Fremantle's injury crisis appears to be easing with Adam McPhee and Nick Suban both in contention to return for Sunday's game against Sydney while Michael Barlow will certainly play.
The depleted Dockers have been without Suban since Round 4 due to a broken leg, while McPhee hasn't played since he suffered a knee injury in May.
And Barlow played his first game back from a broken leg against Melbourne in round 13, before missing the next two games with general soreness, but coach Mark Harvey said he would definitely return.
In a further boost the coach said Aaron Sandilands and David Mundy could resume running next week as they continue their recovery from turf toe and a long-term ankle injury respectively.
Although Suban and McPhee haven't played in the WAFL since their injuries, Harvey said he could be willing to risk at least one of them against the Swans, with the Dockers desperate to win to consolidate their spot in the top eight.
"Both those guys are really professional in the way they have done their preparation in regards to rehab," he said.
"It will only be probably touch and maybe a little bit of match fitness as to whether we play them or not."
"Then you've got the adage of what the game will do to them if you do play them the following week, you take them on one of our longest trips."
"We've got to weigh all that up."
"When you do play the Swans there's a lot of stoppages, so there's a lot of downtime, it's all of that."
"Selection might go a little bit longer this week."
"I'd say McPhee's probably ahead of Suban right now."
But Harvey said the returns of Sandilands and Mundy would still be several weeks away.
"We'll know a lot more when he (Sandilands) starts to run and jump," he said.
"The best part about it this time in is he hasn't had the moon boot on, so his leg is not withered away as in his quad."
"Dave has got his moon boot off."
"He's maybe a week ahead of where we first thought, probably Round 20, somewhere around there."
Fremantle comes into the game against Sydney in sixth spot and four points clear of the ninth-placed Bulldogs.
But with five of their last eight games against teams in the top eight, their place in the finals is far from certain.
Harvey said he was happy, however, with the way his side was shaping up.
"The real trick to it all is you have to make sure your players are match hardened," he said.
"That's the dilemma we'll have in the coming weeks with guys that we will possibly re-introduce into the team."
"You can never be satisfied in this industry but at least we've given ourselves a chance."