Fremantle players won't be using youth as an excuse this September after progressing past the opening week with the youngest winning finals team since the 2016 Western Bulldogs.

The Dockers team that beat the Bulldogs last Saturday night had an average age of 24.7 and contained a massive nine players aged 22 or under, including midfield stars Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong.

By comparison, the Geelong team that beat Collingwood in the qualifying final was the oldest to win a final since 1999 with an average age of 28.3 and just two players aged 22 or under.

Defender Jordan Clark, who left the Cats to join Fremantle at the end of last season, said the Dockers did not think of their youth as a trait that would hold them back this September.

 
Fremantle teammates celebrate a Jordan Clark goal against Adelaide in R1, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos

"We know we're a young group, but by no means do we feel like we have to play like a young group or let that be an excuse that we can fall back on," Clark told AFL.com.au.

"We see ourselves as a group that has a good opportunity in front of us and we've just got to be ready to take it.

"At the end of the day we're all footballers and it doesn't really matter what age you are or what draft pick you are. You just need to be able to work together and get the job done.

"We are a young group, and that's not going to be something we'll hide behind."

Brayshaw, 22, has helped establish the mindset that youth is no hurdle, with ruckman Sean Darcy telling AFL.com.au in a pre-season interview that the midfielder was "leading the way for us young guys to be less of a young group and more of a grown men group".

Brayshaw has since been joined by 21-year-old Serong, whose leadership in a best-afield performance in the elimination final has thrust him into discussions around who should be the Dockers' next captain.

Fellow top-10 selection from the 2019 NAB AFL Draft, Hayden Young, is one of four defenders aged 22 or under playing key roles in arguably the best-performed backline in the AFL, alongside Heath Chapman, Brandon Walker and Clark.

Then wingman Nathan O'Driscoll and exciting forward Michael Frederick are bringing attacking flair and running power to the line-up.

The youngest of all the Dockers selected this finals series is first-year forward Jye Amiss, who kicked two clutch goals against the Bulldogs in just his second game and said there was a strong bond already between the young group.

 
Jye Amiss celebrates a goal during Fremantle's elimination final against the Western Bulldogs on September 3, 2022. Picture: Getty Images

"With the young group we've got, there's some real talent in there and every week we're building," Amiss told AFL.com.au

"You can see it out there, the camaraderie within the group is really strong and we'll keep pushing."

Fremantle's nine players aged 22 or under was level with Sydney in week one of the finals, but the Dockers had a younger average age compared to the Swans (25.6).

The 2000 Brisbane team was the youngest to win a final this century, with an average age of 23.7 and nine players aged 22 or under, while Collingwood (2008) and Geelong (2004) have each won finals with 12 players in that bracket.

The youngest Dockers team to win a final was coach Mark Harvey's 2010 group, which beat Hawthorn in an elimination final with Nat Fyfe, Michael Walters and David Mundy in the 22.

Chief executive Simon Garlick said the finals experience being gained by Fremantle's young group this year would be valuable, but the players weren't in it to make up the numbers.

"This group in particular certainly has an attitude of 'why not? Why would we have to wait?'" Garlick said on Thursday.

"We're building great experience and to come from behind and win the first final that many of these guys have played in is fantastic, and that's money in the bank for us for the long term."

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