Tobe Watson is set to return to the starting 22 when Fremantle take on North Melbourne on Saturday at Metricon Stadium, according to senior coach Justin Longmuir.
The defender will play his third AFL game in the clash as he comes in for fellow back Reece Conca, who has a tight hamstring.
Longmuir said he was wary of selecting Conca due to Fremantle’s extra travel demands on game day, flying to and from the Gold Coast from Cairns.
“Reece is going to miss. He’s got a tight hammy and I’m just not willing to take the risk given we’ve got a two hour flight to get to the game,” Longmuir said.
“Tobe will come in to replace Reece and we’ve still got a couple of fitness tests that we’re doing right now.”
Watson may not be the only change, depending on the fitness of some players, including defender Taylin Duman, who rolled his ankle in round 16 against Melbourne.
“There could be a couple more changes,” Longmuir said.
“The day after (the Melbourne game), we assumed that Taylin would miss but he trained yesterday and it was remarkable how well he pulled up.
“He’s going to do a fitness test this morning. We’ll reshuffle the team if he doesn’t get through but we’re probably anticipating that he’ll get through at this stage.”
Longmuir said he was reluctant to make any ‘unnecessary’ changes after a strong team performance against Melbourne.
“We’re not going to make any unforced changes,” Longmuir said.
“We really want to reward performances in the team and we see the honour of being in the team if it’s performing well, it’s your right to stay in the team.
“There are guys pushing their claim. It’s really hard for them to push their claim when they’re not playing 18 on 18 games but the reserves game last week, that was really positive. We had some really good performances.
“Having said that, we feel like our last two senior performances have had a lot of merit as well.
“Once you’re in the team and it’s performing well and you’re playing your role, it’s hard to find your way out of the team. That’s the culture and mentality we want to build at the club.”
Longmuir said it was unlikely first-year forward Liam Henry would return to face North Melbourne.
“Our small forwards, we have ‘Sonny’ (Michael Walters) in the team ahead of him in that role and the third tall forward is probably taking the spot he had in the side,” Longmuir said.
“He won’t get an opportunity this week by the looks of it, but next week he’ll be a chance.”
