With just four wins to its name after the opening nine rounds, Fremantle finds itself sitting 12th on the ladder, and will be looking forward to returning home this weekend.

The Dockers are coming off a disappointing loss to the Swans on Saturday night, in which they only managed to kick two goals in the first three quarters of the match.

With the electric Michael Walters back from injury, and some of its stars firing on all cylinders, don’t let Fremantle’s early-season record fool you.

Optus Stadium fortress

After saying goodbye to Subiaco Oval at the end of 2017, a ground which it called home for 22 years, many were unsure how Fremantle would adjust to the new Optus Stadium.

In the first five games they’ve played there this year, the Dockers have lost just one, which was against cross-town rivals West Coast in Round 6.

Other than that, Fremantle has secured wins over Essendon, Gold Coast, the Western Bulldogs and St Kilda.

Its most impressive win at the ground came in Round 5 against the Bulldogs, when it had a convincing 54-point win off the back of 43 disposals from Nat Fyfe and five goals from Michael Walters.

With oval dimensions of 165 metres long by 130 metres, Optus Stadium is slightly shorter than Subiaco Oval, but is more like the MCG compared to its former home.

The new arena holds in excess of 60,000 people, making it the third largest stadium in the country, and the LED lighting around the ground transforms it into a Fremantle fortress, which can be daunting for opposing sides.

Talented midfield

With a Brownlow Medallist, one of the greatest rucks of the modern era and one of the most underrated midfielders in the competition lining up in the middle of the ground, it’s no wonder Fremantle’s engine-room is as powerful as it is.

Led by skipper Nat Fyfe, the skill, strength and natural talent in the Dockers’ midfield would be the envy of many clubs.

Fyfe is averaging 31.2 disposals through the first nine rounds, over two more than he did in his Brownlow Medal year, and ranks sixth amongst the competition in disposals per game.

However, fellow midfielder Lachie Neale is averaging more touches per game than his captain, with 31.7.

At just 177 centimetres tall, the 24-year-old sits second in handballs per game, and ninth amongst the competition in clearances per game.

Many of those clearances is thanks to Sandilands, who sits second in the competition for total hit-outs this season.

Now in his 16th year, Sandilands isn’t showing any signs of slowing down given he is averaging the third most taps of his career in 2018, with 40.7.

Young Dockers

Amongst the likes of Fyfe, Neale, Sandilands, Johnson, Ballantyne and Mundy, there is a bevy of young, inexperienced Dockers lining up this season.

Of the 22 that played in Round 9, half the side was under the age of 23, with five under 21-years-old.

Of that handful, Andrew Brayshaw and Adam Cerra are 18-years-old, Brennan Cox and Mitchell Crowden are 19 and Bailey Banfield is 20, but has only played nine games.

To manage four wins from nine matches with a side as young as Fremantle’s is an impressive effort, however, whether or not these emerging stars can keep the standard this high over the course of a grueling AFL season is yet to be determined.