Media Watch
Fyfe to be a Docker for life
Herald Sun, Jon Ralph
June 28
Nathan Fyfe is certain to be a Fremantle player for life after finally agreeing to start contract talks.
Fyfe had held off contract discussions until midyear and had spent the last few weeks over the bye considering his future.
But in the last two days he finally came to a decision that he wanted to stay at Fremantle.
His manager Jason Dover confirmed to the Herald Sun on Wednesday night he had been instructed to start talks with the Dockers.
Freo tried to turn Bennell into superman
The West Australian, Justin Chadwick
June 28
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon admits the club may have pushed Harley Bennell too hard earlier this season, saying they were trying to turn him into AFL's version of Superman.
Bennell is yet to play a senior game for the Dockers because of chronic calf issues on both legs.
The former Gold Coast midfielder is a chance to make his playing return via the WAFL next week before pushing for his Dockers debut later in July.
Bennell was sent to Germany last December to receive treatment from soft tissue specialist Dr Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt.
Since then, Bennell has suffered several more calf setbacks - a situation Lyon believes the club contributed to.
AFL’s ‘Hodor’ sets sights on ruck throne
Herald Sun, Jon Ralph
June 28
HE has been labelled the AFL’s Hodor, reminiscent of the gigantic big-boned protector from Game of Thrones.
Fremantle first-gamer Sean Darcy, standing at a huge 111kg and 201cm, prefers to use fellow country boy Shane Mumford as inspiration.
But dig a little deeper and the heir apparent to Aaron Sandilands’ throne has a compulsive backstory all of his own.
On Sunday a star was born as the Cobden-raised ruckman dominated at Simonds Stadium.
He amassed 40 hit-outs to go with his 14 possessions, using his frame to dominate Rhys Stanley early and silky hands to palm the ball to his midfield’s advantage.
Darcy is a giant, but even after dropping 15kg last year many clubs didn’t rate him because they believed he was too overweight to play AFL footy.
Medical Report
Ed Langdon (knee) Test
Jon Griffin (calf) Test
Aaron Sandilands (hamstring) Test
Nat Fyfe (chest) Test
Danyle Pearce (calf) Test
Brady Grey (hamstring) Test
Harley Bennell (calf) 1-2 weeks
Michael Apeness (knee) Season
Alex Pearce (leg) TBA
Zac Clarke (knee) TBA
Fresh Faces
Ross Lyon has unveiled an array of new faces in 2017, including premiership players Brad Hill and Joel Hamling, home sick Giant Cam McCarthy as well as opportunity starved Cat Shane Kersten. Hill has been a sensation back in his home state, thriving on the long dimensions of Subiaco and averaging a career-high 23.4 disposals. Fremantle has also debuted a range of new names in recent weeks, including Brennan Cox, mature-age VFL recruit Luke Ryan, Josh Deluca and monster ruckman Sean Darcy. In his first appearance last Sunday, Darcy amassed 40 hitouts against the Cats, with 54 per cent of them going to advantage in a stunning debut.
Star
Ball magnet Lachie Neale has followed up his career-best 2016 with another exceptional season so far. While he’s not quite accumulating as much ball as last year, he did break the all-time disposals record so it was always going to be a hard act to follow. The small-sized midfielder is averaging 27.6 possessions (13.6 contested), 6.5 clearances and 4.6 tackles across 13 appearances this season. After a quiet couple of weeks before the bye, the reigning Doig medallist collected 29 touches in the narrow loss to Geelong, a game after finding 32 possessions against Brisbane.
Stats that matter
Sides under Ross Lyon’s watch have never been overly prolific scorers, but in the wake of Matthew Pavlich’s retirement, the Dockers are ranked No. 17 for points for in 2017 at 76.2 points per game. Fremantle is also ranked No. 15 for time in forward half differential at -5:43. Former Giant Cam McCarthy is the Dockers leading goal kicker on 17, ahead of Shane Kersten (14 goals) and Lachie Neale (12).
Team
B: L. Spurr, J. Hamling, L. Weller
HB: C. Blakely, M. Johnson, D. Tucker
C: S. Hill, L. Neale, B. Hill
HF: M. Walters, B. Cox, N. Suban
F: H. Ballantyne, C. McCarthy, H. Crozier
R: A. Sandilands, N. Fyfe, D. Mundy
Interchange from: B. Grey, S. Darcy, G. Logue, J. Deluca, L. Ryan, S. Kersten, T. Sheridan
IN: A. Sandilands, B. Grey
