FREMANTLE'S All Australian defender Luke McPharlin is likely to miss the Western Derby next Sunday after injuring his calf in the Dockers' 30-point win over St Kilda at Patersons Stadium.

 

McPharlin spent the last quarter on the bench when his calf tightened up after the Dockers had already substituted out Aaron Sandilands.  

 

"Not dramatic but we don't think he'll play in the derby," Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said in the post-match press conference.

 

"I can't put a … one, two, three, maybe none. But in all likelihood a couple of weeks."

 

"So all of a sudden we had two on the bench. So in that context the second half was quite positive."

 

Alex Silvagni is the likely replacement for McPharlin to tackle the Eagles' Coleman Medal leader Josh Kennedy in the derby.

 

"We've got Silvagni and Peter Faulks," Lyon said.

 

"Alex came in and played on Podsiadly in a final last year so we know our pressure is good enough and we trust Alex to do the role."

 

McPharlin's injury is untimely given Dockers pair Matthew Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands returned from long-term injuries against the Saints.

 

Lyon felt that his two stars were rusty in their first game back but will benefit from it when they face the Eagles next week.

 

"Instinctively Matthew (Pavlich) has had 21 possessions and kicked 2.1. I thought they both looked rusty at times and both did bits and pieces," Lyon said.

 

"I thought it's a hard business when Aaron got a Bronx cheer when he gloved one. I think they'll be better for the run."

 

Sandilands finished with six possessions and 11 hit-outs.

 

Lyon said the Dockers didn't have a firm plan to sub Sandilands but it worked out well.

 

"In the back of our mind we didn't have a hard and fast (plan) because you're hoping you don't get an injury," Lyon said.

 

"But I thought it was the right thing at the right time. It put a lot of pressure on.

 

"We didn't plan for Luke (McPharlin) to pop a calf slightly after that. But we were able to keep Zac Clarke going for the whole quarter."

 

Lyon was pleased with his side's second half after the Dockers trailed the young Saints by seven points at the long break.

 

"I was probably a frustrated coach, and we were a frustrated team at half-time," Lyon said.

 

"Really a little bit disappointed from our end. We just said we've got a choice to make, that we need to turn around our football in a positive manner.

 

"I didn't think it was instantaneous, but we certainly got them into a contest.

 

"Second half I think it was 32 entries (inside 50) to 11."