Fremantle superstar Nat Fyfe says he moved on quickly from the "disappointment and frustration" of being suspended and ruled out of Brownlow Medal contention.
Fyfe was the outright favourite to claim his second Brownlow before copping a one-week ban for an intentional high hit on Collingwood midfielder Levi Greenwood.
It also meant the Fremantle skipper missed out on playing his 150th match last round, when his teammates shocked Adelaide at Optus Stadium.
"Initially, there was some disappointment and frustration both with missing a week, missing my 150th at home, and obviously the ineligibility," Fyfe told Channel Seven.
"But I moved on pretty quickly from that, and look forward to getting back out and playing against Carlton this week."
Only 14 players in VFL/AFL history have won the Brownlow Medal multiple times.
Fyfe leads AFL.com.au's predictor with 17 votes – three clear of Blues star Patrick Cripps - but was philosophical about missing out on the game's highest individual honour in 2018.
"I don't think this really makes much difference to the rest of my year," Fyfe said.
"I set myself to have a big year and, so far, my form has been reasonable.
"I'll look to continue that through the rest of the year. If anything, a week's freshen up will hopefully help me this weekend."
Fyfe's return against Carlton will be a major boost for Fremantle, and his contest within the contest against Cripps could be pivotal to their hopes of a first road win.
The star West Australian duo appear evenly-matched, with Cripps holding a narrow edge in contested possessions (18.7 to 17.9) and tackles (6.1 to 4.5), while they are both averaging 7.9 clearances.
Fyfe shades Cripps for disposals (30.5 to 27.4), contested marks (1.5 to 1.3) and goals (0.7 to 0.3).
The Dockers have been woeful on the road, with an average losing margin of 56 points, but are favourites against the bottom-placed Blues, who have won only once.
"We've acknowledged our road form this year has been ordinary," Fyfe said.
"We've tweaked a few things with our preparation, and mentally addressed a couple of things.
"We're hoping with a short break, with the bye next week, we can block out those distractions and take a young group across – an exciting group who played really well last weekend – and hopefully get the win."
