FREMANTLE superstar Nat Fyfe's reconstructed right shoulder will not hold him out of the Dockers' round one clash against Adelaide. Now the skipper needs the green light with the rest of his body.

Fyfe has been on a mission to recover from multiple setbacks following initial surgery last July and his shoulder was finally deemed ready to be tested in a match ahead of the AAMI Community Series last week.

However, the dual Brownlow medallist and the Dockers decided there was no upside in risking injury against the Eagles as Fyfe adds strength following a compromised pre-season.  

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Despite the progress made with his shoulder, the skipper wasn't prepared to declare himself a certain starter when the Dockers launch their season against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, March 20.

"We're taking a round one is not on or off the table approach," the captain said on Wednesday at Optus Stadium.

"Because I've had to push so hard over the last two months to get the rest of my body up to speed, we're just waiting for it to consolidate and making sure there's no soft-tissue injury risks. 

"The shoulder will be fine for round one, it's just whether the rest of the body is right to go."

Fyfe has spent several sessions back in full contact training and is completing extra strengthening work both in the gym and on the track as he prepares for his first game since round 19 last season.

After a 97-point win in a practice game against West Coast and a less impressive 13-point win in the AAMI Community Series, he said the team would get a better gauge on its improvement come round one.   

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"Pre-season games basically give you zero information, so we can't really take anything from our games against West Coast," he said.

"But I think the standard of training we've seen from our players across pre-season indicates to me that we're a more professional, harder outfit.

"The season proper will tell us whether that's actually true."

West Coast captain Luke Shuey is also racing the clock to be fit for round one after a long recovery from another hamstring injury in January, with an intraclub hitout on Friday night a key stepping stone to round one.

The 31-year-old, whose presence in an injury-hit midfield would be critical in the season opener, said being fit to face Gold Coast at Optus Stadium on March 20 was the goal.

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"We'll have a big hitout Friday, which I'll do, then tick a few boxes next week hopefully, and then lace up the boots in round one," the Norm Smith medallist said.

"It's been about seven weeks since I last did my hammy, so if I was 22 I would have played about two weeks ago against Freo.

"The fact I'm 31 and have had a bit of a soft-tissue run changes things, but I'm feeling fine."

Shuey, who has endured two years of soft-tissue setbacks and played just seven games last season, was still able to laugh about his injury woes and said his confidence in his body was intact. 

"I reckon through my 20s I saw blokes go through what I'm going through and thought to myself what you guys (media) must be thinking," he said.

"But being in my position, I'm fine and I've got professionals around me and guys who have worked with this stuff for a long time.

"The boys reckon I've got hammies made of Weet-Bix at the moment. If you can't have a laugh at that then your time in the game is probably up."