FREMANTLE coach Ross Lyon expects the Dockers to receive their biggest test of coping without several key defenders against Collingwood on Thursday night, when the home side will come up against the man he says "the world wanted", Travis Cloke.
Fremantle threw everything at recruiting Collingwood's premiership spearhead before he re-signed with the Magpies in 2012.
The Dockers are without key defenders Michael Johnson (hamstring), Alex Silvagni (hamstring) and Zac Dawson (hand) for Thursday night's clash, meaning Luke McPharlin will get first crack at Cloke, with fourth-gamer Alex Pearce as the next option.
Both teams come into the contest fresh after a week off, with Fremantle sitting atop the AFL ladder with a 10-1 record, while Collingwood is fourth at 8-3.
Lyon is not taking for granted that the Dockers will return to their best, particularly with Cloke in a forward line that also features Jamie Elliott and Jesse White.
"They're obviously consistent with their effort, they put good pressure on the opposition and I think they've got a really strong blend. Cloke's a power forward and the world wanted him, didn't they? You can see why, he's a great player really," Lyon said.
"And then (Dane) Swan and (Scott) Pendlebury have been proven over a long period of time to be two of the best mids in the competition and they've got a lot of bounce.
"We strike them confident, available, in form, and with a lot of belief. So it's a big challenge."
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley is looking forward to finding out if the Magpies can challenge the top teams in the competition.
The Dockers won their opening nine matches before a hiccup at home to Richmond and then beat Gold Coast prior to their bye. While the Magpies are looking good, they have only beaten one team inside the top eight, GWS.
"It's a great challenge for us and for anyone when they come up against Freo, especially travelling over that way," Buckley said.
"We're refreshed from the bye, so are they and we feel like we are playing some pretty good footy ourselves.
"We're looking forward to that next opportunity against the next opponent, it just happens to be Fremantle away. I reckon you do find out a little bit about your footy and how it stacks up when you play the best teams. We get a test this week."
