FREMANTLE will recall wingman James Aish immediately if he proves his fitness this week to pair on the outside with young runner Liam Henry in Saturday’s crunch game against the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium.
Aish has missed the past two matches after a back injury delayed his return from concussion, with Henry thriving in a breakout game on the wing against Essendon last Saturday
Coach Justin Longmuir said there was room for both against the Bulldogs if Aish, who trained with the main group on Wednesday, proved his fitness, after young onballers Neil Erasmus and Matthew Johnson rotated through the role last week.
“Liam played well on the weekend and I think he’s done enough to hold that wing role he’s been playing,” Longmuir said.
“We like to play two genuine wingers, which we didn’t have last week.
Nat Fyfe checks on James Aish during the R13 match between Fremantle and Richmond at Optus Stadium on June 10, 2023. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos
“Aish is a genuine winger and if he’s right he will come back into the team.”
The midfield battles shape as critical on Saturday after the Bulldogs taught the Dockers onballers a lesson at Optus Stadium back in round six.
Rather than target one of the Bulldogs’ stars, Longmuir said the Dockers would need to confront them as a collective after losing the contested ball (154-129) and inside 50s (60-45) last time.
“As a team, we didn’t play well against them last time and we got some things wrong that we need to get right,” Longmuir said.
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“I strongly believe we’re better than that performance, and we need to improve on what we did last week as well. We’re looking forward to the challenge.
“When we play our best footy we’re connected across all our lines, which I didn’t think we were last time.”
Adam Treloar, Marcus Bontempelli, Tom Liberatore and Jack Macrae were all outstanding the last time Fremantle met the Bulldogs, combining for 33 clearances and getting the ball outside the contest and into dangerous positions rapidly.
Star Docker Caleb Serong (35 disposals and 10 clearances) flew the flag for his team, however, and has continued his excellent form, with the fourth-year gun shaping as a crucial player on Saturday.
“He’s a pro. He’s probably been unable to train as much as he would have liked with that leg injury he’s been carrying, but he mentally prepares well for games, and once he gets out there he makes no excuses for his performance and just gets to work,” Longmuir said.
“His game last week was superb. He played a bit on (Darcy) Parish at stoppage and was able to negate him, and then had 12 score involvements and 10 clearances.
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