ANTHONY Morabito has been named make his return to the WAFL on Saturday following an ankle injury but coach Ross Lyon says the midfielder needs to get moving if he is going to return to senior level again before the end of the season.
Morabito has played six WAFL matches this season after not playing any football last year due to ongoing knee soreness.
But he has missed Peel Thunder's last two matches due to an ankle injury. He also played just four of the first 10 rounds due to two separate hamstring injuries.
Morabito has not played in the AFL since 2014. He played three matches that season after missing the previous three years due to successive knee reconstructions.
Lyon has pleaded for patience with Morabito throughout his entire tenure as Fremantle coach.
But the coach’s tone was different on Thursday.
"We're all empathetic to the story," Lyon said.
"He'll play this week. Just when he started to get going he ran into another hiccup. So it's been quite difficult.
"He needs to get moving. Anthony needs to play some good footy and force an opportunity."
The change in tone has come following the Dockers' extensive list management review.
They are set to have their biggest list turnover since 2008 as they commit to the draft following a horrible 2016 season.
Morabito was delisted at the end of last year with a guarantee of being re-drafted as a rookie. He enjoyed his best pre-season in years last summer before damaging his hamstring in February.
Zac Clarke, Josh Deluca, Shane Yarran, Matt de Boer, Sean Hurley and Ethan Hughes will also play for Peel on Saturday.
Lyon said Yarran could get an opportunity later in the year for the Dockers while Hughes (calf) and de Boer (knee) are both returning from injury.
Deluca was upgraded from the rookie list on Thursday. He was drafted in 2014 alongside Lachie Weller, Connor Blakely and Ed Langdon but is yet to play a senior game. He was hampered by injury in his first year and was delisted before being re-drafted as a rookie.
Like Morabito, Lyon said Deluca needed to force his way into the senior side on form.
"Deluca's got to try to jump over Weller or Langdon," Lyon said.
"He's been quite solid (for Peel). Lachie wouldn't want to play like he did last week and Josh keep playing like he did.
"But at the minute, Weller and (Darcy) Tucker have done enough."
Clarke was dropped after a poor performance against Collingwood in round 14 and is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.
De Boer, Clancee Pearce and Chris Mayne could also become unrestricted free agents heading into 2017.