The Fremantle Football Club has been part of the AFL since 1995, and while they’ve been a respectable force in the past decade, they have been serial underachievers until now.

Giving incumbent coach Mark Harvey the boot, only to replace him with St Kilda’s Ross Lyon almost immediately, has arguably made more of an impression on the community than anything throughout their history.

The move is significant, as in landing Lyon, it has sent a message to the AFL and the supporters that they are finally taking things seriously.

Fremantle and mediocrity have been synonymous with one another, with so much potential untapped for so long, three finals appearances in seveteen campaigns, four coaches now come and gone, each with their reputation tarnished.

But the club has given themselves their best chance yet, of rectifying this with the coup of signing Lyon, the man who masterminded St Kilda’s first genuine assault on the flag since 1966.

That nobody saw this coming, proves that Fremantle are prepared to be ruthless, to do whatever it takes to succeed, something not witnessed until now.

Spare a thought for Harvey, matters were out of his control throughout much of the past two seasons, with injuries crippling his list.

There was very little he could do, and if anything, he extracted more than he should have from the depleted stock at his disposal.

Ultimately, that is what makes Fremantle’s decision to part ways with Harvey even more credible. While in the past they would have accepted that nothing could be done and placed a band-aid over any issues, they have gone out of their way to change this perception.

And in the biggest way possible.

By appointing the best tactical coach in the business, Fremantle has finally given themselves a chance of being looked at without being laughed upon.

Other clubs will finally have cause to watch their backs with genuine interest, because Fremantle have proven that they are finally ready to take things seriously.

It has been a long time coming, but this signal of intention from the whipping boys can only be a good thing for the AFL; now it’s a matter of waiting and seeing if Lyon can make the move work.

Welcome to the big boys, Fremantle!