DOCKERS defenders Michael Johnson and Luke McPharlin failed to appear at training on Tuesday as thousands of fans flocked to Fremantle Oval to cheer on their AFL heroes.

McPharlin (calf/adductor) and Johnson (calf) received plenty of treatment during last week's preliminary final win over Sydney.

The pair have been declared fit to play in Saturday's grand final against Hawthorn, but they were kept off the training track on Tuesday for a light session that lasted only 54 minutes.

Forward Chris Mayne was also missing, while ruckman Aaron Sandilands and defender Zac Dawson only appeared late and were restricted to light duties.

The Dockers have never played in a grand final, and the town of Fremantle has been awash in a sea of purple in the lead-up to the game.

Fans were in loud voice before the players made their way out onto Fremantle Oval, with fans chanting "MCG, MCG, MCG." and "Freo, Freo" in several spurts.

Even a heavy burst of rain failed to dampen their spirits, although hundreds of fans made the dash for undercover areas.

But in a case of perfect timing, the sun peeked out from the clouds just as skipper Matthew Pavlich led the player group out at 9.52am (WST).

Pavlich was donning a jacket, as were David Mundy and Zac Clarke.

Assuming McPharlin and Johnson make it for the game, Fremantle are set to take an unchanged line-up into the grand final.

Fremantle coach Ross Lyon had hoped at least 10,000 fans would turn up for the open training session, but only 6000 rocked up.