Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir and his selection committee have been tasked to find the man to replace the "big loss" of suspended veteran Nat Fyfe for Sunday's clash with Essendon.
Fyfe was handed a one-game suspension for striking West Coast's Jai Culley during last Saturday's win over their cross-town rivals, with the Dockers unsuccessful in their appeal of the Match Review Officer's findings at the Tribunal on Tuesday evening.
The upheld suspension will at least give Fyfe time to "freshen up" ahead of a likely finals tilt with a month left in the season, while his replacement is likely to come in the form of young midfielder Matthew Johnson.
Johnson is expected to be available after missing the past two matches through foot soreness, with Longmuir expecting the 21-year-old a strong chance to be picked in Fyfe's place as several other Dockers also look to break back into the senior side after a strong run of form for WAFL affiliate Peel Thunder.
"He's a big loss, that's why we chose to fight [the ban] at the Tribunal," Longmuir said of his dual Brownlow Medal winner.
"We don't want him out of the team, he's been playing some important roles for us. We're going to have to find someone to fill his role this week. Hopefully he can freshen up and get him back next week.
"We've got a number of options (to fill his spot). We're hoping 'Johno' comes back from injury, we've had some guys ready for an opportunity at Peel.
"We'll work that out in selection."
Fyfe's absence may also leave Longmuir to consider who could take on a tagging role for a potential head-to-head matchup against Essendon skipper Zach Merrett.
Expecting a fiery Bombers side looking to respond to last week's horror loss to St Kilda, keeping Merrett in check might be the Dockers' best avenue to negating Brad Scott's side.
"We'll look at it, absolutely. We'll look at what teams have done to him," the Dockers coach said.
"He's had influence on games no matter what. Wins and losses, tagged and not tagged. He's a good player, so we can't have him running around by himself.
"I expect [Essendon] to come out really physical and at their best. They've played some really good footy this year, we can't get caught up in last week's game. We've got to prepare for them at their best.
"They've been in every game this year apart from last year where they got blown out a bit in the third quarter. They've challenged really hard, we know what to expect."
The Dockers and Essendon will meet at the MCG for the first time in 25 years, with a win for Longmuir's men a chance to have them sitting in second spot and less than a win off ladder leaders Sydney ahead of the final three games of the season.
After facing the Bombers on Sunday at 3:20 pm (AEST), the Dockers will see out their home and away campaign against Geelong (home), GWS (away) and Port Adelaide (home).