Melbourne remains uncertain over captain Max Gawn's chances of featuring against Fremantle this weekend as the Demons ruckman looks to pass fitness and training tests on Thursday.
Gawn, who was listed to be sidelined for up to three weeks with an ankle injury, missed last weekend's win over Essendon and is in the frame to come back into the side after just one game out of action.
The Demons won't take any risks with the six-time All-Australian despite his eagerness to play against the Dockers in WA on Sunday.
Unable to clarify whether his captain would be more likely than unlikely to play, Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said the club will have a good grasp on Gawn's playing prospects by Thursday afternoon.
"He's working through his process incredibly well," Goodwin said.
"Everyone who knows Max knows how diligent he is. Today is an important day for that process. We'll assess him post-today, but we certainly won't take a risk. This certainly isn't the time of the year to take a risk with any of our players.
"We need to make sure he's actually 100% ready to go. Today is a big step for where he's at. It's hard to make a decision this morning until we get all the information.
"He walks into the office every day and says 'Coach I'll be right' (laughs). That's the mentality he has, he knows how important every day is in a mindset of getting better and healthy. We love that about him, that he's prepared to push the boundaries and get himself as healthy as he can as quick as he can.
"He's the ultimate professional in that space, and our responsibility is that he steps through that process in the right way. That will give us confidence, but up until that point we've got to make sure he works through that process clearly.
"At the moment he's moving well. Today is about his agility and ability to train. If he's not in that space then we won't push him at all."
Gawn's return would be a major boost for Goodwin's side, with the Demons entering a crucial contest in their finals push when they meet arguably the biggest ruck threat in the competition.
Dockers duo Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson are expected to be named, with the former in line to exit concussion protocols in time for this weekend.
Goodwin named forward pair Harrison Petty and Jacob van Rooyen in Gawn's place last weekend, with the duo managing to negate Essendon ruckman Sam Draper's impact following his dominant opening quarter at the MCG.
Melbourne's coach will again weigh up his selection options should Gawn be sidelined for a second week, with the task of going up against Jackson and Darcy without a recognised ruckman a daunting call.
"We'll have a look at that today. I said [after the Essendon game] that everything was on the table," Goodwin said.
"We're playing Jackson and Darcy, a different ruck combination, and we still don't know about Max at this point. So we'll have a bigger look at that later today.
"We know what we're coming up against, we've got two high-quality ruckmen that we're dealing with. It is one element of the game and there's many other elements to the game that we need to be good at.
"We'll plan for all [scenarios], in terms of what we do in the ruck but also around the ball and in general play. We'll make a decision post our decision on Max and see where it sits then."
Melbourne, who will name their extended Round 19 side at 6:20 pm (AEST) on Thursday, will head to Perth ahead of Sunday's meeting at Optus Stadium.
A revised 23-man side will be named at 5:00 pm on Friday, while final teams are confirmed an hour out from the 3:20 pm bounce.