FREMANTLE coach Justin Longmuir is keen to keep the bulk of his current squad together in an attempt to build a team capable of snaring the club's maiden premiership.

The Dockers (8-11) have been one of the big disappointments of 2023, with last year's semi-finalists sliding to 15th on the ladder.

Fremantle has been plagued by inconsistency all year, with away wins over Melbourne and Geelong undone by home losses to North Melbourne, Richmond and Sydney.

The Dockers boast one of the youngest lists in the competition, and the squad is also rated as one of the most talented.

Longmuir is keen to avoid a repeat of last year when the Dockers lost Griffin Logue, Rory Lobb, Blake Acres, Darcy Tucker and Lloyd Meek to trades among nine list changes.

David Mundy's retirement left a huge hole in the midfield.

Fremantle remains optimistic it can bounce back up the ladder next year, and Longmuir is determined to tackle the challenge with a stable list.

Their biggest flight risk is wingman Liam Henry, who is out of contract and weighing up his options.

Ruckman Sean Darcy has one more year to run on his contract and will be heavily targeted by Victorian clubs, especially Geelong.

"Our key goal is to keep this list together," Longmuir told reporters on Wednesday.

"We've got a lot players under 24 that are developing together, and we want to make sure we see it through together.

"It's inevitable that there will be changes to our list at the end of the year but we want to keep the core group together.

"And we want to make sure they keep developing together because we think that'll take us a long way."

Asked about the key to ensuring minimal departures at season's end, Longmuir said: "We need to make sure that we finish the year well and players are really optimistic about where they see the future of the club."

"They play a massive part in that. Those connections between the playing group are vital to maintaining and building a list," he said.

"Last year we had a lot of change ... close to 25 per cent of the list changing.

"We want to make sure we don't have that again and we maintain a level of consistency with personnel, because that plays a big part in performance."

Fremantle will be aiming to back up last week's seven-point win over Geelong with victory over top-four fancies Brisbane at Optus Stadium on Sunday.

Defender Brennan Cox is a chance to return from an ankle injury.