Zac Dawson says he is extremely grateful to Fremantle for offering him an AFL lifeline and is confident he can repay the Dockers with his best years of football.
Fremantle have made no secret of their desire to recruit Dawson, who walked out on St Kilda when contract negotiations stalled at the end of the 2011 season, via December's pre-season draft.
The key defender began training with the Dockers on Monday, arriving in excellent condition after following a running program the club wrote for him.
And Dawson said if Fremantle was able to draft him he could help the WA side recover from a disappointing 2011 campaign, when they finished in 11th spot after losing their last seven matches.
"My body is starting to fill out now and I'm quite confident the next two or three years will be my best footy," he said.
"I played most of my junior footy as a forward and I probably only started playing defence five years ago ... and I feel like the last few years I've grown a fair amount at St Kilda from where I started."
"This is a young and exciting group. Hopefully I can bring a bit of experience down back."
"I've been given a chance with these guys and I can feel the excitement amongst the group and I'm ready to give it a crack again."
"I think this group can definitely go deep into the finals."
The 25-year-old's expected arrival at Fremantle on a three-year contract would reunite him with Ross Lyon and Dawson said his strong relationship with the former Saints coach was part of the reason he nominated the Dockers as his preferred club.
"He (Lyon) gave me a call and said 'would you be willing to move across' and I said 'yeah, bloody oath'," Dawson said.
"They (Fremantle's recruiters) had already been looking at me throughout the year and Ross just gave a positive word about me."
Despite his unceremonious departure from St Kilda, which saw him leave the club after rejecting a contract on reduced pay, Dawson said he couldn't hold too many hard feelings against the Saints because they rescued his career when he was delisted by Hawthorn in 2008.
"There were things I wasn't that happy with but they gave me a new shot in my career so I don't hold any grudges," he said.