Fremantle coach Ross Lyon says he is open to considering some sentimental selections for what promises to be an emotional farewell to club hero Matthew Pavlich next Sunday.
The former Freo Dockers captain and club games record holder will bring down the curtain on his long AFL career in front of Fremantle's home crowd in his 17th and final season.
Pavlich is expected to run out alongside ruckman Aaron Sandilands, should the big man prove his fitness ahead of the match against the Western Bulldogs.
Lyon said the likes of Matt de Boer, Nick Suban and Tendai Mzungu, who have missed games as the Freo Dockers focused on youth, would be in the frame to be picked given they have played alongside Pavich for significant parts of his career.
"That is something we will consider. I think it would be remiss of us not to," Lyon said after Saturday's loss to Greater Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium.
"The spirit doesn't drop one bit" - Yarran
"I think we can't be stupid about it but it is something we will consider.
"There's always room for sentiment and emotion but there's always an opportunity cost.
"Does that cost someone a game of development?"
The clash against the Bulldogs will be 35-year-old Pavlich's 353rd in Freo colours and Lyon said the prospect of giving one of the club's favourite sons a fitting send-off would hopefully inspire the team in the final game of what has been a horrid season.
"Out of the wreck you're looking for some purpose and that should give us some real purpose, that bit of an emotional hook to really see it out towards the end," Lyon said.
The Fremantle Dockers began brightly against Greater Western Sydney, even holding a lead early in the match.
However, the visitors fell away after half-time, when they managed just two behinds to lose by 92 points. It was the Giants' biggest winning margin in the club's short history and the biggest loss in Lyon's history as a senior coach.
"At times we had options and were out and we just sort of really made a meal of it," Lyon said.
Spurr focused on finding consistency
"You could see their ability to be clean and hit targets was significantly better than ours.
"We talk about not letting effort get dictated by the scoreboard, but that desire, that willpower, it is hard to maintain it."
One positive to come out from the match was the efforts of Shane Yarran, who kicked three opening-term goals in just his fifth AFL game.
While the mature-age recruit did not add to his tally after quarter-time, Lyon noted the 27-year-old's calf tightened up during the match, adding that Yarran had fewer opportunities to score as Freo's inside 50s dropped away in the second half.
"What you saw when we can give him some good supply and a little bit of space, he is super dangerous," Lyon said.
"He understands that there is plenty of work to do and nothing but upside for him. He is an exciting young player, young in AFL terms."
