Ross Lyon and Fremantle's coaching staff ready for big moment ahead of Dockers' clash with Sydney

HAVING played under five different coaches at Fremantle, Matthew Pavlich is well qualified to have his say on which of them is the best.

Ross Lyon

HAVING played under five different coaches at Fremantle, Matthew Pavlich is well qualified to have his say on which of them is the best.

Pavlich’s answer? A man who has spent just 47 matches at the helm. The man who will lead the Dockers into battle tomorrow night.

The man who is just one win away from coaching in his fourth grand final.

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As days become hours in the countdown to the biggest game in Fremantle’s history, Ross Lyon and the club’s coaching group are putting the finishing touches on their preparations to outpoint the talent, experience and veteran know-how of Sydney.

And Pavlich is adamant that planning could not be in better hands.

“It's pretty self-evident what Ross stands for and what as a group we've been able to develop previously. More recently, the way we defend and the way we use the ball,” Pavlich said.

“Ross is the best coach I've played under, but a lot goes unsaid about Mark Stone, Brett Kirk, Peter Sumich, Michael Prior, and the rest of the coaching group.

“They've done a power of work to get us to this position and give us an opportunity.”

Kirk and Stone in particular loom as coaching X-factors, having spent time inside the Swans camp in recent years. Kirk played alongside the likes of Ryan O’Keefe, Ted Richards and Nick Malceski in his 241 games for the club, while Stone had the role of stoppages coach from 2008-11.

Pavlich said any advantage gained from the assistants would come in the form of knowledge about individual players, rather than an ever-adapting game plan.

“Both (Kirk and Stone) have been away from the club now for a number of years, so the IP as such is probably gone,” Pavlich said.

“But the individuals, they probably know quite well and I'm sure they'll share the knowledge.”

Lyon, meanwhile, will be looking to expand on an already decorated coaching record. The former St Kilda boss led the side in the 2009 and 2010 grand finals – the latter year including a grand final replay – and is yet to record a ‘losing’ season since he started coaching in 2007.

Pavlich said Lyon – who is experiencing the ‘week off’ ahead of a preliminary final for the third time – had implored the Fremantle playing group to focus on a number of key points to stay sharp over the past fortnight.

“Train hard, stay in focus, stay in tune, not look too far ahead, worry about the next session,” Pavlich said.

“It’s all the things that sound boring but are really important at this stage.”

Lyon boasts a 69 per cent winning record as Fremantle coach, an improvement on his already-impressive 66 per cent clip across his AFL career.

Despite having spent just two seasons at the helm of the Dockers, Lyon needs just eight more victories to become the second-winningest coach in club history behind Chris Connolly.

But even with all his experience, Lyon conceded he had to deal with nerves in the lead-up to the clash.

"Nerves are normal; I've had nerves," he said earlier this week.

"But when I feel a little bit nervous, what settles me down is drilling into Sydney, preparing really well, and then I can relax.

"When we're a little bit nervous, focus on what you need to do to control the situation. Which is preparation.

"By definition you can't control the future, so that's when you can get a bit anxious because you can't control it."

Follow Chris Robinson on Twitter: @CJKRobinson