With the loss of Aaron Sandilands through injury and Cam McCarthy through suspension, Fremantle will look through a number of options for selection for the upcoming clash with North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.
Sunday’s clash is the first of Fremantle’s two visits to the stadium this year, with Lyon noting that the ground usually leads to faster and more free flowing contests.
Fremantle opted to go tall up front against St Kilda at Domain Stadium, starting Sandilands in the forward line alongside McCarthy before the veteran ruckman came off with a hamstring injury.
While Lyon is hopeful that midfielders Stephen Hill and Connor Blakely will make their returns, the loss of Sandilands and McCarthy opens the door for Freo’s tall forwards currently playing in the WAFL.
“It’s going to be challenging. Ethiad’s a different surface and a quick surface,” Lyon said.
“We’ve exposed most of our list (this season), there’s only a couple of young lads down there to have a look at. Our depth chart on key forwards isn’t that deep.
“We’re aiming to have Stephen Hill available, Connor Blakely comes back available. There were some good performances in the twos, (defender) Ryan Nyhuis played well, and (forwards) Shane Kersten and Matt Taberner.
“There’s a bit in the mix but we’ll have to get through training.”
Fremantle go into round 16 without a win in their past five games, with their past two decided by a margin of less than 10 points.
Despite the disappointment of the losses, Lyon said he could see positive signs from Freo’s list development.
“St Kilda have been rebuilding for five years and we think we had some quality out of the team with (Harley) Bennell, Hill and Alex Pearce,” Lyon said.
“The big picture is we’re growing, we’re learning and we feel like we’re on the path.
“In saying that we want to win games and we’re going across to try and win the game against North Melbourne, at the same time there’s the dual narrative of continued development.
“We’re pleased with how we’ve attacked the game over the past two weeks. We’ve fallen short but we’ll learn from it and move on.”
Lyon added that he would like to see McCarthy take some time to rest during his two weeks on the sidelines.
McCarthy missed the entire of the 2016 season while at the GWS Giants and is feeling the effects from a long pre-season, according to Lyon.
“It’s been a big load after a year off,” Lyon said.
“In pre-season he never missed – he’s done everything and this is the hardest part of the year.
“There isn’t the vibrancy of the start or the excitement of finals at the end. It’s that real grindy period and young players, it can get a hold of them.
“For Cam, he was a bit sore in his groin so it’s an opportunity for him to rest.
“He’ll train, as you decondition relatively quickly, so he’ll continue to train but we’ll probably freshen him up a little bit.”
