Ross Lyon is excited by Harley Bennell's progress in the WAFL but the Freo senior coach ruled out the midfielder for their clash against Melbourne on Saturday.
Bennell impressed in his past three games for Peel, but with Fremantle riding a three-game winning streak, Lyon is in no rush to pick the 26-year-old for his third appearance in purple.
"Harley, I saw the highlights, they looked pretty good. We'd like a bit more body of work and conditioning and our team, it's a hard team to get into at the minute, it's not that easy," Lyon said.
"I understand the impatience, I understand the hype and the story around it but I'm not going to waver in my understanding of what's required to be successful at the AFL level, it doesn't matter what external pressures are put on me or our (club).
"We'll make the right decision at the right time."
Fremantle received some positive news on the injury front this week with big man Rory Lobb expected back in a month after initial fears his foot problem was season-ending.
Fremantle could resume training at Optus Stadium soon with Lobb and Alex Pearce (ankle) believed to have gone down with impact injuries and not stress-related issues.
"We're off red alert," Lyon said.
"We're not at battle stations at the minute on the surface.
"When we thought it was another stress fracture and Alex Pearce has seemed to be an impact as well, but until we knew that we were really concerned.
"We'll still be diligent but we're all breathing a whole lot easier."
