This proceedings paper extends the scope of our conference talk, where we presented a comprehensive analysis of newly expanded and refined lattice data concerning the SU(3) gauge theory with Nf = 8 light Dirac fermions — a theory positioned near the conformal window boundary. The analysis presented here makes use of a dilaton effective field theory and we delve deeper into the intricacies of the dilaton potential. We aim to clarify the connection between parameters appearing the potential and properties of the underlying gauge theory.