leanne dawn v wce

Should be a lot of verbal this weekend.



FREMANTLE coach Ross Lyon says his players are keen to test themselves against quality opposition after four straight wins, with Saturday's Derby to reveal if his team is worthy of a finals spot.

Lyon believes Fremantle will need to win three more games to figure in September, with matches against Adelaide (away), Richmond (home), North Melbourne (away) and Melbourne (home) to follow the Derby.

The ninth-placed team has built form and confidence during a month-long winning streak against four of the AFL's bottom five teams, but it hasn't beaten a team in the top eight since a round-one upset against Geelong.

Lyon said Saturday's derby was a "vitally important game" and a chance to see how much the 10-7 team had learned and developed in the coach's first season in charge.

"To earn the right to play finals, you've got to beat some good teams and that's the challenge in front of us," Lyon said on Wednesday. "We're really keen to test ourselves.

"We've beaten everyone below us and around us really, and made a pretty good fist of that. Earlier in the year we were able to knock off Geelong and St Kilda.

"We're fighting for a top-eight berth and the only way to do that is to keep winning, so it's a vitally important game at our home stadium. It's really important to put on a good show."

Fremantle has undergone significant personnel changes since its heavy derby defeat in round nine, with up to eight players from that match unlikely to feature on Saturday.

Lyon said key defender Zac Dawson would be considered after making his return from a knee injury through the WAFL, as would forward Josh Mellington.

He said ruckman Jon Griffin, who ran laps at Fremantle Oval on Wednesday morning, was fit after a knee scare, and the match committee was unlikely to call on Zac Clarke as support against Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox.

"We’re pretty happy with the balance of our team so it’s going to be against the odds for Zac to come in, but it’s a chance," Lyon said.

"The team has won four in a row so there’s not going to be dramatic change, maybe a maximum of three with capacity for none. I like rewarding people who have done the job at hand.

"There's a few bumps and bruises and I think everyone's cycling through a bit of illness, but we're pretty healthy, with some good performances in the WAFL to consider across the board."

Fremantle managed just 5.6 (36) - its lowest derby score - in round nine, but Lyon said his team had learned a lot of lessons and improved its football since that match.

The coach said the result and fallout, which saw AFL legend Kevin Bartlett label Fremantle 'unwatchable', was ancient history.

"We tend to get a bit more run and bounce out of our back six [and there are] eight significant different personnel," Lyon said.

"We’ve got another small forward in the line-up with (Michael) Walters and some midfielders back - (Nat) Fyfe, (Michael) Barlow and (David) Mundy have built.

"Leigh Matthews used to say, 'Four weeks is ancient history in the AFL', so I tend to concur.

"We lost our way a bit and had to change some things and we've made some slight adjustments.

"Until you test yourself against better opposition you never really know, so we're about to find out."