Fremantle coach Ross Lyon almost talked in circles post-match from losing to Adelaide and being left alone at the bottom of the premiership ladder, but there was no doubt the Dockers are sensing what everyone else knows – the wheel has not only turned, it's broken.
At 0-6, and next Sunday at home to the GWS Giants, who have replaced them as a powerhouse of the competition, Lyon could not hide his bitter disappointment at having a "real go" in effort against the Crows only to waste their chances with bad kicking for goal, especially a horror 1.8 second quarter.
"We have had a great week; five zero, six zero ... our weeks don't change," Lyon said. "We prepare and play as if it is a grand final every week, because if you don't you never get where you want to be. That's our overriding philosophy."
The complete tone cleverly shied from the growing belief Fremantle will not make the finals.
"I thought we worked really hard; well and truly in the game, particularly in the first half," Lyon said. "But when you play a quality team you need to convert. The scoreboard did not reflect how well we were going in the game. We lost some composure in the third quarter and did not use the ball as well."
The real challenge for Lyon is selling his vision to the Dockers fans. "It's not a sell," he insisted. "We bring everyone along for the ride."
Lyon believes the opportunities given to players like Darcy Tucker, Connor Blakely, Brady Grey and Lachie Weller, who went into this game with 12 AFL appearances between them, are part of his vision being accepted by the fans.
"Our senior players are invigorated with that youth coming in, and they're keen to inspire them and establish the right habits to become successful AFL players," Lyon said.
"It's hard to keep your full integrity at selection. As long as your young players are giving great effort and trying their hardest, then you can pick them. You are not going to pick people who don't give effort and aren't committed."
When challenged whether some of his senior players coming out of contract had their careers on the line, Lyon said Fremantle was not a club that did its list management after six games of the season. He believes everything is about opportunity.
"Every day I wake up I see opportunity; that's what I see," Lyon said. "I see possibility ... and everything starts with possibility. See what you want to be and get into action, and repeat the action until you achieve. How long that takes I don't know, but I know that model works."
But there were no answers to why a side so widely tipped to again be a top-four side has fallen so badly.
