Fremantle coach Mark Harvey says ruckman Jonathon Griffin can ill afford to rest on his laurels despite the ruckman's impressive performance against Gold Coast on Saturday.

Griffin, filling in for injured big man Aaron Sandilands, was influential in Saturday's 50-point win over the Suns, tallying 26 disposals, 30 hit-outs and two goals in the best performance of his fledgling 46-game AFL career.

But with Sandilands on track to return from his toe injury in the round 19 home clash with Hawthorn on July 30, Griffin's long-term future in Fremantle's line-up remains unknown.

Griffin's five games this year have all come when Sandilands was injured, but Harvey said there was a chance the two could feature in the same side together in the future.

"Possibly," Harvey said.

"We never discounted that at all, it was never a topic of discussion.

"It was just Kepler (Bradley) was going so well early (in the year) in that forward position and that was the reason why (Griffin hadn't played before Sandilands' injury).

"There is a lot of balance of the team based around how many talls you can play.

"It would be fair to say I keep him (Griffin) on edge to make sure that performances like that (against Gold Coast) become regular.

"He led really well, kicked a couple of goals and was assertive."

Sixth-placed Fremantle (8-6) will enjoy the bye next week before fronting up to a daunting run home that includes games against Sydney (away), West Coast, Hawthorn (home), St Kilda (away), Carlton (home) and Collingwood (home).

But with veteran Adam McPhee and Nick Suban set to resume in the WAFL over the next fortnight, and gun midfielder Michael Barlow to slot straight back in for the round 17 clash with Sydney, Harvey hoped his team's form would only improve heading into the business end of the season.

"It gives us a good chance now to have a break, albeit for a couple of days, but mentally still make sure that you're still focused on what lies ahead," Harvey said.

"This competition's tight and you can't get carried away with things.

"A lot of things will change in between now and round 24.

"As we know, if you have a look across the competition, most sides made four or five changes on the weekend to their teams. Multiply that by the next eight weeks and see what happens.

"With Sandilands, (David) Mundy, McPhee, Suban and Barlow still out of the team ... I'll be able to judge that (our potential) a lot more as time goes on."

Forward Chris Mayne copped a knock to his knee early against Gold Coast, but Harvey said the 22-year-old hadn't suffered any structural damage and would be fit to take on the Swans.

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