FREMANTLE goalsneak Hayden Ballantyne should probably keep his mouth shut when he fronts up against Geelong at Patersons Stadium on Saturday night.
Ballantyne is set to play in the crunch clash just four days after undergoing minor surgery to fix his fractured jaw.
The 26-year-old is well known for being one of the chattiest players in the AFL, with his ongoing taunts often resulting in fiery clashes.
Three years ago, Ballantyne was punched squarely in the jaw by Cats defender Matthew Scarlett, and many other players in the AFL would love to do the same.
But Ballantyne isn't just annoying - he's also mighty brave, often throwing his body into the firing line.
The rivalry between Geelong and Fremantle has been fierce in recent years, and Ballantyne loves throwing himself in the thick of the action.
He might be forced to wear a protective helmet this week, but Dockers coach Ross Lyon is confident the feisty forward will be able to handle any physicality that comes his way.
"We're not going to pick people who aren't going to be able to go in and win the ball and chase and tackle feverishly," Lyon said on Thursday.
"I have seen Stephen Milne play with fractures to the cheekbone and be really swollen. They were significantly more risk than this.
"This is just a slight fracture and they push out the cheekbone and do all of those sort of things.
"It's just a bit about 'comfortability'."
The Dockers will again be without key defender Luke McPharlin (quad), but Lyon expects Zac Dawson (ankle) and midfielder Stephen Hill (calf) to play.
However, Anthony Morabito will have to wait at least another fortnight before making his AFL return.
Morabito, on the comeback trail from his third knee reconstruction, has been in solid form for WAFL side Peel Thunder this season.
But Lyon wants the 22-year-old to build up more match fitness before chucking him in the deep end.
"His speed's really good (but) his repeat efforts are probably a little bit down," Lyon said.
"We don't gift anyone a game. Players in the team respect and love Anthony, but I don't think they're going to walk in and say, 'Anthony can play instead of me'.
"He'll earn his spot. He's well on the way. It's just a matter of time if he keeps progressing in the manner he is."
Dockers skipper Matthew Pavlich will become the first Perth-based AFL player to reach the 300-game milestone when he lines up against the Cats.
But Fremantle's focus will be on snaring the four points following their shaky 4-4 start to the year.
