Defender Ethan Hughes says his teammates remain focused on round one despite looking forward to their first pre-season test in just over a fortnight.
Fremantle will head to Adelaide to take part in the inaugural AFLX tournament, played at Hindmarsh Stadium on Thursday 15 February.
The high-octane version of the game will suit Hughes. When the AFL released GPS data from round 17 of the 2017 season, Hughes was revealed to be the fastest runner that round, clocked at 35.6km/h.
“It’s very fast paced and there’s high scoring so that’s pretty exciting for the fans,” Hughes said.
Drawn into Pool A, Freo will face Geelong and Port Adelaide on the night with two games consisting of two 10-minute halves.
The winner from Pool A will face the winner from Pool B in a final, which is made up of Adelaide, Collingwood and West Coast.
With the speed and intensity in the AFL lifting in recent seasons, Hughes says Fremantle’s preparations for season proper will hold them in good stead for AFLX.
“It’s something we’re going to figure out with the new style of footy, so we’ll see what happens,” Hughes said.
“We don’t devote our whole training session to AFLX but it’s in the back of our minds as it’s coming up.
“We’re training for the AFL season which is where the premierships and the points come from so once we get there we’ll be fit and ready for round one.”
