McPharlin has not played since Fremantle's NAB Cup opener against Richmond more than five weeks ago, but he enjoyed an uninterrupted pre-season to that point.
Harvey said he would not take an underdone side into the round one clash and McPharlin was ready to go.
"There's still a couple of guys we need to look at … and whether you take enough players in there that are fully match fit to play in round one," Harvey said on Thursday morning.
"If you take some underdone players into round one you get found out. That's the right balance we’ve got to come up with.
"We had a light training session for [McPharlin] yesterday – he got through no problems. He'll train again lightly today and also on Saturday.
"There is no doubt, as far as I'm concerned, with Luke McPharlin playing."
Harvey wouldn't guarantee prize draft pick Stephen Hill's place in the side. However, the 18-year-old will be named in the initial 25-man squad this afternoon.
The coach said Nic Suban and rookie elevation Greg Broughton were also in line to debut on Sunday.
“There has been a lot of debate and questioning about Stephen; he will certainly be in the 25 that we pick today,” Harvey said.
“There are a couple [in contention], Nic Suban has been impressive for the past four or five weeks, so has a guy like Broughton. They are all in the mix.”
Harvey said Hill had been given more freedom by opponents this pre-season than he will be afforded during the season proper.
But with experienced trio Matthew Pavlich, Paul Hasleby and David Mundy all set for midfield time, the coach said he had no hesitation in unleashing Hill when the time comes.
"Now that it's all on the line there can be some different attitudes, particularly from some of the more senior players at other clubs," he said.
"I said to him, 'If you do get a senior game, look after yourself'.
"But having said that, we’ve got some guys that can get in and around him anyhow, if he does play."
The Bulldogs are only slightly favoured for Sunday's clash, despite finishing third in 2008.
Harvey said Fremantle, rebounding from a 14th place finish last season, would be an unknown quantity heading into the season opener and had the capacity to upset the Bulldogs.
"The unknown factor in round one can come up and bite you," he said.
"We're playing a top three side from last year; we didn’t finish anywhere near that. But as I said, round one can throw up some interesting results.
"We're really keen to set a precedent for when we play here at Subiaco, so we get an opportunity to launch that."
Dream Team watch – Luke McPharlin is rated a $314,800 forward in Toyota AFL Dream Team 2009
