There is a spare spot in the Fremantle engine room after the off-season departure of best and fairest Lachie Neale, and if the preseason is any indication, Tucker could be the player to step-up and fill the void.

"Over the JLT I played more in the guts," Tucker said. "It's really good to be in and around it, in the contest and in the action. It's where everyone wants to be. 

"Hopefully I'll continue in that role a bit more this year."

After getting drafted to the Dockers with pick 27 in 2015, Tucker has solidified his spot as a regular on the team sheet, playing 48 games.

Tucker said he is feeling more confident than ever heading into his fourth year.

"You just feel a lot more experienced and mentally composed," he said. "Everyone in the AFL has the capability to play good footy, but it is a real mental game until you feel confident and competent out there."

Tucker said adapting to the tactical side of the AFL had been his biggest challenge.

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"The thing that surprised me the most was the mental and the game plan side of it," he said. "When you look from the outside you think they just train and play footy... [but now] you see just how much they are thinking about footy tactically.

"It's a 7am to 3pm job five days a week. It is fairly taxing mentally and physically."

2019 could be a pivotal season for Tucker who is entering the last year of his contract with the Dockers, after signing a two year extension in 2017.

Tucker said he wasn't thinking too far ahead.

"I'll just focus on the present," he said. "I'm really loving it here in Perth... it's obviously a distance away from home but going into my fourth year over here I'm really in a good spot. 

"I've got a good friendship group and my girlfriend has moved over here.

"You get a pretty decent off-season so we get a good chance to see the family back home."

Tucker said he couldn't wait for the the Dockers' season to get underway against North Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.

"I'm just really keen to get out there and put everything into practice, all the hard work and new tactics that we've worked on," he said.

"We've had a really good summer and a really good preseason... You can expect to see a different Freo Dockers out there this year."