Fremantle coach Mark Harvey will consider rolling the dice by recalling veteran Adam McPhee for Sunday's crunch AFL clash with Sydney at the SCG.

McPhee has been sidelined with a knee injury since round eight but is a strong chance to be thrust in as a forward against the battle-hardened Swans, as Harvey looks to bolster his side with mature bodies.

Harvey said defender Nick Suban, who hasn't played since breaking his leg in round four, was also a chance to return but hinted McPhee was the one genuinely in the mix for a recall.

"I remember doing the same thing with Tendai (Mzungu) after missing 10 weeks. (Garrick) Ibbotson was the same," Harvey said on Wednesday.

"Both those guys (McPhee and Suban) are really professional in the way they have done their preparation in regards to rehab.

"It will only probably (depend on their) touch and maybe a little bit of match fitness as to whether we play them or not.

"If you go back and have a look at his (McPhee's) first seven or eight weeks in the forward line, he was one of our best pressuring forwards."

Harvey confirmed gun midfielder Michael Barlow would return against the Swans after overcoming a bout of soreness that had grounded him since the round-13 loss to Melbourne.

"We did some aggressive training on Monday and he was fighting the fire," Harvey said.

"I'd like to think he'd be a lot better in the second half (of the season) ... in (terms of his) preparation."

Ruckman Aaron Sandilands (toe) is set to resume running duties next week in a bid to possibly get up for the round-18 derby against West Coast, while David Mundy has shed his moon boot and is on track for a return in round 20.

Sydney are still sweating on the availability of veteran Jude Bolton, who was a late withdrawal last week with a knee injury.

The seventh-placed Dockers are just two points adrift of the Swans but face arguably the toughest run home in the competition, with five of their remaining eight games against teams inside the top eight.

Throw in tough matches against in-form St Kilda (away) and Western Bulldogs (away) and many pundits are already writing off Fremantle's chances of keeping their spot in the top eight.

But with the Dockers slowly regaining their best players, Harvey said it was far too early to write his team off.

Meanwhile, in the wake of Greater Western Sydney's reported multi-million dollar offer to Melbourne midfielder Tom Scully, Harvey said it was important for prospective recruits to take into account whether they would achieve team and personal success if they took up a big-money offer to switch clubs.

"It's a lot of pressure to put on a player if he hasn't established himself yet," Harvey said.

"The unknown factors is if you make a decision to go, you don't really know the culture, you don't know the environment, you don't necessarily know your team-mates.

"I'm not just talking about GWS here. I'm just talking about a young player (anywhere) because we've got free agency around the corner as well so it's going to happen more."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP