Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is backing his players to thrive in the intense Geelong heat, but gun recruit Shai Bolton could be among a flurry of stars to miss the match.
A forecast top of 36C is set to greet players for Saturday's clash between the Dockers and Cats at GMHBA Stadium.
The 1.20pm AEDT bounce-down means most of the game will be played when conditions are at their hottest, with the AFL expected to invoke the heat policy to allow extra water carriers and longer breaks between quarters.
Nat Fyfe, who underwent knee surgery in the off-season, has already been ruled out of the match, with Longmuir keen to build up the veteran's loads first.
Ruckman Sean Darcy (ankle/knee, two to four weeks) and midfielder Hayden Young (hamstring, three weeks) are other stars out of action.
Fremantle revealed on Tuesday evening that Bolton is battling a stress response in his lower leg and is no certainty to take on the Cats.
"It sounds worse than what it actually is," Longmuir told reporters on Wednesday.
"If he doesn't get up this week, we'd be confident he'll be right next week.
"He needs to train (on Wednesday to prove his fitness). I think he's feeling pretty good. He'll get out there and see how it is.
"We won't take any risks with him, but it's on the minor end of the injury."
Longmuir isn't fazed with the forecast for Geelong on Saturday or the time of the game, which is 10.20am Perth time given WA are three hours behind.
"I'm sure the AFL will put the heat policy in place if the temperature lives up to the forecast," Longmuir said.
"It (the early game) can be a little bit awkward.
"But all of our intra-clubs have been early in the morning, so the players got used to playing early. We train early. It's something we can adjust to.
"I think we're well conditioned for (the heat). It's been a pretty hot summer. We've trained in 35-degree-plus (conditions), up around 40-degree days, so we're conditioned for it."
Fremantle are confident skipper Alex Pearce (ankle) will be fit to take on the Cats.
But like Bolton, veteran Michael Walters (knee) needs to prove his fitness.
"His form is proven," Longmuir said of Walters, who starred in the pre-season win over Melbourne.
"He won't do as much as Shai (at training), but he needs to be able to do something to put his hand up this week."
Longmuir wasn't able to put a timeline on when two-time Brownlow Medal winner Fyfe will be ready to return.
"We need to get footy loads into him. He's still not up to full training, and backing up training sessions," the coach said.
"There's a bit of work to do there. We'll take our time with him and make sure we get him right before we throw him out there."
Midfielder/forward Murphy Reid, the No.17 pick from last year's national draft, is a strong chance to make his AFL debut after impressing the coaching staff over the pre-season.
