FREMANTLE captain David Mundy says it's been hard to keep morale from crashing in the wake of the club's winless start to the season, but he's confident the team will turn its form around soon.
The Dockers started the season as a premiership fancy, but they now face a battle just to avoid the wooden spoon following their 0-5 start to the season and a host of worrying injuries.
Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe might not play again this year after undergoing surgery on his broken left leg, while defender Michael Johnson (hamstring/knee), Aaron Sandilands (ribs), and Harley Bennell (calf) face extended stints on the sidelines.
With matches against Adelaide (away), GWS (home), and Hawthorn (away) to come over the next three weeks, Fremantle is staring down the barrel of a 0-8 record.
Mundy has missed the past three matches with a calf injury, but he'll return for Saturday's clash with the high-scoring Crows at Adelaide Oval.
The first-year skipper has been doing his best to keep spirits high, and he praised the resilience of the group.
"Obviously (morale is) not great. We don't want to be losing," Mundy said on Thursday.
"It's been really frustrating not being able to help on-field throughout a pretty tough period for the boys.
"I've tried to remain really positive and bubbly.
"But it's been a really tough kind of period for the whole footy club.
"I don't think the boys are flat or really battling mentally. We're really diligent in our physical health and mental health during the week."
Coach Ross Lyon said he would need to go back to the drawing board following last week's shock loss to lowly Carlton.
Mundy is confident things will soon improve, and dismissed suggestions the Dockers should use the rest of the season to experiment with personnel and tactics.
"I'm not sure there's really a point to just throw willy nilly and try things out of the blue," Mundy said.
"We have a detailed system, and are really diligent to that. We're trying to stick to our systems and work through this difficult period with the football we know we can play."
