Fremantle coach Mark Harvey has put his under-performing squad on notice, saying any players not pulling their weight will soon find themselves out of the AFL side.

The ninth-placed Dockers sit just two points adrift of Sydney on the ladder but appear increasingly unlikely to make the finals following four straight losses.

Harvey concedes his hands are largely tied as he tries to find new ways to lift his struggling side, saying the sheer number of injuries to key players this season meant he hadn't been able to send powerful messages to his group through team selection.

"You need someone to steady the ship when you become vulnerable through injuries," Harvey said.

"There have been some players there that have sort of been around for a while that haven't been able to step up to the next mark.

"I'm not talking about (Nat) Fyfe or (Stephen) Hill or any of these guys because they're getting nailed by the opposition.

"But it's the other guys that have been around for in-between 50 and 100 games that need to take control.

"That's been an issue for us and something that we'd like to address through selection at times but we just haven't been able to make those selection processes because of the lack of availability.

"In time those guys will wake up and know all about it at some stage."

Fremantle are likely to need to win at least two - and possibly all three - of their remaining games against North Melbourne (Etihad Stadium), Collingwood (Patersons Stadium) and the Western Bulldogs (Etihad) in order to make the finals.

The Dockers will be boosted by the return of midfielder David Mundy and utility Adam McPhee for Saturday night's clash with the Kangaroos.

Harvey said Sydney's shock loss to lowly Richmond over the weekend kept the door ajar for Fremantle to sneak into the top eight.

"It (Sydney's loss) keeps everyone alive, not just us but also the Kangaroos," Harvey told Perth radio station 6PR.

"They've gota reasonably tough draw from here on too Sydney (with St Kilda, Geelong and Brisbane to come).

"I guess that plays into your hands but ultimately you want to control what you're doing and your own destiny rather than relying on teams getting beat.

"That's our challenge in the short-term now. We've got the Kangaroos on Saturday night, so if we can beat them then we're back in the ball park straight away."

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