Fremantle will carefully monitor the workload of their playing group this week after Sunday's draining seven-point AFL win over Geelong at Subiaco Oval.

Dockers coach Mark Harvey revealed the bruising encounter took its toll on his players and said a lighter training week may be needed ahead of Sunday's top-of-the-table clash with St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.

"(It took) a lot (out of the players), it always does when you play a side like Geelong," Harvey said.

"You've got to fight from within and sometimes you have to do things that you've never done before and when you're tired and you think you're fatigued, push through it.

"(It's) a big week (ahead), a lot happens.

"(You've got to assess) how much energy you've got and how much the game takes out of you, it's all of those sort of things you've got to assess more than ever now.

"You have to have your finger on the pulse as to what your team needs during the week and what it doesn't need ... I'll be able to tell you later in the week."

The Dockers are likely to be without Nick Suban for at least two weeks after the defender's ankle twisted awkwardly in the dying moments of the match from a tackle by Geelong's Jimmy Bartel.

And forward Hayden Ballantyne faces an anxious wait after he was reported for pinching Geelong's Gary Ablett in the first quarter.

But in good news for the Dockers, Harvey said defender Chris Tarrant, who was a late withdrawal against the Cats after rolling his ankle the week before, was certain to return against the Saints.

Harvey heaped lavish praise on Matthew Pavlich after the skipper tallied 26 possessions and 5.4 to help Fremantle overcome a 21-point deficit to sink the Cats.

"He changed the trend of the game at times, particularly when we had to find something when we were behind," Harvey said.

"From a leadership-captain point of view it was one of the great games."

And despite Fremantle's unbeaten start to the season, Harvey refused to talk up his team's chances of making the finals for just the third time ever.

"You won't hear me talking about it or the players," Harvey said.

"You cannot judge right now.

"I'm being realistic.

"But we are pleased with what we're doing at the moment."

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