Fremantle’s Ryan Crowley will play his 150th game on Saturday, which will make him eligible for life membership at the club. It’s been a remarkable turnaround for ‘Crowls’ under the tutelage of Ross Lyon. Close to being delisted at the end of the 2011 season, he is now the premier tagger of the competition.
WATCH on Docker TV: Player messages for Crowley
Lions to reacquaint with ‘the wall’
When the teams last met in round 3, 2012, Brisbane gained an AFL record it’d rather be without. Freo allowed the Lions just 20 entries inside 50 – the lowest total ever recorded by Champion Data. Michael Voss must have felt like his team was kicking into a giant purple wall erected around the 50m arc. Scary to think that was only Ross Lyon’s third game in charge of Freo and that the side has improved its ability to shut down the opposition since then.
No bookends for Brisbane
Brisbane faces the huge challenge of playing without its bookends on Saturday because full forward Jonathon Brown and full back Daniel Merrett have both been rubbed out by the AFL tribunal. Voss will have to make do without the inspirational presence of his captain, Brown, although the unavailability of Matthew Pavlich in Freo’s attack somewhat offsets Merrett’s absence.
Freo’s big man advantage
For most rounds this season, Freo has faced a big ruck challenge minus Aaron Sandilands and Jon Griffin. But Matthew Leuenberger’s unavailability leaves the Lions shorthanded in the big man department. Brisbane lost the hitouts 51-27 in its last match, so look for Zac Clarke to wield amajor influence at the stoppages opposed to young Lion Billy Longer.
