Steve Larkin
Influential Fremantle midfielder Hayden Young has been ruled out of returning to face Collingwood in a high-stakes Gather Round fixture.
Young has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury in the Dockers’ season-opener.
And speedster Michael Frederick also won’t make his comeback from an ankle injury against the Magpies at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir says the pair will spend another week on the sidelines ahead of his buoyant club’s return to South Australia.
Freo downed the Crows in Adelaide by two points in a nail biter last Friday night to bank a third win in four matches.
“I have never felt like there hasn’t been optimism around this group,” Longmuir told reporters on Tuesday.
“I don’t feel like any games last year or before, we thought we’d go into and not be able to win if we played our way.
“The confidence has necessarily changed.
“I think the maturity of the group has changed probably a little bit – we have been able to be a lot more level and consistent week-in, week-out.”
Longmuir said his fourth-placed Dockers were expecting to confront Collingwood linchpin Nick Daicos, who missed the Magpies’ 54-point loss to Brisbane last Thursday night because of a calf strain.
“We probably can’t stop him getting the ball but we can sometimes stop his efficiency,” Longmuir said.
“On the flip side, we don’t want to get too caught up in one player because they have got a lot of dangerous players … so it’s a balancing act.
“We’ll plan for their best and plan for their best players and if they don’t play, then we’ll just adjust.”
Fremantle recruit Mason Cox, who joined from Collingwood, was unlikely to return against his former club who sit in 10th spot with two wins and two losses.
Longmuir said Sean Darcy would again likely be preferred to form a ruck tandem with Luke Jackson.
“I’m just trying to pick the best team that will give us the best chance of winning – whether he (Cox) played for them last year is not really relevant in my eyes,” he said.
