Drew Petrie is likely to meet his match on Sunday against Fremantle with Luke McPharlin tipped to return according to coach Ross Lyon.

The Dockers’ defender was a late withdrawal against the Eagles after receiving a corked calf at training.

"There was certainly no risk-taking with McPharlin," Lyon said.

"If it had've been a Grand Final he would have played, or a first final he would have played.

"It was great to get Michael Johnson back. (Zac) Dawson will be available for selection, McPharlin will be.

"North have a lot of tall forwards and we will go away and have a look at it."

Fremantle defender Alex Silvagni could be missing however after a nasty off-the-ball hit on Jamie Cripps.

The West Coast forward has a suspected broken jaw after the crude elbow that occurred 70m away from the play.

"Crippa's got probably a fractured jaw," Eagle’s coach Adam Simpson said post-match.

Cripps had to be helped from the ground by medical staff and was subbed out under the concussion rule. He managed to play the entire second half but pulled up sore.

"We wouldn't have put him back on if it was a broken jaw. But there might be a fracture there. He's pretty sore at the moment,” Simpson said.

"I deliberately didn't watch it. But I've heard a lot about it."

Fremantle coach Ross Lyon also said he did not see the incident.

"Well, there are two things," Lyon said.

"Once he is up before a tribunal, I have an inability to comment.

"And secondly, I didn't see it."

The Dockers lost the match by 24 points put still hold onto top spot on the ladder. The side’s poor form against the competition’s best teams a worrying trend for Lyon.

"It's not ideal is it?" Lyon said post-match.

"It's about playing good football at the right time and we know that. We need to improve.

"You learn a lot of your loses historically, that's what I've found anyway. We basically know what happened. You need to work your way through and learn from it."

Lyon rejected talk that his side might have been complacent being two-and-a-half games clear on top of the ladder coming into the game.

"My aim coming here, and that's why I sit here disappointed, was to measure ourselves against one of the benchmark teams,” he said.

"I would've liked us to play better against a quality opposition but I think we saw enough at times to think that our best is still pretty good and thereabouts.”