THE RETURN of Fremantle stars Matthew Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands remains unclear with coach Ross Lyon saying both need to build their fitness at training before coming under consideration.
None of Pavlich, Sandilands or Michael Walters will face the Brisbane Lions this week.
Lyon is hopeful Walters will come back against North Melbourne in round 13 but the prognosis for the two key talls is uncertain.
"We don't know exactly when they will be back," he said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"Hopefully Michael will be available the week after but the other two guys, it's going to be a work in progress.
"I can't give you anything definitive."
Lyon was happy with the way his captain, Pavlich, was progressing with his recovery from Achilles surgery but said he was still a while away yet.
"He's certainly moving along really nicely. We're confident he's going to play in the near term," he said
"But he needs to get a training block under him, as does Aaron."
Meanwhile, Lyon declared the Sydney Swans the team to beat as the Dockers prepare for an assault on September following their mid-season bye.
Lyon and his coaching staff completed a mid-season review of his team's performance through the first 10 rounds but aside from looking inwardly, he also identified the Swans as the best team in the competition.
"The premiers are the benchmark," Lyon said.
"Regardless of where they play, or the scoreboard, they're giving their best and that's the sort of team we want to be.
"There's a benchmark out there that we're all chasing and it's called Sydney.
"We've got a bit of work to do yet."
Despite the Dockers' draw with the Swans at the SCG in round eight, after having 10 more scores than the reigning premiers, Lyon refused to draw any conclusions about where his side sat in comparison.
"Should've, could've, would've, doesn't matter. Not something I've thought about.
"You can't play in finals until you've earned the right."
"The Swans are clearly the benchmark. We need to improve."
The Dockers are the number one defence in the competition through 11 rounds but are ranked 13th in attack.
Lyon identified Fremantle's offense as a key area of improvement.
"We need to improve our attack. So we're working on that. We'd like to get a couple more goals a week.
"When we win we average 100 (points), in our losses it's about 72, so it's about consistency of attack."
"We're getting plenty of entries (inside 50). The entries are quite high, a bit of accuracy, spread the load, number of goalkickers.
"I think we average nine, the top four average ten so it's about sharing the load."
The Dockers were on a six-match unbeaten run heading into the bye, the second best unbeaten streak in the club's history, but Lyon felt the break had been perfectly timed for his team.
"It's been a really good mental freshener. They’re really sharp. They're enthusiastic and vibrant and they're looking forward to the challenge against Brisbane."
