Patersons Stadium, Saturday, February 16, 4.40pm local time
THE MISSING
West Coast: The Eagles will be missing a number of headline acts including Dean Cox (finger), Mark Nicoski (hamstring), Brad Sheppard (thumb), Matt Rosa (hamstring) and Daniel Kerr (knee), but all are expected to play some part in the NAB Cup in later stages. Nic Naitanui also won't play after groin surgery and is aiming for round one of the season proper.
Geelong: The Cats will travel with a relatively strong squad. Ruck recruit Hamish McIntosh won't play after undergoing minor knee surgery while Josh Hunt will miss as he recovers from glandular fever. Paul Chapman, Andrew Mackie and James Kelly aren't playing while Dawson Simpson is sidelined after recent back surgery. Youngster Jed Bews is out with a foot stress fracture.
Fremantle: Fremantle isn't missing too many of its blue chip players for the opener. Captain Matthew Pavlich won't play along with David Mundy, Ryan Crowley and Nat Fyfe. Zac Clarke is out after tweaking his adductor and Anthony Morabito will obviously miss after undergoing LARS surgery in January.
LAST YEAR
West Coast: The Eagles played all the way to the final last year. They started by beating Essendon and Fremantle in the three-way NAB Cup opener at Patersons Stadium before going on to defeat Port Adelaide by five points in Mandurah. Then, they took control of St Kilda at home by 33 points before finally facing off with Adelaide in the NAB Cup final, which the Crows claimed by 34 points at AAMI Stadium.
Geelong: The Cats, fresh from their 2011 premiership, defeated the Sydney Swans but lost to St Kilda at Etihad Stadium in their first week. They then beat Gold Coast by 49 points at Metricon Stadium before being bundled out by Richmond by 59 points in front of their home crowd at Skilled Stadium.
Fremantle: Fremantle lost to West Coast but beat Essendon in the opener before the team took on Richmond at home and won by 38 points. In the third round, the team went down to Port Adelaide at Victor Harbour by 20 points and was bounced out of the main draw.
WHAT THEY SAY
West Coast: "There's a lot of young guys coming through like Scott Lycett and Cal Sinclair who can fill the void [left by Quinten Lynch]. It'll be interesting to see how they go in the NAB Cup." – Nic Naitanui, ruckman.
Geelong: "We'll take a big squad as the rules allow, we think we're in a pretty good spot for availability. We'd also like to see some of our younger players, not only our really inexperienced players like Jackson Thurlow, but our second, third and fourth year players that haven't had much of an opportunity." – Chris Scott, senior coach.
Fremantle: "It's a great competition to be able to expose some young players and people who had really strong pre-seasons." – Ross Lyon, senior coach.
WE SAY
West Coast: With a number of key players out, the focus will be on forward Mark LeCras, who will play at least one of the games in a highly-anticipated return from a knee reconstruction. The club's two ruckmen are both out, which will give second-round draft selection from 2010 Scott Lycett and rookie Callum Sinclair a chance to show their wares.
Geelong: The Cats are taking a solid squad with captain Joel Selwood, Corey Enright, Joel Corey, Jimmy Bartel and Steve Johnson among those named. There will also be an opportunity for fans to get a look at new recruits such as Jared Rivers, Josh Caddy, Jackson Thurlow and Brad Hartman. It's a mix of old and new, which should stand up well against the undermanned Eagles but may be challenged by Fremantle.
Fremantle: Ross Lyon's named squad is pretty strong with just a handful of starting players missing out. The absence of Mundy, Fyfe and Crowley will give young midfielders a chance to stand out, with the likes of Tom Sheridan and Cameron Sutcliffe presented with golden opportunities after strong pre-seasons.
Dean Cox is a ruckman/forward in NAB AFL Fantasy. He averaged 99.45 points in 2012. Register your team at our AFL Fantasy Hub.
Jennifer Phelan is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenPhelan.
