McPharlin’s battle with Collingwood’s Travis Cloke will go a long way to determining the outcome of Saturday night’s clash at Patersons Stadium, but the 31-year-old defender said on Wednesday that he knew what he can – and can’t – do in an attempt to combat the powerhouse forward.
"I feel I've got a good grasp, or understanding, of the rule,” McPharlin said.
"That idea of the full extension of the arms, you don't want to be pushing opponents out of the way.
"So it's really just about standing your ground and trying to fight for a position really and protecting the ball drop."
McPharlin expects to share the load on Cloke if the Magpie forward ventures further up the ground on the wide expanses of Patersons Stadium.
"It'll be most likely myself if he's playing a bit deeper, but if he's working high up the ground we do have structures in place where Michael Johnson might take him, as (Johnson) plays up the field a bit higher than I do."
Cloke currently sits second in the Coleman Medal race with 22 goals, one behind North Melbourne's Lindsay Thomas.
Cloke has had more shots at goal than any other player in the competition through six rounds, while only St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt has hauled in more marks this season.
McPharlin knows what an imposing threat Cloke poses.
"He's been really strong. Obviously his ability to take contested marks is his great strength and he's been kicking some goals.
"As we know he's been a formidable forward for a couple of years now, so that's a big challenge and that's something we're going to have to stop."
The 214-game veteran, who this week climbs to outright fifth on Fremantle's all-time games played list, echoed the thoughts of coach Ross Lyon that the key to stopping Cloke was shutting down the supply from the Collingwood midfield.
"With any player like that, it's very much a team approach,” he said.
“The pressure up the field has to be right so he's not getting the delivery that he would like."
Stephen Hill is expected to return to the Dockers’ line-up after missing last week with a quad injury.
McPharlin said his side was unconcerned by the fact it was still missing three of its stars in Matthew Pavlich (achilles), Aaron Sandilands (hamstring) and Nathan Fyfe (suspended) for the Collingwood clash.
"I think we just need to play our brand of football,” he said.
"We've proven since Ross has come that, regardless of personnel, we have a very strong game plan. Everyone that comes into the side, provided they execute their role, we can be competitive against anyone.
"We're missing a few key players, obviously. But if we bring the right attitude and play our brand of football and bring our game plan, we feel we can be competitive on Saturday night."
