Forward Sam Sturt and midfielder James Aish will make their club debuts when Freo take on Essendon this Saturday at Marvel Stadium.
Senior coach Justin Longmuir confirmed the selection of the pair after Wednesday’s training session at Optus Stadium.
Taken at pick 17, Sturt was Fremantle’s top selection in the 2018 NAB National Draft and has been named at half forward.
Aish was traded to Fremantle from Collingwood during the 2019 Telstra AFL Trade Period and has been named on the wing along with Brett Bewley.
Brennan Cox has been named across half back after making the transition from the forward line to defence, while Luke Ryan looks to return to the back six for his 50th AFL game after missing Fremantle’s second Marsh Community Series game with back soreness.
Through the middle, Nat Fyfe will be running alongside some of Freo’s young guns in Andrew Brayshaw, Adam Cerra and Darcy Tucker.
Rory Lobb will start the game at full forward after impressing with his marking ability throughout pre-season and will likely rotate with Sean Darcy, who has brushed off any injury concerns to line up in the ruck.
TEAM v ESSENDON
Backs: Luke Ryan, Griffin Logue, Ethan Hughes
Half-backs: Reece Conca, Brennan Cox, Taylin Duman
Centre: Brett Bewley, Nat Fyfe, James Aish
Half-forwards: Sam Sturt, Matt Taberner, Bailey Banfield
Full forwards: Travis Colyer, Rory Lobb, Michael Walters
Ruck/followers: Sean Darcy, Darcy Tucker, Andrew Brayshaw
Interchange: Adam Cerra, Lachie Schultz, Mitchell Crowden, Cam McCarthy
Emergencies: Caleb Serong, Connor Blakely, Tobe Watson, Brandon Matera
Bouncedown for the lockout clash is at 11.10am (WST) on Saturday and the game will be broadcast live into Perth on Channel 7 and nationally on Foxtel. The match will also be streamed live via Kayo and AFL Live Pass.
