Only two players will be unavailable for the game against West Coast – star ruckman Aaron Sandilands and midfielder Anthony Morabito.
The senior coach said Freo was confident of putting on a good show in the 23 March season opener.
“We’ve worked very hard to give ourselves the best opportunity, and that’s our responsibility,” Lyon said on Nova 93.7 on Monday morning.
“If we’re not good enough, we’ll keep trying to improve.”
The Eagles have had a different approach to Freo in their NAB Cup campaign.
While Lyon has aimed to play sides as close to full strength as possible, West Coast has blooded a number of youngsters, which Lyon said made it difficult to read into their form line.
“They’ve mixed and matched and bled players in,” he said.
But the senior coach had no doubts as to the quality of side Freo would face in the Carlton Mid Derby.
“They’re everyone’s pre-season premiership pick when you pick up the papers,” Lyon said.
“We know they’re a really talented team and they’ve got some superstar players.
“We’ll go down the race to compete fiercely.”
Lyon said kicking off the season with a Carlton Mid Derby was a unique experience for both sides.
However, one thing that hadn’t changed was the importance of beginning the season with a win.
“If you can get four points in the first game it builds momentum for your season,” he said.
“We’re certainly up to the challenge.”
The senior coach cast no illusions over Fremantle’s ultimate goal this season - winning the premiership.
But he recognised the hard work Fremantle needed to do to achieve that aim.
“You can’t play in finals and win finals until you’ve earned the right to be in them,” Lyon said.
“This period is about earning the right to have a crack when the real season starts, which is the finals.
“We’ll just focus on what we have to do to get there.”
