Palmer's year may be over

Dockers young gun Rhys Palmer could have played his last game this season after coach Mark Harvey said the club was still considering season-ending knee surgery for the Rising Star nominee.

Harvey revealed after last weekend's win over Melbourne that Palmer had injured the cartilage in his knee, saying the 19-year-old could be looking at surgery to ensure he's right for the start of 2009.

Harvey said Palmer would be assessed properly following training on Thursday, although the Dockers coach said if he was fit, Palmer would be expected to lead a lightweight midfield that's still trying to cope with numerous injuries, along with the retirements of Peter Bell and Matthew Carr.

"The debate is whether he has an operation or not," Harvey said on Wednesday. "(We have to weigh up) what's best for Rhys at his age."

"He's got a cartilage problem and it's whether the medical people decide that he needs a cartilage operation at his age or he doesn't."

"If you understand, medically ... there can be a little bit of a tear in a cartilage which can turn into a major tear," he added.

"(But) there's a lot of players that will play under duress and Rhys has been one of those guys (and) there may be an opportunity that he plays this week."

Fremantle's young trio of midfielders in Palmer, Garrick Ibbotson and Chris Mayne have given the club hope of rebuilding after a dreadful season that has seen it win just three games.

But, without Bell in the centre, Palmer will more than likely be opposed to Port Adelaide tagger Kane Cornes in Sunday's clash at AAMI Stadium.

But Harvey wasn't concerned that playing on a tough nut like Cornes could see Palmer injure himself further, saying instead that his midfielders had to learn to cope with extra attention now that Bell wasn't there.

Harvey also said defender Roger Hayden would need an extra week's recovery from a hamstring injury he suffered against Essendon last month, while midfielder Luke Webster would play in a WAFL seconds game in Bunbury this week as his recovery continues from the same radical knee reconstruction that Swan Nick Malceski underwent.