Fremantle has suffered another setback in the lead up to Saturday’s clash against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium with Aaron Sandilands ruled out with a minor foot injury.
The 2009 Doig Medallist has sustained an acute injury called plantar fasciitis and is expected to miss one week.
He will be managed and hopefully be available to take on Sydney at Subiaco in round 20.
Sandilands’ absence compounds the loss of six-goal Derby hero Hayden Ballantyne (foot) and star fullback Chris Tarrant (knee) for Saturday’s match.
There is relief with backup ruckman Kepler Bradley named to return along with midfielder Rhys Palmer and running defender Dylan Roberton. The 2009 Doig Medallist has sustained an acute injury called plantar fasciitis and is expected to miss one week.
He will be managed and hopefully be available to take on Sydney at Subiaco in round 20.
Sandilands’ absence compounds the loss of six-goal Derby hero Hayden Ballantyne (foot) and star fullback Chris Tarrant (knee) for Saturday’s match.
Fremantle general manager of football operations Chris Bond said Sandilands would be a significant loss but that the side had dealt well with injuries throughout the course of the season.
“It gives somebody else an opportunity to stand up,” Bond said.
“It’s going to be great challenge for everyone to make sure that we can cover that area.”
Bond said travelling to Melbourne and facing the Kangaroos without Sandilands, Tarrant and Ballantyne would be a great test for Fremantle.
“We’ve got a very young team, as we have had all season, but that’s never an excuse,” he said.
“We’re going over expecting a hard and tough battle against a good side in North Melbourne.
“Our young group is looking forward to applying themselves well on Saturday.”
Sandilands has been crucial to Fremantle’s climb up the ladder in 2010, clearly leading the AFL for hit-outs and taps to advantage.
He has averaged 36 hit-outs a game for a huge total of 646 in his 18 games to date.
Bradley and Michael Johnson are next at Fremantle with a total of 46 and 21 hit-outs respectively.
Bradley’s inclusion is vital, given that he and Johnson will now shoulder the ruck responsibilities against Kangaroos’ big men Hamish McIntosh and Todd Goldstein.
Senior coach Mark Harvey said both Fremantle and North Melbourne had a lot to play for this week.
“It’s all on the line, from both aspects of the game, he said.
“The Kangaroos obviously hinging on making the finals and we are continuing along under a bit of siege from a lack of personnel.
“And it’s a venue which, two weeks ago, we didn’t play well at.
“So that’s the contest from our point of view.”
Fremantle defeated North Melbourne by 61 points at Subiaco Oval in round 10 earlier this year.
Saturday’s contest will be the club’s fourth consecutive away game at Etihad Stadium, following a win over Carlton there in round 13, and losses to Richmond and the Western Bulldogs in rounds 15 and 17.
Fremantle
B: Dylan Roberton, Antoni Grover, Greg Broughton
HB: Justin Bollenhagen, Luke McPharlin, Roger Hayden
C: Garrick Ibbotson, David Mundy, Nathan Fyfe
HF: Jay van Berlo, Matthew Pavlich, Stephen Hill
F: Adam McPhee, Michael Johnson, Matthew de Boer
Foll: Kepler Bradley, Nick Suban, Paul Duffield
I/C: Rhys Palmer, Anthony Morabito, Paul Hasleby, Jesse Crichton
Emg: Michael Walters, Clayton Hinkley, Zac Clarke
In: Bradley, Palmer, Roberton
Out: Aaron Sandilands (foot), Hayden Ballantyne (foot), Chris Tarrant (knee)
