FREMANTLE coach Ross Lyon is confident the Dockers will rise again in 2015 despite bowing out of the finals in straight sets a year on from their Grand Final heartbreak.
The Dockers led Port Adelaide by 31 points late in the second term of their semi-final against Port Adelaide before relinquishing the lead twice in the third term.
They hit the front again at the start of last quarter only to be overrun by the Power, eventually losing by 22 points.
But despite the immediate disappointment of another year without silverware Lyon was adamant there were positives to take from the season.
"We're not disappearing," Lyon said.
"I'm not sure the other teams behind us aren't just going to leapfrog us. In fact, I'm really confident we'll come again.
"We're about sustained success. We've got a list management committee. There are plenty of mechanisms to attract talent. We'll draft, we'll look at free agency, we'll trade, and we'll improve."
Lyon cited the performances of Lachie Neale, Nat Fyfe, Stephen Hill and Michael Walters as major positives to come out of the night.
But there are concerns that Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands and Luke McPharlin are slowing down.
Pavlich and Sandliands have signed one-year deals for 2015, but McPharlin is yet to commit to his future after managing just 13 games this season due to injury.
Lyon refused to comment on the All Australian defender's future post-match, but he was confident his club had the capacity to improve.
"I think we're in really good shape. But that's just my opinion," he said.
"We won't win them all. We've grown. We've created another top-four opportunity."
Lyon intimated his side was capable of regenerating his list quickly. He has already lost Kepler Bradley and Scott Gumbleton to retirement.
"You get a couple through the door, you shoot the eyes through your drafting, you trade a couple through, and you get a couple of really bona fide free agents, it's pretty exciting times," Lyon said.
The veteran coach also believed he can make improvements to the way his side trains throughout the season, claiming that the "tyranny of travel" means that most weeks are spent focusing too much on recovery.
"We've already spoken we'd like to work more on our football," Lyon said.
"We'd like more football hours, more time for our coaches to work with players, because we think that's an area we can find more of.
"A better goal-kicking program, more of it."
