IT HASN'T been the ideal summer for Fremantle, but skipper Matthew Pavlich is adamant the club have sorted out their problem areas heading into Friday night's season opener against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium.
The Dockers' late start to the pre-season following last year's Grand Final appearance left them looking a tad vulnerable during their three recent practice games.
Although they managed to beat the Bulldogs in Melbourne, they copped an 84-point hiding from West Coast first up, before again losing to their cross-town rivals by 19 points last week.
The Dockers were given a much-needed dose of good news on Monday when Michael Walters was offered a reprimand for his high bump on Eagles youngster Brant Colledge, freeing the goalsneak to play against the Magpies.
But injuries to ruckman Zac Clarke (knee) and forward Scott Gumbleton (hamstring) have left the Dockers light on for big-man talent, while defender Nick Suban will miss the opening round due to suspension.
High-profile recruit Colin Sylvia will start the season in the WAFL after being plagued by niggles over the summer.
Despite an indifferent pre-season campaign, Fremantle remains one of the premiership favourites.
Pavlich is confident his players will be ready to fire against Collingwood on enemy territory.
"I understand that by virtue of days and minutes training and time at the club, we're a little bit behind," Pavlich said on Monday.
"But I thought we were able to catch up relatively quickly, even in that pre-Christmas period.
"The first game against West Coast, we were just off. We weren't ready, and West Coast smacked us.
"I think we're as well prepared now as we can be. We go into the game with absolutely no excuses."
Fremantle struggled to get the ball out of defence in last week's loss to West Coast.
For Pavlich, the public's concerns after the game reminded him of his team's derby loss two years ago, when they scored just five goals and coach Ross Lyon was accused of destroying the game with his ultra defensive methods.
Fremantle rebounded from that loss to become one of the competition's best teams.
"I think the world was going to end if you were a Fremantle supporter or a Ross Lyon fan, (because) we couldn't get the ball out of our defensive zone, we had no forward structure and we couldn't score," Pavlich said of that derby loss.
"There was a little bit of that about the game on Thursday.
"But we're really confident that we've seen it before and can fix it and remedy it really quickly."
