logo
Will supersub Fyfe be unleashed against the Blues?

Will supersub Fyfe be unleashed against the Blues?

Perth Now3 days ago
Fremantle veteran Nat Fyfe could reprise his supersub role as early as this week as the two-time Brownlow Medal winner prepares to make his latest comeback from injury.
Fyfe missed the start of the season as he built back from knee surgery, then missed more time with a hamstring tear before making his AFL return in round 12 as the sub.
The 33-year-old managed just three games before straining his calf while warming up as the sub at halftime of the round 16 win over St Kilda.
Fyfe is now ready to return to playing duties, and a comeback via the WAFL is one viable option.
But Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is also weighing up whether to bring Fyfe back as the sub for Sunday's clash with Carlton at Optus Stadium.
Longmuir pulled the same move when Fyfe was ready to return from his hamstring injury earlier this year.
"He offers us a lot as the sub, with his leadership, his maturity, his calm presence on the bench," Longmuir said of Fyfe, who is coming out of contract and is no certainty to play on next year.
"And he's been able to come on as the sub and impact through the middle of the game with his experience, role play and contest work.
"I'm open to a variety of different roles Fyfe can play, but the No.1 thing is to get is body right and confidence in his body.
"It's about making sure we build his footy and confidence in his body so he can really make the most of the last period of the season."
In a perfect world, Fyfe would come on at three-quarter time against Carlton to add some late impact.
But Longmuir knows playing Fyfe as the sub in his first game back comes with risks.
"If you get an injury in the first quarter, can that player hold up for three quarters? That's always a consideration," Longmuir said.
"There's a balance of what Fyfey needs and what the team needs.
"He needs to be fit and confident in his body and game."
Skipper Alex Pearce is also a chance to return after recovering from a lingering hot spot in his shin.
Pearce was sidelined for five weeks with the injury, returned against Sydney in round 17, before being sidelined again for the next three weeks after experiencing a flare-up from that game.
"I'm more confident than last time. I can't say 100 per cent though," Longmuir replied when asked about the risks of a recurrence.
"There's always a risk, but I feel like he's done the work and is in a good spot.
"I think we've probably been a little bit more conservative this time, so it should hold him in good stead."
Meanwhile, defender Kyle Worner has signed a two-year contract extension, tying him to Fremantle until the end of 2027.
The seventh-placed Dockers (13-6) have won nine of their past 10 games to be just percentage adrift of fourth spot with four games remaining.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Where Fremantle Dockers' finals hopes sit ahead of clash with Carlton Blues
Where Fremantle Dockers' finals hopes sit ahead of clash with Carlton Blues

West Australian

time2 hours ago

  • West Australian

Where Fremantle Dockers' finals hopes sit ahead of clash with Carlton Blues

Fremantle have officially hit the business end. And the task is now simple — just keep winning. The high-flying Dockers — who have won nine of their past 10 games — jumped above Greater Western Sydney into sixth on the ladder on Thursday after the Giants were belted by the Western Bulldogs. But the Dogs' victory means Justin Longmuir's side is likely now needs to win three of their remaining four games to play finals. That run starts with a clash with Carlton at Optus Stadium on Sunday, which they will enter as heavy favourites. Fremantle then take on Port Adelaide, reigning premiers Brisbane and the Bulldogs in the final month of the season. According to Champion Data, that is the eighth hardest run home of any side. The Bulldogs' stunning 88-point win over the Giants means their blockbuster round 24 match against the Dockers is already looming large as the one set to decide both teams' finals hopes. If Luke Beveridge's side had lost, the Dockers would have almost certainly made finals by winning just two of their four remaining matches, taking the heat off their end to the season. It means Fremantle fans should be right behind the Bulldogs' opponents across the next two weeks — and that includes West Coast. The eighth-placed Bulldogs play battlers Melbourne off a 10-day break next Sunday, before they take on the last-placed Eagles at Marvel Stadium. Beveridge said they are not looking any further than that clash with the Demons. 'It is that cliché about just the next opponent. We have got Melbourne at the 'G on a Sunday, which is a fair way away now, so we have a bit of time to think about it, which is not always a good thing,' Beveridge said. 'We really don't look much further.' GWS are the only top-nine team the Bulldogs have beaten this season. It's the stat most likely to haunt them as they try to pip the Dockers in the race to the finals. 'We understand the criticism around not necessarily being able to eek our way further up the later and beating some teams above us,' Beveridge said. 'We understand that, we have got to own up to all of that.' The Giants' defeat brings them back down into the pack. They could have cemented their place in the Thursday night blockbuster. 'The Bulldogs felt like they were playing for their season and clearly we weren't,' coach Adam Kingsley said. 'We'd prefer it didn't happen, but we have got an opportunity to respond. I don't think that (the performance) is us, and it hasn't been us for a long time, but it was tonight.' Fremantle star Hayden Young's return has helped turbocharge their run to the finals. He told The West Australian earlier this week the team's best football was good enough to beat any of their rivals at the top end of the ladder. 'We beat top of the ladder (Collingwood) last week, so it just proves to us that, you know, when we can play our brand for longer, we can beat anyone. And we keep believing in that and keep working on those few areas about not falling away,' Young said.

AFL Round 21, Adelaide vs Hawthorn live updates, blog, scores and stats
AFL Round 21, Adelaide vs Hawthorn live updates, blog, scores and stats

ABC News

time11 hours ago

  • ABC News

AFL Round 21, Adelaide vs Hawthorn live updates, blog, scores and stats

Adelaide Oval is the venue for a Friday night blockbuster, with the Crows looking to hold their top two spot and Hawthorn attempting to grab a vital win on the road as the finals race tightens. Adelaide goes into the game off the back of demolitions of Gold Coast and cross-town rivals Port Adelaide, while Hawthorn is seeking its seventh win in eight games, but knowing that they have to beat at least one of their top-eight rivals on the run home or they could miss out on September. Follow the live blog below, keep up to date with all the latest stats in our ScoreCentre, and tune in to our live radio coverage.

Windy Hill dispute: Cricket Australia calls for AFL compromise
Windy Hill dispute: Cricket Australia calls for AFL compromise

The Australian

time12 hours ago

  • The Australian

Windy Hill dispute: Cricket Australia calls for AFL compromise

Todd Greenberg has called on cricket and AFL administrators to 'behave like grown-ups' to resolve the battleground being waged over Essendon's iconic Windy Hill. Essendon Cricket Club is in the midst of a heated stand-off with Essendon Football Club after both organisations scheduled competing fixtures at the ground for the same time in October. A few weeks after Essendon Football announced AFLW matches, Essendon Cricket did the same for Premier Cricket fixtures – and now the Cricket Australia chief executive has called for the two sports to come to the table for the greater good of both codes. The AFL blocked the Sheffield Shield Final being played at Adelaide Oval due to it being football season, and while Cricket Australia was accepting of the reasons behind that decision, they also want compromises to be a two-way street. Greenberg said he was not pointing the finger at the AFL, and said cricket also needed to work towards a practical solution that doesn't compromise future grants and infrastructure projects by local and State Governments. 'All of the sports, us included, we all need to behave like grownups,' Greenberg said at a Cricket Australia announcement that Westpac has taken over as its major sponsor. 'We're playing more and more cricket outside our traditional seasons, as are the footy codes. We're playing cricket now in August. AFLW will create issues where they need more access to grounds. 'So we've got to work collaboratively and we've got to work with councils, state governments and federal governments to try and create ways to use all the infrastructure together. 'Yeah, we're going to bump into each other occasionally but I do think if we work together we can find solutions. 'They (the AFL) have a traditional window, we have a traditional window. Of course we're going to protect those traditional windows but on each of those windows are shoulder seasons for both of our sports and we're looking to play more games in shoulder seasons as are they. 'So we have to find ways that we work together. 'I haven't been disappointed (with the AFL) at all. I'm a realist to know that everyone is going to try and protect their own patch. So everyone is going to try and effectively secure the best outcome for their own sport, all I'm saying is we've got to make sure we're the grownups at the table and we've got to take problems away from Governments and give them solutions. 'And if we do those sort of things they'll continue to invest more in the infrastructure that we all need. 'We bumped into each other a little bit this year around the Sheffield Shield final in Adelaide and we understand the complexities of it, but to generate the sort of millions and billions of dollars in investment that go into stadiums, we're going to have to work together on these things.' The cricketing Bombers were financially compensated when they allowed the Essendon AFLW team to play at the ground in 2023 and 2024. But cricket club president Simon Tobin said that in the absence of any deal for 2025, 'it's business as usual as far as Cricket Victoria and Premier Cricket goes''. Asked if his club was digging in, he said: 'It's not just a case of digging in. We have nowhere else to go. It's our home ground and has been for many years. 'It's not just four men's team this impacts. We've got 10 junior teams at Essendon. On any given Friday night during October you'll have three Under 10s matches being played. So it's not a question of digging in. It's about playing cricket in cricket season, as we have done for 150 years.'' He said the issue boiled down to the football club wanting to play four hours of football at Windy Hill at the expense of eight weeks of cricket. Tobin said the cricket club had asked for mediation, formally and informally, but through their lawyers the AFL Bombers had refused. 'We couldn't be more disappointed,'' he said. 'It's evidence of their bullying and arrogant attitude. For all the espousing they do about their great community work, when it really counts they do what suits them best. 'They talk about all parties having to compromise and making sacrifices, but their interpretation of compromise is as long as they're not inconvenienced and someone else is paying the price, that's all the matters.'' Cricket National selectors have overlooked veteran batsmen for next month's Australia A tour of India, instead focusing on players they believe could feature in the 2027 Test series. Cricket While scheduling looms large as the single biggest hurdle for Cricket Australia to overcome if, as expected, it sells off minority stakes in its Big Bash clubs, England's current injury dramas have highlighted a possible issue with such a privatisation push.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store