Fremantle could be without influential ruckman Aaron Sandilands, who has been named in the 29-man squad but is due for a rest at some point in the next two weeks.
Key players David Mundy, Luke McPharlin, Hayden Ballantyne and Chris Mayne have also been rested, while captain Matthew Pavlich returns alongside Paul Hasleby and Adam McPhee.
Harvey said it was the club’s pre-season policy to rotate at least six players a week and that would not change with a NAB Cup grand final spot up for grabs.
“Our whole focus is round one, so we’ve just got to make sure we don’t get sidetracked with that,” the coach said from Fremantle Oval on Thursday.
“It’d be great for our fans and our members [to make a grand final], but we’ve had this policy imprinted over the pre-season and that’s what we were going to do, no matter what circumstance we found ourselves in.
“Our whole policy throughout the course of this has been to rotate six players every week and we’ll do that again this week.”
Fremantle’s thrilling four-point win over North Melbourne last week was its first at Etihad Stadium since 2006, but Harvey said the club was not getting carried away with its pre-season form.
“A lot of things are working for us at this particular stage (but) we understand that the opposition are trying a lot of things, trying a lot of players,” he said. “We’re just happy with the way that our game plan is progressing.
“I think the best part was that we didn’t see any issues with how we played the stadium last week.
“I think with young players you’ve got to make sure they don’t have any fear about who they may be playing or where they’re playing. That’s been a major focus for us.”
St Kilda has rested stars Nick Riewoldt and Brendon Goddard, but Harvey said the grand finalists boasted elite talent all over the ground and would still give Fremantle a gauge of how it is placed heading into round one.
Fremantle has also named youngster Michael Walters for his first game of the pre-season, while Steven Dodd is a surprise inclusion after a quicker than expected recovery from shoulder and wrist surgery.
The defender trained in strapping on Thursday and will be assessed, but Harvey said Walters would definitely play.
“We needed to get his game to a level where we thought he could sustain pressure (and) we think he’s got to that stage now, so he’s in the side,” the coach said.
Second-year key position prospect Ben Bucovaz has been named in the squad and could play his first game for Fremantle, while recruit Jesse Crichton could also be unveiled.
Aaron Sandilands is a $419,800 ruck in this year’s Toyota AFL Dream Team.
