FREMANTLE coach Mark Harvey has set the scene for a torrid physical workout of St Kilda debutant Ben McEvoy when his side meets the Saints in Friday night’s showdown at Telstra Dome.
With new-found confidence after belting North Melbourne last week, Fremantle believes the ruck might be its best chance to “exploit” an under-pressure St Kilda which is battling to stay in touch with the top eight.
Saints coach Ross Lyon has already indicated that McEvoy, 18, will play his first AFL match against Fremantle on Friday night.
With Michael Gardiner injured and Justin Koschitzke doubtful, McEvoy is likely to help teammate Steven King counter Fremantle tall timber Aaron Sandilands and Robert Warnock.
And Harvey suggested his team, which is known to possess several players that thrive when the contest gets willing, might test the youngster’s physical resilience.
“He’ll know he plays his first game,” Harvey replied when asked if McEvoy could be in for a tough opening night.
“We’ve got Warnock and Sandilands, and they’re starting to really evolve … we can get an advantage from stoppages and exploit St Kilda in that manner.”
Fremantle doesn’t have a good record at Telstra Dome (7-17 overall) but Harvey was unfazed by that, saying he was only concerned with his side’s coming matches and, more particularly, the Saints.
“We’re playing a lot of sides that are in and around that fourth to eighth sort of position [on the ladder],” Harvey said.
“They’ve obviously set themselves for the finals, St Kilda, and hopefully we can dismantle that.”
Fremantle trained for 30 minutes at Princes Park on Thursday, a squad of 23 players having travelled from Perth for Friday night’s clash.
Among those players with a spring in their step was Steven Dodd, who Harvey confirmed was in the mix to play against the Saints.
And the coach agreed it was likely to be a more confident Fremantle team taking the field after last week’s 53-point win over the Kangaroos.
“It just makes a lot of difference to the group,” he said.
“When you talk about confidence, sometimes that can flow on into games and therefore your players tend to run with a bit more freedom … sometimes you can be a lot more decisive after a win.
“We’re not getting carried away with the win, we understand where we’re at.
“We’re just setting ourselves for the second half of the year and whoever we come up against, hopefully we can play to that sort of standard.”
