FREMANTLE coach Justin Longmuir is "pretty confident" his side won't lose any more players to COVID for Friday's game against North Melbourne with six players confirmed to miss after entering health and safety protocols.
Longmuir revealed Griffin Logue, Lloyd Meek and Michael Frederick have entered protocols, with Rory Lobb, Travis Colyer and Blake Acres already out from the side that upset Geelong by three points on Saturday.
That marks the biggest outbreak within the Dockers playing ranks for a game this season, with struggling crosstown rivals West Coast having had more than half their squad impacted amid a rise in cases in Western Australia which peaked on Wednesday at 9,782.
Longmuir revealed 2021 number eight draft pick Jye Amiss will make his AFL debut after kicking eight goals in his past two WAFL games, while Sean Darcy (concussion), Heath Chapman and Hayden Young (both health and safety protocols) will return to the 22 along with medi-sub Bailey Banfield.
"We’ve got six out," Longmuir said. "We’re pretty confident that it will be all we’ve got out.
"It’s a challenge, but it’s an exciting one and it creates opportunities for other players."
It is believed Fremantle's outbreak occurred while travelling back from Geelong to Perth following Saturday's win and Longmuir admitted they'd need to consider extra precautions for away games when the squad spends long periods together traveling.
"After a good win you tend to get a bit more touchy-feely and closer and sing the song together," he said. "Then we sat on a bus for an hour, sat on a plane for four hours, and then sat on another bus back to the club for 40 minutes. It could have happened in that time.
"Definitely, (away games) are a riskier time. That’s something we’re going to have to look at down the track.
"This is probably just a byproduct of it being close proximity for such a long period of time, that it becomes inevitable, but we think we’ve kept it to a manageable number. It doesn’t affect any chances of us performing this weekend."
Longmuir insisted the club was in a "really good place" in terms of their depth to cover the six absentees.
MEDICAL ROOM Check out the full injury list
The Dockers coach praised 196cm 18-year-old East Perth product Amiss, who the Dockers took with the draft selection gained from Carlton in the Adam Cerra trade.
"His last three games at Peel have been really solid," Longmuir said. "I’ve been really impressed by the way he has approached learning the gameplan, learning the roles in the forward line.
"He possesses some elite forward craft and he’s been hitting the scoreboard, which is a byproduct of the work that he’s doing. He’s in good form and deserves his opportunity."
Fremantle's outbreak comes ahead of its first Friday night fixture since round 17 2016, which has been a point of consternation for the club's fans.
Longmuir wouldn’t be drawn on that but highlighted the fixture as a "great opportunity for the club, members and fans".
"As a playing group, we're pretty matter of fact about when we play and we don’t get caught up in the hype and the external opinion around when you play," he said.
"We get scheduled to play, as a coaching group and playing group, we accept that and plan our week very similarly. Nothing really changes.
"On the other hand, it's great for our club and brand and our fans."
