While Luke Ryan is showing ‘promising signs’ of playing against Richmond on Wednesday at Metricon Stadium, senior coach Justin Longmuir has revealed Fremantle’s plans if the star defender isn’t available for selection.
One option includes selecting Hugh Dixon, who hasn’t played since his debut in round 23 of last season, and has made the switch from training as a tall forward to tall defender.
“It’s just a question on if we go smaller and play ‘Aishy’ (James Aish) down back or maybe bring in Hugh Dixon, or someone like that, who can help us aerially,” Longmuir said.
“Fingers crossed that Luke gets up but we’ve got some contingencies in place.”
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Ryan remains well in the frame to play, with Longmuir saying the defender had pulled up better than he initially thought following Fremantle’s loss to GWS on Saturday.
“He’ll have to do a little bit to prove his fitness and if he gets through that he’ll put his hand up, he’s really keen to play and he’s improved rapidly over the last couple days, so the signs are promising,” Longmuir said.
“It’s just a bruise, so it’s pretty much a cork. He’s had treatment daily on that and it’s heading in the right direction.”
Fremantle held their main training session on Monday night at Metricon Stadium and Longmuir was pleasantly surprised with how well the players fared after Saturday’s game and Sunday’s travel.
“They’ve pulled up really well,” Longmuir said.
“I don’t know whether it was the weather last night but they were bouncing out of their skins.
“We actually had to hold them back they were feeling that good. It’s a good sign.”
While Fremantle’s finals hopes were all but dashed after their loss to the Giants, Longmuir would be reluctant to experiment in Freo’s final four games.
“We’re still trying to embed a new game plan, a new philosophy,” Longmuir said.
“We’ll just continue trying to build that and embed that so we can hit the pre-season ready to go.
“Our players are still working their way through their own roles at the moment rather than focusing on a secondary role. We’ll continue to embed what we’re trying to embed.”
