Fremantle captain Alex Pearce says he's angling to wear a purple arm protector when he returns to action post-surgery, if the "boring" AFL allows it.

Pearce said he was hoping to return to action for the Dockers against Hawthorn next week, after successful surgery on his broken left arm.

He suffered the injury after landing awkwardly on his arm during a marking contest in Fremantle's win over Gold Coast two weeks ago.

"It's feeling pretty good, still a bit swollen and a little bit sore, just from the surgery itself," he told ABC Radio Perth.

"I have to be really careful with the sort of exercise I do not to sweat too much because it can be a risk of infection.

"There's a few things we're sort of keeping an eye on at the moment. But yeah, hopefully one or two weeks I'll be back in and good to go."

'Dockers purple' armguard

Pearce has been fitted for a protective plastic guard and will wear it when he returns.

Whether it's in Dockers purple remains to be seen.

"Purple would match the jersey, but the AFL might have something to say about what I'm actually allowed to wear," he said.

Flagmantle?

Pearce admitted he struggled to watch the game.

"It was nerve-racking sitting at home watching," he said.

"I didn't enjoy watching that for a second.

"We went into the game pretty confident we could give it a real shake. And to actually go and beat the best team in the competition at their home ground gives us some great confidence."

The result has propelled the Dockers into the premiership conversation, an expectation Pearce said his side had believed in all season.

"We've tried to instill really high expectations in the group right from the preseason, right before Christmas," he said.

"We want that to be our DNA, that every week we go out there we're practicing for grand final day, and we're expecting to be able to beat every team there is.

"I've believed this for a while and I'm pretty sure my teammates have as well. So that's the mindset we've tried to have all the way through."

The Dockers host Richmond this weekend in what will be coach Justin Longmuir's 100th game in charge.