For Michael Barlow, that first centre-square contest against Collingwood’s vaunted midfield can’t come quickly enough.
“The talk is done now,” he said.
“A lot of hype has been made about our year last year, but internally, we just want the 2014 season to start so we can play what we’ve trained for and really challenge ourselves to give Fremantle another opportunity.”
Barlow added launching the AFL season against the Magpies was an honour for the club.
“I think we’ll relish the opportunity to open the season, it’s a great sign of where the club is at now,” he said.
“We can keep gaining respect from the football community. It’s an exciting time.”
Reid and White out for Pies
The prolific midfielder predicted an intense contest on Friday night against a side he said possessed a number of elite players.
Freo defeated Nathan Buckley’s men in a thrilling match at Patersons Stadium in round 7 last season.
“We had a gruelling game here in Perth and I think both teams match up fairly well against each other,” Barlow said.
“They’re quite an attacking side and they like to run and gun, and we’re perceived as the opposite.”
One area Fremantle hoped to clean up was its conversion on goal, which Barlow said had not been good enough in the pre-season.
But he said the players were doing all they could to ensure goal kicking was not a problem against Collingwood.
“One of Ross Lyon’s major mantras is ‘you’ve got to train away your deficiencies’,” Barlow said.
“We’ve been having more shots on goal over the past month at training and making sure we’re putting ourselves in a game-like mode when we’re doing it.
“Hopefully, that comes to life on the big stage this Friday night.”
