Outgoing Fremantle chief executive Cameron Schwab is convinced the club can win the AFL premiership this year, saying a flag is the next step for the Dockers.

Schwab will end his seven-year tenure as club chief executive on October 30, saying he will return to his home city of Melbourne for undisclosed family reasons.

He said the reasons were "very compelling" and also stressed "it's for family and no other reason."

Schwab took over after the Dockers' 2001 season, when they finished last and won only two games.

The Dockers have since become a successful club, but have failed to make the finals consistently.

"The next phase for us is to become one of the great clubs of the competition and that will be about winning premierships and consistently being at that level, all the time," he said.

"The most disappointing factor has been when perhaps we thought we were good enough to make the finals, we haven't.

"But we never actually lost focus, it was all about building a premiership team and I'm still really confident at that level.

"I know others may be a bit more shaky on that than what I am, but I know the group has great resolve, I know Mark has great resolve and let's hope that's in 2008."

Schwab would "happily" stay at the Dockers, but for his family situation, and the former Richmond and Melbourne chief executive said he would most likely stay involved in football.

"Every salary I've earned in my life, other than when I was doing the paper round in Mt Waverley - and most of those ended up down the drain - has been through football, since the age of 18," he said.

"So I'd like to think that would continue."

Senior Dockers administrators Steve Rosich and Gary Walton are the early favourites to take over from Schwab, with the board to meet in the next few days to discuss whether they need to engage outside consultants.

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