Freo defender Paul Duffield thinks the club’s task against Hawthorn doesn’t get any easier because of the absence of Jarryd Roughead and Jack Gunston.
The star Hawks forwards will miss the Patersons Stadium match on Sunday; Gunston through injury and Roughead is suspended.
Duffield admitted they were classy players, but said Hawthorn had an element of unpredictability.
“We don’t know who might come in and play those roles, and Hawthorn have proved all year they’ve got fantastic depth and players that can come in and still play a fantastic role for the side,” he said.
“It’s not going to make the game any easier, it’s still going to be a very fierce contest.
“They can still find a way to win, that’s why they’re such a great side.
“They’re on top of the ladder and for a very good reason.”
Fremantle has a 1-4 record in 2014 against sides in the top five, and it hasn’t beaten the Hawks since the 2010 Elimination Final at Subiaco.
Duffield said the statistics pointed to Freo struggling against the top clubs, but he added the club was very close in some of those games.
“So far we haven’t been good enough to beat the sides above us, but we were really close to Sydney at the start of the year,” he said.
“If we had improved on a few things that could have been a different result.
“The weekend against Geelong was very close, too.”
However, the Hawks defeated Freo comfortably in round 3 this season at the MCG.
“We’ve got a great opportunity to rebound from that,” Duffield said.
“It’s going to be a great contest one way or the other.
“We’re looking forward to it on our home deck in front of our supporters.”
Duffield was asked if Hawthorn’s precision kicking game plan troubled Freo.
“They work their way through just about everyone’s defence,” he said.
“They’re a really skillful group, lots of left-footers, which is different to the rest of the teams.
“You’ve got to make sure you put on really good pressure around the ball and work really, really hard as group.
“It’s about doing what we do best, putting lots of pressure on and turning it over and then using it really well ourselves.”
