Potential returnees Adam Cerra and Sam Switkowski have the ability to give Freo a boost in areas they’ve lacked during losses to Brisbane and West Coast in the past two weeks.
Senior coach Justin Longmuir is hopeful the pair will be fit to take on Essendon on Sunday at Marvel Stadium.
He added that one will replace injured forward Michael Frederick, and if both were fit, he would need to make further changes to the line-up.
“Sam Switkowski should be right, ‘Cez’ should be right. Luke Ryan is touch and go. We’ll see how they train and we’ll make a decision after that,” Longmuir said.
“Before they got injured they were both in good form, one through the middle of the ground and one up forward.
“I really like that they bring us really strong contests and they put good pressure on the opposition. It’s something we haven’t been quite good at the past couple of weeks. Those two areas will be great.
“If Switkowski and Cerra are right, one of those guys will come in and replace Frederick. We’ll see what else needs to be done to the team if they both get up.”
Cerra comes out of contract at the end of this season and Longmuir said he had no problems with the midfielder taking his time over the contract offer.
“It’s been on the table for a while now. He’s just weighting up his future. These things take time and we’re willing to give him time,” Longmuir said.
“He’s clearly a big part of our future. We see him that way, that’s why we’ve offered him a deal. These are big decisions young people have to make and we have to make sure we cover them off the right way. We’ll give him as much time as he needs.
“All I can judge him by is his attitude and his attitude has been first class. He’s really connected to the group, really connected to his teammates and what we’re trying to do.”
Longmuir said Luke Ryan’s chances of recovering from a calf injury and playing were less than 50 per cent.
“(The calf) hasn’t improved the way we want it to improve,” Longmuir said.
“He’ll do a bit more at training today than what he did last week and we’ll see how he pulls up.”
Longmuir confirmed that defender Alex Pearce would have played for Peel this weekend if there wasn’t a bye across the WAFL.
“Alex is right to play footy this weekend. He’ll train today and he’ll go back to Perth,” Longmuir said.
“We haven’t got a game in the WAFL so that’s going to put him back a week. He’s right to play at a lower level, we just need to get him a game now. He’ll be able to play for Peel the week after.”
Fremantle head to Melbourne on Friday and Longmuir isn’t expecting any issues if the city’s current Covid-19 situation stays under control.
“Things are tracking well. The AFL have to make decisions about these things in real time and at the moment, I have the feeling they’re comfortable with us going down and playing there and being able to get back to WA,” Longmuir said.
“That’s how it sits at the moment, things can change pretty quickly but we’re planning to go home Sunday after the game.”
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