Fremantle are bracing themselves for a dose of the famed North Melbourne shinboner spirit ahead of Sunday's AFL clash at Patersons Stadium.

The winless Kangaroos, who had the bye last week, are still licking their wounds following their round two 87-point mauling by Collingwood.

Most pundits have already written off North Melbourne's chances of making the finals but Dockers coach Mark Harvey said the dark clouds surrounding Arden Street spelt danger for his side.

"... They're going to draw on that (shinboner spirit) again," Harvey said on Thursday.

"Particularly when their backs are against the wall like they are at an early stage in the season.

"They've had a week to reassess a lot of things. I see there's a media ban on their players at the moment, so there's obviously something brewing and we've got to make sure that we're ready for that.

"Reality is they played really well against West Coast three weeks ago and arguably should have won the game.

"Then of course they got beaten by the premiers of last year. So they're in reasonable form."

The Dockers added Garrick Ibbotson, Jay van Berlo and Jesse Crichton to their extended interchange bench, while the Roos included Cameron Pedersen, Daniel Pratt and Ben Warren to their squad of 25.

Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands, who suffered eye damage last week when accidentally poked by Adelaide's Richard Tambling, will train closer to game day and is expected to play.

The Dockers (2-1 record) were impressive in last week's 25-point win over Adelaide and can set up their season with a victory.

Meanwhile, Harvey said Michael Barlow was still on track to play this season despite the star midfielder experiencing slight tenderness in the leg he broke last year.

"There's a little bit of tenderness in and around the area, but not the direct area," Harvey said on Thursday.

"We've just got to monitor it.

"I'd like to be able to say he'll be out on the track next week (with the main group), but there's just a delay with him at the moment.

"He's got skinny legs and we just need to keep building up in that area.

"When you have a major injury to a lower leg then there are complications around that coming back."

Harvey said defender Alex Silvagni was still at least two weeks away from resuming after struggling to overcome a stomach virus that put him in hospital.

"It just keeps lingering," Harvey said.

"Can't really put our finger on why that is, but he hasn't joined in training yet so he's probably a couple of weeks away again.

"I know I've stated that I thought he'd be back but unfortunately (it's) just dragging on."

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