Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is set to resist the urge of unleashing a three-ruck assault for the club's season opener against a fired-up Geelong on Saturday.
The Dockers boast three out-and-out ruck stars on their list - new recruit Mason Cox, Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson.
Cox was surprisingly axed by Collingwood at the end of last season, and his 211cm frame would be a huge advantage against an undersized Geelong ruck division.
The 198cm Mark Blicavs was Geelong's go-to ruckman in last week's 56-point loss to Gold Coast, with support from the 203cm Shannon Neale.
Jackson is set to spend long stints as a big-bodied midfielder this season, raising the prospect of Fremantle being able to select all three of their big men in games.
The expansion of the bench from four players plus a sub to five players has been viewed as beneficial to ruckmen, giving Fremantle extra scope to opt for a land of the giants.
But it seems Longmuir will be content to select just two ruckman for the time being, wary that fatigue will set in quicker for players early in the season.
"It's an option, I wouldn't say it's a temptation," Longmuir replied about the temptation to play three ruckmen.
"Earlier in the year, you probably need the extra run, so that would be a concern with that.
"It's an option - probably not a likely option."
Jackson is a lock and Darcy, who has been battling a minor calf complaint this summer, will join him if passed fit.
If Darcy fails to get up, then Magpies premiership ruckman Cox will make his Dockers debut.
Fremantle skipper Alex Pearce (calf) will be selected against Geelong barring any late setbacks at training, but Luke Ryan, who underwent shoulder surgery, might be squeezed out following his restricted summer.
Goalsneak Michael Frederick has already been ruled out after injuring his ankle at training last week.
Geelong could be bolstered by the return of Patrick Dangerfield (calf) and Jeremy Cameron (quad).
The Cats have been licking their wounds following the 19.11 (125) to 10.9 (69) loss to Gold Coast, with the margin a whopping 79 points at three-quarter time.
Longmuir is expecting a big bounce back from last year's beaten grand finalists.
"Sometimes in those games and the way that played out on the weekend, the scoreboard can look worse than what it actually was," Longmuir said.
"We're expecting them to be a lot better than that.
"They just probably didn't get some of the little things right, which may have made it look like big things fell apart. We're expecting them to bounce back."
