Pre-season cobwebs no excuse for Freo
Dockers must lift in next hit-out against Dogs, says assistant coach
FREMANTLE'S players have been told to produce a far greater effort in Wednesday's NAB Challenge match against the Western Bulldogs, according to Dockers assistant Michael Prior.
The Dockers travel to Etihad Stadium for their second pre-season match after an 84-point thrashing from West Coast at Arena Joondalup last week.
While it was Fremantle's first hit-out of the pre-season, Prior said the effort against the Eagles was not up to standard and the players have been made fully aware of what is expected against the Bulldogs.
"We did a really in-depth review of the game and we do that whether we win by 10 goals or lose by 10 goals," Prior said.
"The players are under no doubt where they're at and what they've got to improve on.
"It was a disappointing effort by our players on Tuesday.
"Going on training form this week they've been really up and vibrant so we're expecting a better show."
The Dockers have picked another strong squad with 21 of the 22 from the Grand Final side travelling in the squad of 29. Zac Clarke is the only absentee as he continues his recovery from his off-season knee injury.
Ryan Crowley, Chris Mayne, Nick Suban, and Cam Sutcliffe all missed the first NAB Challenge match but were named for Wednesday's clash.
Reigning best and fairest Nat Fyfe did not train with the main group this morning but he did travel to Melbourne this afternoon.
"We're obviously just managing loads as you would expect at this time of the year with training but he'll play on Wednesday," Prior said.