UPDATE: Hayden Ballantyne has been withdrawn from Fremantle's trial match squad and has been replaced by Tanner Smith. Updated squad is below.

Thursday's trial match against West Coast at Patersons Stadium will now commence at 6.00pm because of the expected high temperature.

Gates will open at 5.00pm for the match, which had originally been slated to begin at 4.40pm.

Each team will have four interchanges and two substitutes, while the game will be played under normal AFL rules.

Teams will have an interchange rotation cap of 130. The AFL has introduced a new rotation cap of 120 for the home and away season, which gets underway on Friday 14 March when Freo takes on Collingwood at Etihad Stadium.

Freo has named close to its strongest team for the trial match against the Eagles.

Freo to finish pre-season with trial match against Eagles

The 27-man squad contains 21 of the players who lined up in last year's AFL Grand Final, as well as two of the emergencies from that game, Tom Sheridan and Jack Hannath.

Among the notable absentees from the squad are first 22 regulars Garrick Ibbotson and Zac Clarke, while Melbourne recruit Colin Sylvia has not been named.

The game will also serve as a crucial hit-out for Ryan Crowley, Chris Mayne, Clancee Pearce, Nick Suban and Cam Sutcliffe, who all missed the 84-point NAB Challenge loss to the Eagles.

Senior coach Ross Lyon will be treating the trial match as a full dress rehearsal for round 1's clash with Collingwood at Etihad Stadium, not to rectify the past result.

Trial match not about past results: Mzungu

Freo hit the home and away season running last year after a 109-point win in Mandurah over the Western Bulldogs in the club's final NAB Cup game.

Lyon selected a similarly strong squad on that occasion, so fans can expect Freo to be holding nothing back at Patersons Stadium on Thursday.

The Eagles have also selected a strong team, with ruckman Nic Naitanui named for his first match of the pre-season


Fremantle squad:

3       Zac Dawson
6       Danyle Pearce
7       Nat Fyfe
8       Nick Suban
9       Matt de Boer
10      Michael Walters
11      Tommy Sheridan
13      Tendai Mzungu
15      Ryan Crowley
16      David Mundy
17      Hayden Crozier
18      Luke McPharlin
20      Matt Taberner
21      Michael Barlow
22      Tanner Smith
23      Chris Mayne
24      Max Duffy
27      Lachie Neale
29      Matthew Pavlich
31      Aaron Sandilands
32      Stephen Hill
33      Cam Sutcliffe
34      Lee Spurr
37      Michael Johnson
38      Jack Hannath
41      Paul Duffield
46      Clancee Pearce

West Coast squad:

1. Mitch Brown
2. Mark LeCras
3. Andrew Gaff
4. Dom Sheed
5. Brad Sheppard
6. Elliot Yeo
7. Chris Masten
9. Nic Naitanui
11. Matt Priddis
12. Sharrod Wellingham
13. Luke Shuey
15. Jamie Cripps
16. Eric Mackenzie
17. Josh Kennedy
18. Xavier Ellis
20. Dean Cox
21. Brant Colledge
22. Callum Sinclair
23. Darren Glass
24. Matt Rosa
25. Shannon Hurn
27. Jack Darling
29. Scott Lycett
31. Will Schofield
33. Josh Hill
34. Mark Hutchings
44. Jamie Bennell