FINDING his groove in Fremantle's forward-mid rotation shapes as the key to dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe firing in the Dockers' September charge as the team looks to bed down its best midfield mix. 

Fyfe has played three games since returning from lengthy knee and hamstring issues, starting as the substitute in the first two of those and having a big impact late in wins from the midfield. 

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Progressing to a starting role against Essendon in round 15, however, the champion onballer played a more limited midfield role and rotated from the forward line before being substituted out as planned in the fourth quarter. 

What role Fyfe can play in a deep and in-form midfield is one of the pressing questions for the Dockers to answer in the next two months as they push to return to finals and capitalise on a 5-0 run. 

The champion onballer's experience and direction are clearly valuable, and Fyfe still has the ability to lift the output of those around him when he wins the ball in contests and sets teammates into space.  

But with Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw in terrific form, Luke Jackson able to play the role of a big-bodied onballer when he is not in the ruck, and Hayden Young set to return in the next month, spots are tight. 

Fyfe's best path looks like being through the forward line, with pinch-hitting opportunities in the centre square and even a wing rotation where the Dockers like to play one bigger-bodied midfielder. 

It puts him among a group of flexible Dockers who will be jockeying for selection each week, including Neil Erasmus, Matthew Johnson, Nathan O'Driscoll, Jaeger O'Meara and Jeremy Sharp, who moved to half-forward last week and has been omitted for Sunday's clash against St Kilda. 

Corey Wagner, whose position appears well established now, is a perfect example of the flexible approach asked of Fremantle's players, performing as a tagger, inside midfielder, high half-forward and a wingman at different stages in recent weeks.  

"The ability to be adaptable and play different roles is really important in the way we want to play as a midfield group and that's going to be a real strength of us going forward," Serong said this week.

"We've got a depth of guys really performing every week and training really hard and improving every day. 

"We've been talking about it for a long time. This is what we're after. This is what we want. We want challenge for spots and we want guys really knocking the door down."

Asked specifically about the role Fyfe can play, Serong said the three-time All-Australian was still in the Dockers' best 22 and highlighted the composure he brings when the team is being challenged. 

It's a trait that was most evident in round 12 against Gold Coast when the 33-year-old was injected as the substitute and played a crucial role at centre bounces as the Suns threatened to mow down the Dockers' lead late. 

Given that performance and the competition for spots at the moment, it wouldn't surprise to see the Dockers return Fyfe to the substitute role at times – balancing that with the need to establish full match fitness. 

The next block of games will be important, however, to find the best mix of players to rotate between half-forward, inside midfield and wing, and longer minutes might be required for Fyfe to bed down his position and hit form.   

Having played a crucial role in developing players like Erasmus and Johnson, the Dockers now want his wisdom and experience to be utilised alongside them in the run to finals. 

"I still think he's in our best 22 and I think he'll just keep building week on week, because he missed a lot of footy," Serong said. 

"He's coming from a long way back, so I think what he's shown so far is awesome and he's only going to get better, which is great for us."