Fremantle senior coach Ross Lyon expects a tough ruck battle in Thursday night’s blockbuster despite Collingwood big man Brodie Grundy ruled out.
Grundy has not recovered from a neck injury he suffered during training 10 days ago but Lyon said young Magpie ruckman Jarrod Witts would still be a tall task for Freo.
Lyon said he watched Collingwood beat Greater Western Sydney by 42 points earlier this month.
“Witts was pretty impressive against (Shane) Mumford,” he said.
“Jesse White can play in the ruck too.”
Four time All Australian Aaron Sandilands has been in arguably career best form this season, setting two VFL/AFL hit-out records and the ruck looms as an area Freo may be able to exploit Collingwood.
However, Lyon said while on paper that might be the case, it will be much tougher on the field.
“Sometimes it’s easier said than done,” he said.
Match Preview: Fremantle v Collingwood
Lyon said Collingwood put a lot of pressure on the opposition and had a good spread of players.
“They have a really strong blend, they have tall forwards,” he said.
“(Dane) Swan and (Scott) Pendlebury are proven over a long period of time to be two of the best midfielders in the competition.
“We strike them confident…with a lot of belief.”
Fremantle play Collingwood at Domain Stadium on Thursday 25 June. Bounce down is at 6.10pm.
