Fremantle assistant coach Peter German says the Dockers will look to stretch Carlton's injury-depleted backline when the two teams clash at Telstra Dome on Saturday.

German said the Dockers were likely to load their forward line with big, marking talls to exploit a Blues defence missing the likes of Bret Thornton, Jordan Bannister and Michael Jamison.

"I think Kepler Bradley showed last week he can take a contested mark in the forward line, so he's an option there," German said.

"(Aaron) Sandilands going forward as well can stretch any defence with his height, and with (Matthew) Pavlich and (Chris) Tarrant, we think we've got a forward line capable of kicking a winning score."

As well as that quartet, German didn't rule out pinch-hitter Luke McPharlin drifting forward to cause some damage as well.

Defender Antoni Grover, who has missed Fremantle's past two games with a quad injury, made the trip to Melbourne on Thursday and is considered a definite starter, while Ryan Murphy, Josh Head and Chris Mayne also travelled as part of a 24-man squad.

Grover and Mayne are set to replace the injured Roger Hayden (collapsed lung) and Marcus Drum (hamstring), but German said Murphy and Head were also a chance to line up against the Blues with a "couple" of players under injury clouds.

German said the Dockers would have to be accountable for Chris Judd, Heath Scotland, Nick Stevens, Kade Simpson and Marc Murphy, believing the midfield battle would go a long way to deciding the final result.

"It's who can supply the forward line the most from the midfield," he said.

"If you supply (Brendan) Fevola enough he will probably kick you a winning score, but if we can supply Pav and Taz and Jeff Farmer enough, we will be a good chance.

"We think there's a fair few players in their midfield that can do some damage so we have to make sure our players get our hands on the ball ... and be accountable on their running midfielders."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP