Fremantle lost Chris Tarrant to an ankle injury in the last minute of the game, but it was a shoulder injury to Garrick Ibbotson in the second quarter that played havoc with Harvey’s interchange rotations.
The victorious coach, a protégé of long-time interchange spruiker Kevin Sheedy, said the AFL should incorporate a substitute player in addition to the four interchange players, similar to the rule that was trialled in the last two NAB Cup campaigns.
“These games are played at frenetic speeds. You only have to look at the number of players cramping at this particular time we may have to look at extending the bench. That’s my opinion. We should have a look at five. We lost Ibbotson early today which then puts pressure on the other guys to be able to play out there for longer periods,” Harvey said.
“Why not? I think it is a great spectacle the game. Why not add to what we’re doing? It won’t detract from the game, it will only add.”
The main sideshow to the game was the return of Adam McPhee against his old side, which dominated much of the media talk around the match.
McPhee battled early on, making several nervous skill errors in front of the hostile Essendon crowd before slowly getting in to the game.
Harvey admitted it wasn’t McPhee’s greatest performance and said he deliberately made minimal fuss over him.
“I never made a focus of Adam McPhee at all in this game, he said. "Not to the group, not to any meetings we had. I spoke to Adam about his injury and where he may have been to make sure it was right for the team that he played.
“I thought he should have taken five marks inside our forward-50 that could have been a lot more damaging. It wasn’t to be but maybe the touch is just around the corner for him. We won and he didn’t have a great game, but if he takes those five marks it could have been.”
