Fremantle will fly to Melbourne this Thursday afternoon to take on the Saints at Ethihad Stadium on Saturday 31 August at 1.45pm (EST).
Lyon said the team needed to continue its good form.
“You can win and have gone backwards and you can lose and done a lot right,” Lyon told 6PR on Monday night.
“We will focus on our preparation, our meetings need to be sharp, we have our review, our training sessions and then we get over there and focus on effort.
“That's where it starts for us and then we worry about the technical stuff after.
“We have worked really hard to get into good form.
“We'd like to keep that going but there's a bit to work on during the week.”
Lyon highlighted reigning premier Sydney’s form leading into the finals campaign last year.
“They lost three of their last four, it's a unique sport, you can finish on top of the ladder and not win it,” he said.
“It's about being the best team in September, you don't have to have necessarily been the best team all year, but you need to get your timings right.”
Lyon said the match committee would be taking a precautionary approach when deciding who would line up for the Saints game.
“We certainly flagged ruling out anyone that is in doubt, trying to look after them so we will work our way through that during the week,” he said.
“Aaron (Sandilands) will definitely play, that's my understanding,” he said.
“It will be difficult for him if he doesn't play this week to play the following week, even though he could do it, so we would prefer for him to play this week.
“(Luke) McPharlin needs to hit some milestones, so there is some slight doubt, but he'll be pushing and if he wasn't to play this week, he would definitely play next week.”
Nick Suban was subbed out during the quarter time break of last weekend’s match against Port Adelaide with hamstring tightness, but Lyon said the decision to sub him early had paid off.
“His scan was totally clear, which is fantastic news, so he's fine, we'll just work him through the week,” Lyon said.
