Matthew Pavlich led an all-star cast of omissions with soreness ahead of the Launceston clash, with Harvey apparently intent on saving his best troops for a round-22 showdown with Carlton that could secure a home final for either side.
Freo rested seven players in total, but Hawks assistant coach Ross Smith said his team had learned a valuable lesson in round 19 last season when the Saints travelled to Launceston without players of the calibre of Nick Riewoldt, Nick Dal Santo and Lenny Hayes.
“St Kilda did a similar thing last year and finished up beating us down there,” Smith said from Melbourne Airport on Friday.
“So we’ve got to be on our game. They’re still a pretty good side, Freo, and we’re going to have to be on our game to win.
“We understand [resting players] at this time of the year, there’s been a few sides do that in the past, but we’ve got no control over what Freo do.
“The players can get into a bit of a negative mindset sometimes when another team pulls seven players out, but we’ve got to focus on what we’ve got to and that’s win the game.
“It’s easy for players, I think sometimes when there’s a few players out, to relax a little bit. It’s our job to make sure they’re not relaxed and that they go out there and attack the game with the sort of application they had last week.”
After a week of planning for a full-strength Fremantle side, including dominant ruckman Aaron Sandilands, Smith admitted selection night had caused a rethink in the Hawks’ camp.
“Sandilands, I think, affects most team’s planning. We thought he might be back this week, but they’ve rested him for another week and that certainly affects the planning a little bit,” he said.
“We were planning for one of the better players in the competition, in Pavlich, playing midfield and going forward, so we’ve got to adjust accordingly.”
Cyril Rioli replaced Rhan Hooper in the side in the only change to the team that defeated Melbourne last week.
Smith said Hooper’s history of hamstring injuries had led the selection panel to err on the side of caution when he pulled up sore after his last game, but the goalsneak should be ready to return next week.
Rioli returns having served his two-match suspension for striking Port Adelaide’s Paul Stewart. Smith said Rioli had been spoken to by the leadership group about his uncharacteristic lapse and would be better for it.
“It’s a real good learning experience for Cyril and it’s good to have him back in the side,” he said.
“He’s enormously important. He’s had the ability this year to go into the midfield in short bursts and give us a little bit more drive. He’s one of those players who can play pretty much anywhere, so he’s certainly important to our side.
“He’s certainly a player that opposition sides would spend a fair bit of time planning for, there’s no doubt.”
