FREMANTLE captain Alex Pearce won’t be available for Thursday night’s clash against Essendon as he continues to recover from a hotspot in his shin.
Pearce has been sidelined since scans revealed a stress reaction in the build-up to the Dockers’ win against Gold Coast in round 12, with the skipper experiencing pain for several weeks before the issue showed up in scans.
Longmuir said the 30-year-old had needed the perfect lead-in to be available against the Bombers, but he had yet to progress into training drills after doing some running on an anti-gravity treadmill and then grass.
“It’s going to be a bit too tight to get him up for this week. It probably hasn’t quite progressed the way we wanted it to,” Longmuir said on Tuesday.
“To get him up for this week it probably had to be perfect, and it just hasn’t been. We’ll have to give him a little bit longer.
“He’s not in drills and he needed to be in drills today. He’s moving around, he just hasn’t taken that next step yet.
“It’s a little bit KPI driven, so we’re managing him through that and can’t really put a timeframe on it. We’re hoping for next week.”
Longmuir said dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe would come into consideration for a full game this week against the Bombers after impressing in back-to-back wins as the substitute.
The 33-year-old was influential in the final quarter of the wins against Gold Coast and then North Melbourne, using the ball well and providing a big body and experience around the contest.
“We’ve had players who were sub for three weeks in a row and we probably feel like that is the max.
“If he’s sub this week, it’ll probably be the one more before we either have to get him some game time at the lower level or we have to get him in the team.
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Both Fremantle and Essendon have a five-day break before Thursday night’s clash, and there are options for the Dockers if they choose to freshen up their 23 on the short turnaround.
As well as Fyfe pushing for more game time, wingman Nathan O’Driscoll is an option after an improved performance in the WAFL, while Longmuir said both Michael Walters (knee) and Jaeger O’Meara (hamstring/foot) were confident of proving their fitness and playing at some level.
The match committee will also discuss the best approach in the ruck, with the Bombers confirming second-year big man Vigo Visentini would make his debut in the place of rested veteran Todd Goldstein.
“We don’t want to underestimate the young fella (Visentini). He’s been in really good form in the VFL and his ruck craft from what I’ve seen in VFL games has been really strong and he works hard around the ground.
“We don’t want to underestimate him, but he probably hasn’t got the experience of Goldstein either, so there may be an opportunity there.”
On the Dockers’ other options, Longmuir highlighted the form of O’Driscoll, who had 24 disposals with Peel Thunder, as well as forgotten midfielder Will Brodie, who was a standout with 34 and eight tackles.
Nathan O’Driscoll celebrates a goal during Fremantle’s clash against West Coast in round three, 2025. Picture: Getty Images
Small forward Isaiah Dudley is also pushing to return after missing the Gold Coast win for personal reasons and then returning with Peel Thunder to kick 1.3.
