Fremantle are set to only make one change for Saturday night’s Len Hall Tribute Game against North Melbourne at Optus Stadium.
Senior coach Justin Longmuir will be forced to take midfielder Adam Cerra out of the line-up due to an ankle injury sustained against Adelaide in round five.
Mitch Crowden was the medical sub in that game and Longmuir said he was looking to bring the young midfielder / forward in as the replacement.
“At this stage I think Crowden will come into the side,” Longmuir said.
“He came on and did some midfield minutes in the second half. We thought that gave us a good mix. He’ll come into the side. We’re still working out our medical sub.”
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Young key forward Josh Treacy will retain his place to play his third AFL game after making his debut a fortnight ago against Hawthorn.
Treacy is yet to kick a goal at AFL level and Longmuir said the 18-year-old would improve when he plays with the confidence of a more experienced player.
“We’ll back him in. He missed some opportunities last week, his leading patterns could have been better to create more opportunities,” Longmuir said.
“It was always going to be a slow burn for Josh, he’s coming from a fair way back and didn’t play a lot of footy last year with the Covid situation in Victoria. We’ll just keep plugging away, keep teaching him and keep trying to give him some opportunities.
“Sometimes when you’re playing with some senior players at AFL level, you need to come outside of yourself and demand the footy a little bit more.
“He’s working really hard at his game and we’ll give him another opportunity. Hopefully, he can lead with a bit more authority and demand the footy a bit more.”
Longmuir said he would continue to go tall at the selection and stick with the two key forwards in Treacy and Matt Taberner as well as ruck duo Sean Darcy and Rory Lobb.
“I think it’s working for us at the moment,” Longmuir said.
“With Rory going into the ruck and Josh needing a break, you actually only have two talls down there for probably half the quarter, if not longer.
“During that period it gives us an opportunity to put (Nat) Fyfe forward.
“We’re liking the mix at the moment.”
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