Alex Pearce says he's still feeling the effects of dual arm fractures, both good and bad, suffered in the back end of last season as the Dockers return to the track for preseason training.
The Fremantle skipper missed all but one match after round 15 with the injuries after re-fracturing his left arm a month on from the first setback when he returned to play Melbourne in July.
Speaking on Monday, the Palawa man said "the arm's feeling good" overall, despite day-to-day discomfort, but doesn't expect to be wearing a guard come round one next year.
"It's going well - full contact and everything at the moment. It will still take me a few weeks just for it to feel perfect in the contest…clearly, there's a big old plate in there, and it wasn't used for a few months, but it's going well," Pearce said.
"Feeling healthy, feeling happy. It's good to be back. It's a pretty good environment at the moment."
Pearce admitted the injury, and the club missing finals, might have proved a "silver lining" for his start to preparations heading into next year given the end of their schedule gave him time to recover.
The 29-year-old also stayed on training after the rest of the group split off post-year, he said.
"I think I would have played (finals) and there's every chance I might have broken it again. There's a world where it was beneficial for me that we didn't make it...the fact that now it's got to be more time to you, and it's fully strong and back is silver lining to the end of the season," Pearce said.
"I'm working back my strength in gym, but when I'm out there competing I feel really good. So that's a positive."
Fremantle dropped the final four games of the year to finish half a game out of the eight at the end of the home-and-away rounds.
Looking around the group, Pearce said key forwards Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy - who is recovering from a PCL injury which cut his season short, are poised to lift to new heights in 2025.
The club captain added "there'll be slight sort of tweaks the way we play" despite continued focus on defensive strengths as they formulate their brand for next year.
He added incoming pair Shai Bolton and Quinton Narkle are fitting into the group well.
Narkle signed on at the Dockers on day one of the pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP) last week after being delisted by the Power at the end of the season.
Bolton, who had long been linked to a move back to his home state, landed at Fremantle on a five-year deal in October after requesting a trade from the Tigers.
Richmond received draft picks 10, 11 and 18 in return.
The 25-year-old was a late arrival to preseason training with the birth of his second child.
"I can't wait to get stuck in with the boys and start training," Bolton told Dockers media last week.
"I've always been in Melbourne, and every time I've come here (WA), my family are in the stands," Bolton added about now calling Optus Stadium home.
"It's just that kind of feeling when you're playing junior football and all your family and cousins and everyone comes along and watches you play," he said.
"You kind of just get excited and ready to go."
The Dockers are also taking part in the 16 Days in WA – Stop Violence Against Women campaign around the club.
"I think, as a male-dominated industry, we can play a part in changing some of the culture and the behavior and the language that we use...we all play a part in the environment and the culture that we engage in," Pearce said on Monday.
"And football culture, male sporting culture, is not perfect and there's definitely things we can do.
"I think it's really important that we reflect, particularly as men, about the way that we interact and behave because we want to create a safe environment."
