a pre-Derby press conference at Domain Stadium on Thursday.
Lyon and Adam Simpson arrived wearing the caps and shirts of the sponsor, instead of their usual club colours.
The Dockers start warm favourites against an injury-ravaged Eagles side after winning the last five encounters between the clubs.
Sandi v Nic Nat will be pivotal: Pearce
But Lyon said the past didn’t count and his club was looking at the big picture.
"The past is irrelevant and the task is to bring it alive again," Lyon said.
"So we're squarely focussed on improvement and growth.
"We're a dog-hungry football club and there is no silverware in our cupboard.
"You need to win four points and lots of them to get a good starting position in the real season, so that's the way we're approaching it."
Simpson said this Derby presented a great opportunity for his young side to find out where they stand against a side with genuine premiership credentials.
"I'm not looking at the past five games or where the two teams sit," Simpson said.
"We'll go in with a positive mindset with a real appetite for a competitive hit-out.
"We're just excited to see where we're at this week against a quality opposition who are playing really good football."
Neither coach gave anything away on a selection front. Both will be forced to make at least one change with the Dockers losing Hayden Ballantyne to suspension and the Eagles losing Simon Tunbridge to a long-term ankle injury.
Both coaches agreed that the mouth-watering ruck match-up between Aaron Sandilands and Nic Naitanui would be crucial to the outcome of the match.
The contest is made more intriguing by the fact that Fremantle's ruck coach, Simon Eastaugh, was Naitanui's ruck coach at West Coast for four years before moving to the Dockers at the end of the 2013 season.
"He'll have a deep understanding of what Nic likes and doesn't like," Lyon said.
"The best laid plans of mice and men don't always work. They (the ruckmen) have to adjust on the run. They are both significant players in their own right and that battle is going to be crucial."
Many believe the Dockers hold a significant advantage over West Coast in the midfield. But Lyon didn’t agree.
"We understand (Scott) Selwood's not there,” Lyon said.
“But (Matt) Priddis is a Brownlow medallist. Nic Nat is a star of the competition. (Sharrod) Wellingham is a premiership player brought over specifically, and he's up and going now. You've got (Chris) Masten. Andrew Gaff is a star into his fifth year.
"I don't see West Coast's midfield as diluted at all, bar Selwood. That's where it's going to be won and lost.”
