Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has full confidence that former captain Nat Fyfe has loads of good soccer left in him, regardless of being sidelined by one other harm.
Fyfe is dealing with a race in opposition to time to play once more this season after struggling a stress fracture to his foot. That adopted him lacking video games earlier within the yr with plantar fasciitis, whereas he additionally overcame a severe again harm in 2022.
While Longmuir acknowledged there are questions round Fyfe’s future, he stated the membership believed the newest harm wasn’t an indication of his physique struggling to deal with the rigours of AFL.
“I understand that point of view,” Longmuir stated.
“I feel like this is something we can deal with and it’s not going to be a long-term issue. I feel like we’ve had some real success with some of the longer term stuff in terms of his back and that. I feel like we’ve got over that hump with his body and this is just a minor setback. I have full confidence that when we get him back, he’ll play some really good footy and help us get to where we want to get to.
“One thing he’s pretty good at is rationalising these injuries. It’s really just about making sure as a club we are supporting him from then on and making sure we are very clear on his program. He’s done that well. He seemed really rational about it when I spoke to him.
“He’s in a decent space. Unfortunately he’s had a bit of practice dealing with these sorts of setbacks.”
Longmuir’s feedback got here amid The West Australian columnist Peter Sumich voicing his issues round Fyfe’s future, writing: “Indications are now alarming that Fyfe might not last beyond this year”.
The Dockers should now discover a option to exchange Fyfe within the line-up for Sunday’s recreation in opposition to Carlton at Optus Stadium. Longmuir indicated Will Brodie wants extra time within the WAFL after fighting harm in current weeks, however felt Luke Jackson might spend time within the midfield.
“I’ve been saying all along I feel like he’s a good ground level player. We’ve put him in as a midfielder at times this year. That is an option for sure,” Longmuir stated.
Carlton are 14th on the ladder with 26 factors, whereas the Dockers are eleventh on 28 factors. But Longmuir stated there could be no inner discussions across the significance of the sport from a ladder perspective.
He stated the gamers had been higher this yr at staying centered on what the staff values. He stated the loss to the Western Bulldogs got here all the way down to a second in time.
“There was a one minute period in the last quarter where the game got away from us. They kicked three goals in eight possessions I think that was a result of us not getting the contest right,” he stated.
“But I thought the focus for a large part of the game was on the right things. We were plus-20 ground ball against the Western Bulldogs and we were minus-30 against them last time. So we got a lot of areas right on the weekend. We didn’t capitalised on the scoreboard when we could have and should have.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
