Fremantle has moved to 8-1 and - for now - sits atop the ladder. But the Dockers will be without captain Alex Pearce for at least their next match due to injury.
In the dying stages of Thursday night's thriller between Fremantle and Hawthorn, an opponent fell across Pearce's leg with Freo's skipper sustaining a low-grade MCL injury in his left knee.
Pearce will miss the club's next match, which is against Essendon in Round 10 at the MCG on Sunday week. However, the Dockers believe the injury shouldn't see their star key defender on the sidelines for too long.
The 30-year-old had scans on Friday.
"Pleasingly, scans have shown it's not a significant injury," executive general manager of football Joe Brierty said.
"Early signs are positive and we will continue to reassess Alex's functionality and provide further updates as they come to hand."
Pearce has had a long history with injury trouble and played only 15 and 16 games in his past two seasons, respectively.
The Dockers will be hoping their skipper returns for the following two matches with tough fixtures against St Kilda and Brisbane at the Gabba to come.
