Fremantle will make a further forced change for Saturday's game against Collingwood with Michael Frederick ruled out due to soreness.
Senior Coach Justin Longmuir said in Thursday's media conference that the Club has decided to give the forward more time to recover with Fremantle going into a six-day break.
Frederick joins Hayden Young (ankle), Brennan Cox (ankle), Caleb Serong (suspended) and last week's substitute Karl Worner (calf) as players who will come out of the 23 for the Collingwood clash.
“(Frederick) has pulled up a bit sore from the weekend,” Longmuir said.
“A six day break probably rules him out.
“It’s disappointing but it’s a tight turnaround and he’s been a bit sore for the past couple of weeks.
“We don’t want to push him too hard.”
The loss of Cox has opened the door for the return of Joel Hamling, who has played just two games in the past three seasons, spending a significant amount of time on the sidelines due to an ankle injury.
In Peel’s win against Subiaco, Hamling had 17 disposals, 10 marks and four tackles.
“Joel Hamling will come in this week off the back of his best game of the year where he was really dominant in the contest. He’s put on a really good block of a month of footy and deserves the opportunity,” Longmuir said.
“It’s disappointing we’ve lost Coxy but it’s a great opportunity for Joel who’s worked really hard behind the scenes to get his footy in good order and he’s deserving of an opportunity.”
Longmuir spoke proudly of Hamling’s efforts behind the scenes at Fremantle, not just performing at Peel but working hard on bringing through the next generation of Fremantle defenders.
“I’m stoked for him (those outside the Club) only see a small percentage of it,” Longmuir said.
“The work to get over his injury and rehab, get back to somewhere near his best physically, and to be able to go out there and deal with the frustration of not playing AFL and playing in the WAFL.
“It’s been a long road. He’s deserving of an opportunity.
“I’ve been really proud of the way he’s helped Josh Draper and Hugh (Davies) along to develop their careers while he’s been at Peel.
“His game last week against Subi was really strong and his last month has been really strong.
“I’m proud of his journey and he’s going to go out there and play his role and he’ll help that back six really compete hard.”
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