Fremantle coach Mark Harvey has called on AFL critics to leave Terry Wallace alone amid reports the besieged Richmond coach is battling stress-related health issues.

Wallace confirmed last week he had lost 4kg within a matter of days as speculation of a player-coach rift surfaced.

The 50-year-old, who is in the final season of his lucrative five-year contract, will become just the 16th man to notch 500 games as a player and coach when his Tigers face Fremantle at Subiaco Oval on Saturday.

But Wallace's days at the helm of Richmond appear numbered, with a mid-season review to determine his fate.

Harvey said Wallace should be remembered for his past feats as a player and coach rather than this year's disastrous 1-8 start to the season.

"What a sensational effort that is," Harvey said of Wallace's impending milestone.

"He's been through a lot of scrutiny over the last six, eight weeks.

"I think we need to be a lot more remembering of the contribution of what Terry Wallace has done to the AFL and VFL.

"There's not too many guys that have done that but here we are seeing a regular day-to-day basis of the critical nature of how he's going about his coaching or whether he should or shouldn't stay.

"He's brought an enormous amount to the game and we shouldn't forget that.

"However long he coaches, just remember all the good things he's done."

Harvey revealed he had been giving Wallace support through a series of text messages.

"The conversations are along the lines of backing your instinct, telling them how good a coach you think they are, those sort of things," Harvey said.

"Terry's very inventive as a coach.

"If you go back and look at some of Terry's greatest wins as a coach, it's been when his back's been against the wall.

"I remember in 2000 when he was coaching the Bulldogs (and he masterminded a win over the previously unbeaten Bombers).

"There'll be some mind games on Saturday night."

Meanwhile, Harvey revealed star rookie Stephen Hill was likely to get the job on Ben Cousins should the former Eagle recover from a fractured hand in time to tackle the Dockers.

Hill was a surprise selection by Fremantle with pick No.3 in last year's national draft, ahead of polished Brisbane midfielder Daniel Rich.

But the Dockers' gamble has paid early dividends, with Hill's scintillating form in recent weeks suggesting he could become an elite player in years to come.

And Harvey is eager to give the 184cm, 69kg midfielder the toughest test of his career to date - a tantalising match-up with Cousins.

"I like to challenge our younger players," Harvey said.

"If we are going to come of age as a team we have to challenge our younger players and sometimes put them on the best players of the opposition.

"I think he can handle it."

And in what would be a selection bombshell, Harvey said goalsneak Hayden Ballantyne was a good chance to make his AFL debut this week.

Ballantyne, pick No.21 in last year's national draft, has been sidelined since last December after undergoing surgery to remove a screw from his wrist and is yet to play in a competitive fixture this year.

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