STAR Fremantle midfielder Andrew Brayshaw hopes he will be able to play his entire career alongside Adam Cerra but says he largely avoids contract talk with his teammate.

Cerra's future is a big talking point at the Dockers, with the out-of-contract Victorian set to receive some tempting offers from Melbourne-based clubs.

The Dockers have already tabled Cerra a contract extension, and coach Justin Longmuir says they will give the 21-year-old as long as he needs to decide.

Cerra (pick No.5) and Brayshaw (No.2) were drafted together in 2017, and are part of the core nucleus of young players who could lead Fremantle to its maiden flag.

Brayshaw, who also hails from Victoria, re-signed with Fremantle last year on a deal that takes him through until 2025.

He hopes Cerra will do the same, but he's not sure what way it's going to go.

"'Cez' and I are good mates and to be honest we don't really talk about contract stuff too much," Brayshaw told reporters on Wednesday.

"He's loving playing for the club at the moment and he always said he was going to take his time, focus on his footy and worry about contracts towards the end of the season.

"I'd love to play with Cez for my career. We got drafted together, played our first four years together so I'm definitely hoping he signs.

"He's the ultimate professional. I can't imagine the noise would be getting to him.

"He's just come back from injury and played a really good game of footy for us so he's doing something right. He's too good at what he does to be worried about what everyone else are thinking."

Cerra tallied 28 disposals and a goal on his return from an ankle syndesmosis injury in last week's seven-point loss to Essendon.

The young midfielder will be a key player when the Dockers (4-5) return to action in Saturday night's crunch clash with Sydney (6-3) in Perth.

Fremantle is set to be boosted by the return of All-Australian defender Luke Ryan (calf), while key backman Alex Pearce will return from a serious ankle injury via the WAFL.

MEDICAL ROOM The full AFL injury list

Bombers coach Ben Rutten was critical of the tactics Fremantle employed last week when tagging Zach Merrett.

Young Docker Caleb Serong held Merrett to a season-low 22 disposals, and importantly no clearances for the first time since 2014.

Brayshaw, who himself has copped a series of tight tags this year, didn't see anything wrong with it.