3 minute read
Fremantle's young midfield brigade will be aiming to bounce back from last week's shellacking against Carlton when they confront Hawthorn in Perth on Sunday.
Hawthorn have handed veteran Shaun Burgoyne a rest for Sunday's AFL clash with Fremantle in Perth, while the Dockers have loaded up their forward line.
Burgoyne has been listed as an emergency for the match, but is still theoretically a chance to play as the medical sub.
The Dockers welcome back skipper Nat Fyfe from concussion, while spearhead Josh Treacy has been named for his AFL debut.
Young forward Sam Sturt has also been included, meaning Fremantle will have a three-pronged spearhead attack of Matt Taberner, Treacy, and Sturt.
Defender Tobe Watson also returns, with Stefan Giro (omitted), Hayden Young (hamstring), Lachie Schultz (concussion), and Sam Switkowski (finger) going out.
The Hawks welcome back Michael Hartley and Tim O'Brien.
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir will keep faith in his fledgling midfield group despite their flop against Carlton last week.
The Dockers' young midfield brigade copped a hammering during the 45-point AFL defeat to Carlton, losing the clearance battle 43-29, and contested possessions 144-127.
Emerging stars Caleb Serong, Adam Cerra, and Andrew Brayshaw all had their colours lowered, but Longmuir is confident his group will bounce back against the Hawks.
"I keep backing our young mids in," Longmuir said.
"The effort and performances they've put in so far have been pretty good.
"I can cop getting beaten, but (as a team) we didn't play our way last week.
"My comments after the game about us hanging our teammates out to dry was because we didn't work together.
"We're not a team that plays one on one or relies on individual brilliance. We've got to do it together, and we didn't do it well enough together last weekend."
Fyfe played exclusively as a forward in the round two win over GWS before being knocked out, but he's expected to rotate between the midfield and attack against Hawthorn.
Fremantle veteran Michael Walters said it was up to everyone within the team to stand tall when things are going against them.
"We have to strike a balance. We can't just rely on the leaders and older players to step up in a leadership role," Walters said.
"We need everyone who's out there to use voice, to talk and to communicate. We can't just rely on myself, David Mundy, and Fyfe. We need everyone to do it."
Hawthorn (1-2) will be aiming to bounce back from Monday's heartbreaking five-point loss to Geelong.
