Justin Longmuir has confirmed Jesse Hogan will return to football this weekend, however the senior coach is yet to make the call on whether the forward’s return will be via the AFL.
Fremantle have organised a scratch match with Brisbane to be played at 10am on Saturday, with the AFL clash against the Lions to kick off at 1.45pm AEST at the Gabba.
Longmuir said Hogan was ready to pull on the boots for the first time since June last year.
“He’ll play footy this weekend. We’ll decide later today or early tomorrow whether it’s at AFL level,” Longmuir said.
“The thing we have to realise with Jesse is, he hasn’t played senior footy for a year now.
“We want to see him play for the Fremantle Football Club again but we want to make sure he’s resilient to last the whole season.
“We’ve got to put everything on the table and work out what’s the best call for us as a footy club but also Jesse as a player.”
Hogan has been a rejuvenated player around the club, according to Longmuir.
“He’s pumped,” Longmuir said.
“He’s a new person around the place. He’s invested in what we’re doing.
“He’s obviously physically in good shape which is helping his mental wellbeing.
“He’s enjoying being around the footy club again and he’s enjoying competing. The signs are really good for him and for us as a club.”
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Longmuir said midfielder Stephen Hill was in a similar situation as Hogan, with Fremantle looking to take a conservative approach.
“Hill is a chance to play. He’s done everything asked of him,” Longmuir said.
“He’s probably a little bit like Jesse, (we’re thinking) how can we make sure that he gets through, not just round two, but the rest of the season.
“We’ll have another chat with the medicos after training tomorrow and work out a plan going forward.
“ I see him as a top-10 player for us, he’s been a star of our club for a long period of time and I want to make sure we build a resilient footballer again, one that an contribute week in week out.”
Longmuir gave the green light for David Mundy, Nathan Wilson and Matt Taberner to play on Saturday.
“’Barra' (Mundy) and Nathan…would have been ready to go in round two if it stayed where it was in the fixture,” Longmuir said.
“They’ve pretty much done another mini pre-season.
“I’ve been really impressed with the way they’ve presented after the shutdown and their training has been outstanding. They will be a lock to play.
“Tabs is right to go. He had a back complaint and everything he’s done this week has shown that he’s right to play.”
Fremantle will hold their main training session on Thursday on the training oval next to Metricon Stadium.
Longmuir said the session would be crucial for Sam Sturt to prove his fitness from a minor back injury.
“Sam’s got to get through training tomorrow,” Longmuir said.
“He’s coming off a short run so we’ll leave that call until a little bit later.
“He participated in our match sim last week, he got through that well and we want to he him have a good hitout tomorrow and see how he pulls up.”
