FREMANTLE superstar Nat Fyfe's hopes of playing in the Western Derby rest on concussion assessment during the week, with the Dockers skipper facing only a six-day break to prove he is ready to take on West Coast.
Fyfe's heavy head collision with St Kilda youngster Josh Battle took some gloss off a gritty five-point win for the home side, which resisted everything the Saints threw at it in a ferocious yet scrappy second half.
"I spoke to him twice. He's fine, as you would expect a little bit doey, but he's pretty good," Lyon said post-match.
DOCKERS EDGE SAINTS Full match coverage and stats
"Ellie (his partner) and his dad David were in the rooms, so they'll look after him. He was really pleased we won and the boys dug in.
"I don't know any more than I've said. All I know is I've spoken to him, we'll assess him during the week and he'll go through all the protocols.
"We have genuine care for all of our players, no one gets any special treatment. As it is, I don't know any more."
Nat Fyfe has been helped from the ground after this head clash with Josh Battle.#AFLFreoSaints pic.twitter.com/LxHujnFi6p
— AFL (@AFL) April 7, 2019
The Dockers were up by 10 points when Fyfe was taken out of the game, and Brandon Matera stood up when they needed a match-winner with three crucial goals in his return after suspension forced him to work his way back from Peel in the WAFL.
"It's really good when you see people work hard and get reward for effort and I thought he was hard and took his opportunities, and that's exactly what small forwards in the AFL need to do," Lyon said.
ANALYSIS When Fyfe went down, it wasn't his defence that Freo missed
"I thought at three-quarter time we could've gone either way with Nathan being concussed and tapped out of the game, so it was really important we displayed great character and competed fiercely for our captain, and I thought we did that.
"There were some mistakes, but I thought we really hooked in, showed great grit and got the four points, so it was really pleasing."
WATCH Ross Lyon's full post-match press conference
The Dockers improved their record to 2-1 after last round's shock loss to Gold Coast, with star Michael Walters doing it all.
Walters had 27 touches, eight clearances – including five centre clearances – and booted two goals, and Lyon praised the "outstanding" mid-forward's contribution.
Boom recruit Jesse Hogan had a 'nearly' game, finishing with 16 touches and six marks. He failed to kick his first goal in purple in his second outing.
Hogan might come under Match Review Officer scrutiny for a second-quarter collision with Nathan Brown, which left the Saint needing a concussion test.
"I didn't see it," Lyon said.
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"I only saw Nat's because it was right in front of me. I remember Jesse as going at the ball."
The Dockers could again face some selection dilemmas with their talls, with young ruckman Sean Darcy likely to be available after quad soreness.
Lyon was enthusiastic about Rory Lobb giving the side "another dimension out of the middle".
Lobb, who had 17 touches and 28 hitouts plus a goal, was arguably beaten in the ruck by young Saint Rowan Marshall (40 hitouts) but had a 10-disposal last quarter.
"We'll see if Sean's available and then we'll make a hard decision either way." Lyon said.