Fremantle coach Mark Harvey has told his players not to hold back on the niggle when they tackle AFL rivals North Melbourne at Subiaco Oval on Sunday.

Kangaroos defender Scott Thompson copped a barrage of criticism during the week after his pesty tactics caused Bulldogs forward Barry Hall to snap last Saturday.

But Harvey was quick to defend the nigglers of the game, claiming it actually added some colour to the competition.

"There's always a bit of niggle in the game, I think that's what we need," Harvey said.

"That's the combative nature of AFL.

"We don't just want everyone to be mundane players.

"There's a certain fabric you can bring to a football team that goes beyond kicking and handballing a ball."

North Melbourne midfielder Andrew Swallow hoped Thompson wouldn't change his niggling style due to the criticism.

"I would like to see Scotty just playing the way he's been playing for us the last couple of years," Swallow said.

"He's been terrific down back and been a great player for us.

"I'd hate to see him not playing the way he feels comfortable to play because he does such a good job down there.

"You've got to back him in and I look forward to him having a good game this weekend.

"He could get Pavlich or one of the other big forwards down there so hopefully he can come out and have a good game."

Fremantle (7-2) are flying on the field but the same can't be said off it, where the Michael Johnson drug saga has taken some gloss out of the Dockers' outstanding start to the season.

The Kangaroos (4-5) hope the return of 203cm ruckman Hamish McIntosh, 201cm David Hale and 197cm forward Drew Petrie from injury will exploit a Fremantle defence missing notable defenders Luke McPharlin (knee) and Alex Silvagni (ankle).

"If we can get the ball in often to the big guys up forward, hopefully they can take a few grabs and kick us a winning score," Swallow said.

Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich leads the Coleman Medal race with 32 goals and Swallow said it would take a team approach to shut down the prolific forward.

"It's going to be pretty easy for Pavlich if the ball is coming in frequently," Swallow said.

"It's going to be a hard task for the backline to contain him if the midfield isn't doing their job up the ground.

"It does seem to be a whole team thing you've got to do, you just can't rely on one player to shut him down because he's so versatile.

"It's about winning the midfield battle and limiting the opportunities he gets."

The Kangaroos were dealt a blow when Daniel Wells (groin) was ruled out through injury, while Aaron Edwards and Josh Smith were axed.

Fremantle made just one change to the team that beat Sydney last week, replacing Silvagni with Matt de Boer.

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