Whoever makes way for the potential return of Brennan Cox against Brisbane this Sunday will be ‘stiff’ to miss out of selection, according to Senior Coach Justin Longmuir.
A 2022 All Australian squad member, Cox will be an automatic in if fit, and Longmuir said he would consider sending the 195cm tall to the forwardline if needed.
Cox has had some success as a forward in his early years at Fremantle, including kicking four goals against Adelaide in 2018 on the way to earning a rising star nomination.
If Cox plays forward it does not make the selection decision any easier, with Longmuir highlighting the efforts of Josh Corbett and Josh Treacy against Geelong.
“It's a pretty significant hurdle he's got to get through. He has to get through some agility work (at Wednesday’s main training) and then make sure he pulls up okay but he's tracking well,” Longmuir said.
“Brisbane have a lot of aerial threats in their forward half. Whoever misses out is going to be pretty stiff because it was a really even performance on the weekend. That's footy though sometimes.
“We'd consider (Cox going forward) but one of our forwards would be pretty stiff to miss out as well because we have to get the balance right down there.”
Longmuir also said he was weighing up what to do with former Fremantle Docker Lachie Neale, who was dominant for the Lions against Freo in round seven with 35 disposals, 13 clearances and 25 contested possessions.
Neale has copped a tag in recent weeks, limited to 17 disposals against Gold Coast and 19 disposals against Melbourne – both Lions losses.
Longmuir said Young had already approached him about taking on the role after tagging Patrick Dangerfield in last week’s win against Geelong.
“He's (Young) been knocking on my door. We'll need to weigh that up. We haven't had selection yet,” Longmuir said.
“We've had guys play roles like that, (James) Aish has done it, Youngy did it on the weekend. We'll work through the best option.
"One thing we can't do is let him have the game he had against us last time.”
