FREMANTLE veteran Ryan Crowley has returned to Dockers training for the first time since his backdated 12-month suspension for a doping violation was handed down in June.
Crowley had not been allowed to train at the club until July 25 because of the ban. On Tuesday he joined his teammates for a light skills session on a cold, miserable day at Fremantle Oval.
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Half-a-dozen Fremantle supporters gave Crowley a round of applause as he walked out. The number of media outnumbered the supporters in attendance for the 30-minute session.
"It was a pretty strange feeling, I felt like I was 18 again," Crowley told Fremantle's website.
"I was pretty nervous last night, (like) it was my first day.
"It's been great, the boys have been great and getting around me.
"It's good to have interaction with the boys and be around here because it's a great place to be.”
Crowley said training on his own had been tough.
"It was obviously quite difficult," he said.
"I tried to keep everything as normal as I possibly could.
"I stuck to my weight programs and did my own running and found people to have a kick with."
Crowley looked in good spirits and good shape as he joined teammates in kicking and handball drills. His teammates were vocal in their support of Crowley, even blaming Chris Mayne for failing to mark one of Crowley's kicks.
The 31-year-old's suspension ends on September 25, meaning he will be available to potentially play in the preliminary final should the Dockers qualify.
Dockers coach Ross Lyon has been supportive of Crowley throughout the process but he said last Thursday that he would not contemplate the midfielder's possible inclusion until he becomes available to play.
"My expectations are he's welcome to come back and train, but he's not on my radar because he can't play," Lyon said.
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"I have no expectations beyond that. He's welcome and he is another number to train with. In reality, what does it mean for me? Not much changes."
Clancee Pearce trained on Tuesday after suffering a shoulder injury in Saturday's win. Lyon told 6PR on Monday night that Pearce could be right to face Greater Western Sydney on Sunday.
"He just had a slight sublux (partial shoulder dislocation)," Lyon said.
"It went straight back in. It wasn't a full one anyway. And he's got really good strength so he should be available. I spoke to the doctor about it earlier today. I know it looked bad, but he's basically OK."
Ryan Crowley joins Lachie Neale and teammates at Fremantle training on Tuesday. Picture: Getty Images
Key defenders Alex Silvagni and Michael Johnson did running training away from the main group as they continue to work their way back from major hamstring injuries.
Silvagni played WAFL reserves a fortnight ago but did not play on the weekend. Johnson is still aiming for a round 19 or 20 return.
All Australian forward Hayden Ballantyne was absent on Tuesday having had surgery to repair his torn pectoral muscle last week. Ballantyne told Channel Nine on Monday that the surgery went well and that he could be back in eight weeks.
"(The surgeon) was very happy," Ballantyne said.
"He said it went as well as it could have. He said it was a very clean tear. He said it knitted back very nicely and he's very optimistic.
"He's said eight weeks (out), so I'll work off that. I'm happy with eight weeks. If I can tick all the boxes and make sure I do everything I can then I'm a chance to play again this year."
The Dockers' first final would be the eighth week since Ballantyne suffered the injury.
The small forward is hopeful he can begin running later this week.
