FREMANTLE has confidence its forwards can overcome the absence of young star Josh Treacy after two matches without him, with versatile goalkicker Sam Sturt shaping as a key player in Sunday's must-win clash against Port Adelaide.
The Dockers showed improvement ahead of the ball without Treacy in last Saturday's loss to Greater Western Sydney and have backed the same structure again as Pat Voss prepares to fill a key post alongside Jye Amiss and Luke Jackson.
It is Sturt, however, who has lifted while Treacy has been sidelined with a knee injury, leading the forwards for score involvements (11) in the past fortnight and taking his chances when they present.
Forwards coach Jaymie Graham said the 190cm forward was giving the Dockers a different look in attack and mixing his ability to play both as a high forward and a deep marking target.
"We play three talls, but realistically once you start the rotations, they're not always on the ground at the same time, so he's got that ability to play deeper and he's got some aerial craft, which we saw on the weekend when he took that mark at the top of the goalsquare," Graham told AFL.com.au.
"But he has added to his game with his ability to play high as well, which has been important.
"A big area of his game that he's worked on is his contest and his consistency with his contest at ground level and aerial. Then his defensive side as well, which has allowed him to stay in games for longer periods."
Among Sturt's most important attributes has been his composed kicking for goal, with the 24-year-old kicking 2.0 against the Giants and 20.6 from his 12 games this season.
Voss also shapes as an important player on Sunday, providing a strong target in attack and neutralising a Port Adelaide defence that has thrived on intercept marks for the past month.
The Dockers will also need improvement from tall targets Amiss and Jackson as they adjust to playing without spearhead Treacy for a third straight week.
Amiss has kicked 2.3 since an excellent four-goal performance against Essendon in round 21, while Jackson kicked one goal against the Giants after leading the ruck against Geelong.
"JT' has clearly had a massive impact on games for us with the way he's marking the ball and competing and then finishing his work, but he's also been really important to us from a leadership point of view this year," Graham said.
"We've seen Jye really stand up since he's been gone [with] what he's doing around the club, and I thought the talls functioned quite well on the weekend against a pretty solid backline at GWS.
"We don't have to push that side of things too hard, but we definitely believe in those boys being able to get the job done without JT in the side.
"It's important to have that squad mentality with one out and the next one in, and it just creates an opportunity for someone else."
