After having their flight pushed back twice, the players will fly out of Perth mid afternoon, but assistant coach Dean Wallis said preparations for this Saturday's clash with North Melbourne were still on track.
"It's nothing too dramatic," Wallis said on Thursday from Perth.
"We'll just get on the bus and go to the hotel, get up in the morning and do our normal preparation and train - so it's no big deal."
Des Headland will be on the flight and the returning midfielder is poised to play his first game for the season after recovering from a persistent calf injury.
The 28-year-old has had just the one hit-out with WAFL side Subiaco, but Wallis said Headland's pre-season left him in a position to contribute at AFL level.
"He's coming on the plane, so if he gets through training tomorrow we'll pick him for sure," Wallis said.
"The calibre of the player, he’ll survive 60-70 minutes of footy, and what he'll give in 60-70 minutes will be first class.
"We expect a fairly competitive Des who'll get the boys going, and that's what we need."
Despite winning three of its past four matches, goalkicking remains an issue for Fremantle, the side averaging 13 goals a game in the past month.
Mathew Pavlich has played in the midfield for that period, and Wallis said Headland's return could be part of the answer, the dashing midfielder set to line up closer to goals.
"It [kicking goals] has been an issue, but I think in the last four games we’ve had 10 or so goalkickers. So we're spreading the workload," Wallis said.
"We'd like to see someone stand up and kick three or four on a regular basis and that might be Des.
"He adds skill, leadership and probably a bit of goal-power, so that's probably something we'd really like to bring in."
Wallis said after North's 70-point loss to Geelong in round eight Fremantle would be braced for a hard and tough clash at the Docklands.
The Roos have debuted five players so far this season, but Wallis said he still expected a spirited fight from North Melbourne.
"They came up against Geelong last week and got a bit of a touch, so knowing the Kangaroos they'll come out swinging and that's what we're ready for," he said.
"Regardless of their age and experience, that's their a-grade game – when they come and play hard and tough."
Wallis forecast just the one change for Freo and said if he had his way none of the side's first-year players would be rested.
