JUSTIN Longmuir has "big concerns" about how young forward Jye Amiss is treated by opposition defenders, after he was felled in a wrestle late in Fremantle's win over Richmond on Sunday.
In the final minute of the game, Tigers defender Ben Miller was wrestling with Amiss deep in attack, making contact with his knee while Amiss was pinned to the ground, resulting in a free kick for the Docker from the goalsquare, ultimately stretching the margin to 54 points.
TIGERS v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats
"I've got big concerns about how he's been treated all year," Longmuir said of Amiss after the game.
"We've gone to the umpires asking for a bit more protection for Jye. He had concussion a couple of weeks ago against West Coast and then missed last week obviously with that concussion.
"Some of the treatment he got behind the ball today… I feel like he's been manhandled at times throughout the year and, you know, we need to look after him."
Longmuir said the Dockers have not yet reached the point they're looking for from the umpiring department in terms of protecting the 20-year-old.
"I wouldn't say we've got the result we want yet, but we'll keep in dialogue with them and keep showing them some of the situations where we feel like he's getting manhandled," he said.
Richmond coach Adem Yze confirmed there was no plan to target Amiss, and that the incident was likely "just two young guys going out and having a bit of a wrestle".
On a more positive side for Longmuir's Dockers, they are in the top eight after the win, and were able to manage star duo Nat Fyfe and Sean Darcy throughout the game – a plan put in place during the week.
With a five-day turnaround before facing ladder-leader Sydney, Fremantle was conscious of managing Fyfe's minutes, ultimately naming the dual Brownlow medallist as the substitute. The other part of the plan – to limit Darcy's minutes by subbing him out of the game – was also achieved during the third quarter.
"(Fyfe's) just getting himself back to his best for where he's really trusting himself and trusting the work and feeling really comfortable out there again," Longmuir said.
"(Darcy's) got a little bit of a tight calf, but the plan was always to get him out of the game, so as soon as he had a little bit of tightness, it's easy to pull the trigger."
For Yze, it's simply a case of looking for the silver lining after a tough defeat saw his side slump to a 1-7 record.
The improvement of young players like Tom Brown, Tyler Sonsie, and Maurice Rioli jnr are all bright spots for Yze, but he did admit that the mounting losses are tough on the players.
"There's a silver lining at the end of this, but it is tough, and to be fair, it's more tough on the players, our leaders. They get a little bit frustrated with the scoreboard," Yze said.
"But when you look at the names that we've got out and then the players we're coming up against, it was just the volume of talent really that they had."
Richmond has breathed a sigh of relief, getting through the game without any new injuries to add to an already substantial list, and even more encouraging is a list of potential returnees next week.
Both Noah Balta and Dion Prestia are likely to put their hands up for next week's match against the Western Bulldogs after battling knee and hamstring injuries respectively. Tough midfielder Jack Graham may also be available, after a hamstring injury kept him out of the loss to Fremantle.
