By Glen Quartermain
Fremantle captain Alex Pearce will return after a four-match absence through injury for Sunday鈥檚 clash with Sydney at the SCG.
The 30-year-old passed a searching fitness test at Cockburn on Thursday after recovering from bone stress in his shin.
Pearce took part in match simulation, lining up on Josh Treacy and sprung back to his feet after laying a jarring tackle on Jye Amiss. He also did 鈥渆xtras鈥 on the tackle bag late in the session and pleased the coaching staff enough to be named in a back-pocket against Sydney.
Experienced midfielder Jaeger O鈥橫eara could also return to the Fremantle team for the first time since round six after recovering from a hamstring injury.
He has been named on an extended interchange bench, with James Aish and Jeremy Sharp the other inclusions to the squad.
Nat Fyfe was the only omission, forced out of the squad with a calf injury. Named as the sub for the clash with St Kilda last round, he did not get on to the field, suffering a muscle strain during half-time warm-ups.
Sydney has been bolstered by the return of key defender Tom McCartin and powerful forward Joel Amartey, while former Fremantle backman Joel Hamling has been named on an extended bench, along with Riley Bice and Peter Ladhams.
Coach Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir expects Sunday鈥檚 clash to be played at the SCG, despite concerns over the surface.
While a final inspection is expected to be carried out on Friday, the Dockers have told players to prepare for the Swans鈥 home ground.
The concerns were flagged over the shifting surface during the Swans鈥 clash with the Western Bulldogs last round with sports lawyers warning the AFL could face action if there were injuries.
鈥淏oth teams will have to play on the same surface, so yeah, we鈥檒l embrace it and just get to work,鈥 Longmuir said.
Fremantle will get a close look at the SCG surface during their captain鈥檚 run, the league confirming they will have access to the ground prior to the match.
Longmuir said slippery surfaces would be nothing new to his players.
鈥淥ptus (Stadium) last year wasn鈥檛, wasn鈥檛 great, and it was a bit slippery. So if that鈥檚 all it is, yeah, we鈥檒l go and handle it and get a good look at the captain鈥檚 run,鈥 he said.
Longmuir said the surface did not come into consideration on Pearce鈥檚 return, who was a close call for the Saints a week earlier.
鈥淗e put his hand up last week and he was, he was trying to get up for that game, so that鈥檚 good sign when you have to hold a player back,鈥 he said.
The Dockers again selected ruck duo Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson, who were instrumental in the final-quarter fightback against St Kilda.
The Swans鈥 No. 1 ruck Brodie Grundy is in stellar form and will have capable back up in Hayden McLean.
鈥淕rundy鈥檚 form has been phenomenal. Last week, I thought he was best player on the ground,鈥 Longmuir said.
鈥淭he influence on the game was huge. So it鈥檚 going to be a challenge for Luke and Sean.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good opportunity to throw two different guys at him. He does a lot of the work. McLean goes in there for a short period, but Grundy is a guy that loves doing the bulk of the work. He鈥檚 fit and strong, gets forward, gets back.
鈥淪o we鈥檙e gonna have our work cut out, but the fact that both our rucks are slightly different in the way they will approach it, that鈥檒l throw a couple different things in.
鈥淟uke鈥檚 confidence should be hit pretty high. He鈥檚 had a good season, and people want to talk about six last six weeks. Every game he鈥檚 fighting. He鈥檚 been solid. He鈥檚 put a tremendous year together.
鈥淎nd Sean should take a lot of confidence out of last week and probably out of his last two games. I thought he competed really well against North Melbourne.鈥
FREMANTLE LINE-UP
B: L Ryan, B Cox, A Pearce
HB: H Chapman, K Worner, J Clark
C: M Johnson, C Wagner, N O鈥橠riscoll
HF: M Reid, M Frederick, L Jackson
F: S Bolton, J Treacy, J Amiss
R: S Darcy, C Serong, A Brayshaw
IC from: J O鈥橫eara, J Aish, J Sharp, P Voss, O McDonald, N Erasmus, B Banfield, I Dudley
SYDNEY LINE-UP
B: L Melican, T McCartin, H Cunningham
HB: C Mills, N Blakey, S Wicks
C: J Lloyd, C Warner, E Gulden
HF: J McInerney, W Hayward, T Papley
F: B Campbell, J Amartey, H McLean
R: B Grundy, I Heeney, J Jordon
IC from: M Roberts, A Sheldrick, J Rowbottom, J Hamling, R Bice, O Florent, J Buller, P Ladhams