Star Fremantle midfielder to remain on sidelines
Steve Larkin
Influential Fremantle midfielder Hayden Young has been ruled out of returning to face Collingwood in the high-stakes Gather Round match.
Young was sidelined with a knee injury in the Dockers’ season-opening game.
And pacer Michael Frederick will also miss his comeback after suffering 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 spirited club’s return to South Australia.
Freo claimed their third win in four games by defeating the Crows by two points in a nail-biting match in Adelaide last Friday night.
“I’ve never felt like there was a lack of optimism in this group,” Longmuir told reporters Tuesday.
“I don’t like any game last year or before, we thought if we played our way we couldn’t and wouldn’t win.
“Trust has necessarily changed.
“I think the maturity of the group has probably changed a little bit; we’ve managed to be a lot more balanced and consistent week in and week out.”
Longmuir said the fourth-placed Dockers expect to face Collingwood key player Nick Daicos, who missed the Magpies’ 54-point defeat to Brisbane last Thursday night with a calf injury.
“We probably can’t stop him from getting the ball, but sometimes we can stop his efficiency,” Longmuir said.
“On the other hand, we don’t want to get too carried away on one player because they have so many dangerous players… so it’s a matter of balance.
“We will plan for their best and best players and if they are not playing, then we will make adjustments.”
Fremantle new player Mason Cox, who joined from Collingwood, looked unlikely to bounce back against his former club, who sit 10th with two wins and two losses.
Longmuir said it would likely be preferred for Sean Darcy to form a tandem with Luke Jackson again.
“I’m just trying to pick the best team that will give us the best chance of winning – it doesn’t really matter in my eyes whether Cox played for them last year or not,” he said.
