FREMANTLE star Andrew Brayshaw has backed the Dockers’ depth of small forwards to help cover the likely loss of Michael Frederick as the speedster prepares to be sidelined by an ankle injury.
Frederick suffered the setback at training on Friday and underwent scans, with the Dockers set to confirm a timeline for his return on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old appears likely to miss the round one clash against Geelong, however, after playing every game last season and finishing seventh in the best and fairest with a career-best 30 goals.
Hard-running small forward Tobyn Murray has enjoyed a strong pre-season after arriving from Geelong’s VFL program, with the 20-year-old now likely to come into the selection mix.
The club also recruited former Northern Bullants speedster Chris Scerri during the pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP), giving coach Justin Longmuir fresh options to consider this week.
“He (Murray) has really impressed me all pre-season, Chris Scerri as well has done an amazing job in the time that we’ve had him,” Brayshaw said on Monday.
“‘JL’ is going to have a tough week trying to pick the team I reckon, which is exciting.
“‘Freddy’ has had an amazing pre-season and was looking really fit and raring to go. He had a scan on the weekend and looked visibly upset about what happened at Friday’s training session.
“He’ll find out the details of that probably tomorrow, but I know we have a lot of depth in the forward line and a lot of younger players who are really eager to play.
“If we don’t have ‘Freddy’ for however many weeks it’s going to be, I’ve got no doubt someone’s going to be able to step up and play that role.”
Michael Frederick handballs during Fremantle’s elimination final against Gold Coast on September 6, 2025. Picture: Getty Images
Brayshaw said he was feeling strong and energised ahead of his ninth season, with the gun midfielder excited about the Dockers’ prospects after a return to finals last year.
“You feel so healthy and have trained so hard, and you finally get to show all the hard work to fans and to the world. It starts this weekend,” he said.
“I’m really excited about where footy club is at. I’ve signed on for a long period of time (2031) and a lot of our key players have done so.
“I don’t think we all would have signed on if we didn’t think that the next couple of years are going to be really exciting.
“In terms of external expectations, we try not to read into it too much, but we’re definitely aspiring to go further than we did last year and we think our best footy is good enough to beat anyone.”
The Dockers were humbled in round one last season, losing to Geelong at GMHBA Stadium by 78 points in a performance marred by turnovers and panicked disposals under pressure.
They face the prospect of a Geelong team desperate to rebound from a 56-point loss to Gold Coast in Opening Round, with Brayshaw preparing for the Cats’ best at GMHBA Stadium.
“I know we lost quite poorly there last year, but we do think we play there well,” the All-Australian midfielder said, with the Dockers winning the previous two games at GMHBA Stadium before last year’s round one loss.
“We’re expecting to go out there and try and put on a really good performance. The two games prior to last year’s game, we’ve gone over there and put up really good efforts.
“We’re expecting Geelong’s best this weekend, and we’re expecting to bring our best and really give it to them.
