Fremantle have confirmed the return of ruckman Sean Darcy ahead of RAC Derby 58, with the Club confirming the 203cm ruck will line up this weekend against the West Coast Eagles.

Darcy will play his 99th AFL game on Saturday, with the clash being the eighth time he has faced West Coast who he averages 35 hit-outs against. 

Senior Coach Justin Longmuir said the Club’s ruck combination of Luke Jackson and Darcy would be something that evolves over the course of the season.

“At this stage they will mix it up in the ruck, Sean will spend a little bit of time forward but not a heap of time,” Longmuir said to the media during Thursday afternoon's RAC Derby media conference. 

“We will probably try and mix it up a little bit more than we have in the past while Sean (Darcy) finds his form and fitness.

Darcy missed the first five games of the season due to a knee injury that required an arthroscope late in the pre-season. 

This weekend will also see the return of versatile forward Sam Sturt who will also play his first senior game for the season. 

Sturt featured in Peel’s 16-point victory over East Perth in round 3 of the WAFL, kicking a goal and gathering 10 disposals. 

“Sturt came back last week and played with great intensity in the forward line,” Longmuir said.

Sturt will replace Sam Switkowski who entered concussion protocols after showing some minor symptoms following the Club’s narrow loss to Port Adelaide last Saturday. 

He has been named on the extended bench alongside Tom Emmett, Matthew Johnson, Neil Erasmus and Ethan Hughes, with one to be confirmed as the substitute an hour before the bounce on Saturday. 

Cooper Simpson, Hugh Davies and Matt Taberner have been named as the emergencies.

Longmuir confirmed that the Club would take the cautious approach with Michael Frederick, giving him another week on the sidelines following his minor hamstring injury.

"We we’re hopeful obviously, when he first did that hamstring it looked like it was going to be a serious one but we got a good scan result which got our hopes up that it was only going to be one week," Longmuir said.

"He’s just a little bit short and given he’s had a couple of different soft tissue injuries we’ve opted on the side of giving him an extra week."

Bounce down for the clash will be at 6.10pm WST, with the game being broadcast live on Channel 7 and Fox Sports, and streamed live on Kayo.

TEAM v West Coast

IN: Sean Darcy, Sam Sturt
OUT: Sam Switkowski (injured), Matt Taberner (managed)

B: James Aish, Alex Pearce, Joshua Draper
HB: Brandon Walker, Luke Ryan, Jordan Clark
C: Hayden Young, Nat Fyfe, Jeremy Sharp
HF: Bailey Banfield, Josh Treacy, Jaeger O’Meara
FF: Michael Walters, Jye Amiss, Luke Jackson
R/Fol: Sean Darcy, Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw 
INT: Tom Emmett, Matthew Johnson, Sam Sturt, Neil Erasmus, Ethan Hughes

EMG: Cooper Simpson, Hugh Davies, Matt Taberner