Fremantle will fly to Melbourne on Friday with the confidence of putting together a strong performance against Essendon on Sunday at Marvel Stadium.
The two sides have shared close encounters over the past few seasons, particularly in Victoria, with Essendon finding themselves on the winning side of the ledger.
The last three outings against the Bombers at the Docklands venue have seen Fremantle go down by seven points (2021), six points (2020) and seven points (2019).
Executive General Manager of Football Peter Bell told SEN WA that while Fremantle has been close in recent years, the belief is strong within the group to come away with the win on Sunday.
“It’s interesting the record, we actually think we play the ground pretty well by and large,” Bell told SEN WA.
“Particularly against Essendon, the last two games against them at Marvel we have had our chances to win.
“I think from memory last year, ‘Tabs’ (Matt Taberner) missed a snap at goal which would’ve put us up by 20 points mid-way through the last quarter.
“The Bombers were good enough to get over the top of us.
“We know they are a fast team and they play that deck really well and have a lot of dangerous players, but we go over very confident that we can take it up to them.”
Fremantle’s best 22 on Sunday aren’t the only ones in action this weekend, with Peel’s season kicking off on Friday evening as round one of the 2022 WAFL competition gets underway.
Young Fremantle forward pairing Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy will line-up for Peel, as they take on East Perth at Lane Group Stadium.
When asked about Amiss and Treacy, Bell said he was looking forward to seeing them continue to compete strongly after interrupted summers.
“They had interrupted pre-seasons, both of them, and for that reason we just want them to build some form and get some playing time into their legs,” Bell said.
“They have been pretty good over the past couple of weeks and have been competing really hard, and that’s all we expect.
“We want them to get down there, get some footy behind them, compete hard and take your opportunities when they present.
“We want them to play their role in the forward line, whether that means you finish on the end of a nice kick or you are creating space or bringing the ball to the ground for the smalls.”
