AS FREMANTLE slumped to a fourth loss from its eight games, coach Ross Lyon arrived at a bleak, albeit pragmatic conclusion.

At this point in time the Dockers are "a mediocre" football team.

They're not awful, they're not great … they're plain old vanilla.

Although leading by five points at the final break against Port Adelaide on Saturday, the Dockers were overrun in the final term and conceded 16 inside 50s to seven to lose by 18 points.

Lyon's side has now played eight of the top 10 teams and will face Geelong next weekend.

He said the Dockers' place on the ladder said everything that needed to be said about its form.

"We're not one of the best teams in the competition because if we were we would have been able to beat them and we'd be sitting with one loss or two losses like the best teams," Lyon said.

"The players and myself aren't thrilled, we're a mediocre team at the minute.

"We've got better footy in us, but talk's cheap, we need to pull that out.

"At the minute we're normal, good, average, mediocre, but we're certainly not great and that's indisputable."

Fremantle's draw might open up in the second half of the season, but Lyon claimed the club's output would need to dramatically improve should it become a premiership threat.

The coach insisted the club would fight to retain its reputation as one of the League's best.

"We're still right in it but we're in the bottom reaches of the eight, it would seem, with the level of footy we're playing," he said.

"As it sits today we're in the rough, there are a few elite teams around and we're not one of them.

"But, let me add, we're going to work our backside off to try and improve our footy – coaches and players.

"We've done it before and that's the aim to do it again … certainly attitude-wise we're up for the challenge, how long it will take? We'll just keep going until we get there."

Dockers' playmaker Stephen Hill was subbed early in the third quarter after receiving a knock to the knee.

Lyon said it was less than ideal to lose a player, particularly one of Hill's quality, but that the club didn't believe it to be a serious injury.

"He's just got a bit of a sore leg, I think they're talking a knock to the knee – they're saying he was all right," he said.