Fremantle defender Connor Blakely is backing Aaron Sandilands to make an immediate impact if the ruckman is recalled for Saturday night’s AFL clash with West Coast.

Sandilands hasn’t played since injuring his calf in the warm-up of the club’s round 15 loss to Brisbane last year.

The 211cm ruckman’s return was delayed by further calf setbacks over the pre-season, but he’s a strong chance to return to playing duties this weekend.

Just where that is remains to be seen, with the Dockers considering an immediate recall for a derby encounter against West Coast star Nic Naitanui.

Blakely admitted it would be tough for a player to come back straight into AFL ranks after a year out of the game.

But he thinks Sandilands, 36, could lift for the challenge.

“I’d love to see him back,” Blakely said.

“He trained really strongly on Saturday, had a big session. He’s been building really nicely over the last couple of months.

“If he were to come straight back in – Aaron’s a really hard trainer so he’d be more than ready to go. I’m sure he’d be able to run out the game.

“Sean Darcy has been playing some solid football for us, so those two guys would be able to work together pretty nicely.”

Fremantle could also welcome back Rory Lobb from a foot injury, while West Coast will be boosted by the return of Jeremy McGovern (suspension) and possibly Tom Barrass (calf).

The Dockers have lost eight derbies in a row, with their last win coming in round 3, 2015.

Fremantle players are keen to end that losing run.

But the main thing consuming their minds is breaking out of a mini slump that has seen them lose to strugglers Melbourne and Carlton over the past fortnight.

The loss to Carton was particularly hard to take, with Fremantle conceding four goals in the last six minutes to slump to the four-point loss.

It’s left them clinging to eighth spot with a 7-7 record, and Blakely said the team were desperate to make amends.

“We’re hurting after that loss,” he said.

“The last five minutes or so we let ourselves down.”