Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir isn't shying away from the increased expectations for his team this season.

In fact, he's meeting them head on and making sure his players are prepared, with a little help from the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.

Longmuir visited the Spurs over the summer and had the opportunity to observe the inner workings of the five-time champions, thanks in part to former Australian Boomer Matt Nielson.

Nielson, who spent four NBL seasons as an assistant coach with the Perth Wildcats, is a Fremantle fan and now earns a living as one of legendary coach Gregg Popovich's offsiders in San Antonio.

He opened doors for Longmuir, who learned a technique from the Spurs that his Fremantle players have gone on to use every day this pre-season, helping them stay focused on what matters most with their football.

Before each day, players have been asked to identify their 'gold, silver and bronze' – three top priorities to achieve that day, helping them train with purpose and stay on task.  

It's a technique the coach hopes will also prove valuable when the increased expectations for his young team inevitably come this season after a breakthrough finals appearance in 2022.

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"Sometimes in life we get so busy that we try and achieve 20 things at once, so we wanted to make sure we had one, two or three different things that we could achieve each day," Longmuir told AFL.com.au. 

"(San Antonio assistant coach) Brett Brown spoke to us about that, and it comes from a book written by Ryan Holiday on destiny as a discipline and making the main thing the main thing.

"When expectations go up and people start talking about six months down the track, it's important that we just maintain a sense of presence and a sense of being in the moment.

"Making sure we rock up to the club every day with purpose and try to achieve something every day, that's been the main goal of our pre-season."

The impact on the players, according to defender Hayden Young, has been a focus on getting the little things right and an ability to train at a higher standard over the summer.

"Every session we went into, we had top of the list ... something we really wanted to achieve and do at a high level, and that was our goal. Then it goes down [the list]," Young said.

"When you go into pre-season, there's long days and you've got heaps of things you have to tick off.

"We would prioritise what we thought was most important, and it meant that we were able to train at a higher level and a high standard because we wanted to do it really well."

Expectations have risen at Fremantle after last year's sixth-place finish, and excitement around the group is naturally enhanced by a supporter base sensing a looming opportunity for the club's first premiership.

The thrilling come-from-behind win against the Western Bulldogs in last year's elimination final at Optus Stadium only sent those expectations rocketing higher, knowing that this is a still a young squad with a lot of development left in it.

Rather than ignoring the potential spotlight that will land on them at stages this season, Fremantle have made a point of talking about increased expectations and how to handle them.

"We all understand that expectations put a magnifying glass on wins and losses and sometimes that can either build over-excitement or pressure or criticism at a greater rate," Longmuir said.

"Something I like to do is talk about those distractions that can possibly come and make sure if they happen or when they happen, we're well prepared for them.

"So we've spoken about those things and we'll continue to speak about those things in the lead up to round one."

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If the win against the Bulldogs was the high point of Fremantle's best season since 2015, when the club reached a preliminary final, the semi-final loss to Collingwood was the reminder about the early stage of their development.

Longmuir was quick to move on from disappointment and quickly viewed the Magpies loss as a learning opportunity and experience his players could bottle, given all but four had run out for their first final at the MCG.

"It was one we couldn't let go without reviewing, so we reviewed it after it happened, rather than sending the players directly on holidays," the coach said.  

"We made sure we reviewed that game and aspects of that game we wanted to take into pre-season, and we made sure we reviewed the experience itself.

"Ninety-thousand Collingwood supporters at the MCG is a hostile environment, and it's a great experience for our younger players to play in front of that."

Freo's ability to fight their way back into the Bulldogs game after falling 41 points down early in the second quarter gave a window into the character of the team that Longmuir is cultivating.

'Fight for everything' has emerged as a theme this pre-season that Longmuir said is reflective of the current squad and the club's history.

"We've always fought for everything we've got from our inception. We're not going to stop doing that," the coach said.

"We've seen a number of different actions over the last year, whether it's Chappy's (Heath Chapman) spoil in round one to win us the game, Andy's (Andrew Bayshaw) chase down tackles week after week, Caleb (Serong) head in the hole, or Luke Ryan sticking up for his teammates.

"It's not one person. We'll never rely on one person at this footy club. We'll do it as a collective and that's what we're going to try and do this year."

When it comes to the bigger picture in 2023 and dreaming of a maiden premiership, Longmuir is as fallible as his players after 61 games in charge.

Sticking to the process is a big part of the 42-year-old's coaching approach, and the Spurs' 'gold, silver, bronze' technique fits neatly within this philosophy.

Still, letting his mind drift to the potential outcomes of the season is something that happens.

"All the time, absolutely … I think we all do in life, we look a long way down the track and have personal goals and ambitions," Longmuir said.

"I try and practice what I preach and make sure I am really organised, really planned … and I try and make sure I'm only taking one step at a time, rather than trying to climb the mountain in one day.

"It's what you do day to day that helps you achieve those things, so I'm pretty quick to check myself and get back to the process."

The process has been clear at Fremantle this pre-season, and the Dockers and their coach will be doing everything they can to stick to it through a season that promises plenty.

But what does the bigger picture look like when Longmuir's mind drifts?

"You could only imagine," the coach said.

"I dream about what hopefully every player dreams about in the AFL and every coach dreams about in the AFL.

"I wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't."

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