Fremantle are hoping to bolster the line-up that defeated Port Adelaide in a pre-season game, with the likes of Luke Jackson, Luke Ryan, Michael Frederick and Michael Walters all expected to be available for selection in round one against St Kilda.
Freo defeated the Power by 31 points on Thursday at Fremantle Oval in their final hitout ahead of the Saints clash on Sunday 19 March at Marvel Stadium.
Executive General Manager of Football Peter Bell said Jackson was the most certain to return from concussion, while there remained doubt about Walters, who is battling an achilles issue.
“They’re all obviously in different situations. The short answer is we’re expecting they all should be available,” Bell said on SEN WA about Jackson, Ryan, Frederick and Walters.
“Luke Jackson definitely will (play).
“Luke Ryan’s been struggling a little bit with a sore back, but his signs are good.
“Michael Frederick (quad), we’re very confident will be available and Michael Walters as well.
“It will just be a matter of what sort of volume have we got into Sonny particularly, and what’s the best course to set him up for what is a long season.”
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Bell said Walters may need time to build his match fitness before he runs out for Freo for the first time this year.
“That’s a decision that high performance and coaching will make,” Bell said.
“He’s still got a few other boxes to tick before we get to that decision.
“You would think that we’d need to either get some really strong training into him or some match sim as well.
“We’ll make those decisions when Michael is ready to go.”
Bell also gave an update on winger Nathan O’Driscoll, who played minutes in a match sim against Peel on Thursday as he recovers from a foot injury.
“Nathan’s just coming to hand with a bit of a hot spot in his foot,” Bell said.
“He played a half in the Peel match sim last week, so we’ll look to build him as well.”
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