Fremantle vice-captain Hayley Miller is in a race to be fit to play in this weekend’s blockbuster western derby.

The former Dockers skipper, who is sharing on-field captaincy duties with Laura Pugh, was a late withdrawal from last week’s defeat to Carlton with a calf problem.

In the pre-derby press conference on Tuesday, Fremantle coach Lisa Webb said they were “certainly hopeful” Miller would return to play.

“She loves her derbies but we’ve got a bit to work through this week in her case,” she said.

Meanwhile a former Docker could be the woman to help West Coast break their derby duck.

Amy Franklin is nearing a return from a broken finger sustained in their round four win over Collingwood.

“With ‘Frankie’, she’s coming back from a broken finger,” AFLW high-performance manager Wes Salisbury said.

“If she gets through full training this week, she’ll put her hand up for selection against Freo.”

Courtney Rowley could be in line to play her first AFLW game in more than 345 days with the Eagles midfielder training strongly as she continues her return from an ACL injury suffered in their final round loss to Adelaide last season.

The 21-year-old came through a club scrimmage strongly at the weekend and will now be a test to see if she will be back for the weekend’s derby.

“She’ll put her hand up and if she gets through full training, she’ll be available for the weekend,” Salisbury said.

Draftee Jess Rentsch will have an MRI on her ankle injury suffered at the weekend but remains an outside chance to face the Dockers while Kellie Gibson is still being assessed after coming off after a blow to the chest against the Hawks.