Archive for March, 2012

Key midfielder David Mundy has ramped up his push to play in Fremantle’s season opener against Geelong after returning to full training on Wednesday morning.

Despite missing the entire NAB Cup following off-season ankle surgery, coach Ross Lyon said Mundy had built momentum in recent weeks and could join Aaron Sandilands and Michael Barlow in a near full-strength team for round one.

The coach had previously considered Mundy unlikely to face the Cats at Patersons Stadium on March 31, but said recent progress from the clearance specialist meant he could be proved wrong.

“If Mundy says, ‘I’m right to play, coach’, that’s going to put some pressure on the match committee,” Lyon said on Wednesday morning. “That’d be a great position to be in.

“He’s in full training today, so that’s really exciting. If everything had gone perfectly with his operation he should have been in full training five weeks ago.

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Being delisted at the end of the 2011 season has proven to be the driving force behind Clancee Pearce’s standout pre-season.

Following his delisting, 21-year-old Pearce, who spent three seasons on Freo’s rookie list, was offered the opportunity to stay on at the club and train in the hope of being re-drafted in the Rookie Draft.

And train he did, opting to remain at Freo rather than go on leave at season’s end.

“That was the big one, getting delisted,” Pearce said.

“I decided not to have a break. I kept training and stuck to my diet.

“When the main group came back, I felt pretty fit.”

The arrival of Ross Lyon as the new senior coach also had a huge impact on Pearce’s footy.

“I’ve really enjoyed Ross coming over,” he said.

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Fremantle midfielder Nat Fyfe has been one of the AFL’s best performed players in this year’s NAB Cup, but the young star says he is still working towards full fitness after an interrupted pre-season.

Fyfe continued his brilliant NAB Cup against Port Adelaide at the weekend, winning a game-high 27 possessions to follow on from his best-on-ground performance against Richmond one week earlier.

The 20-year-old expects to finish his pre-season with a full game against Hawthorn on Friday night at Patersons Stadium, but said he was fighting to build match fitness after post-season groin surgery and a shoulder reconstruction.

“I have been a little bit behind some of the other guys, but I had a full hit-out on the weekend, and with another one against the Hawks I’ll be right to go round one,” Fyfe said on Monday.

“Compared to what I was feeling last year, I’m just a little bit behind there, but with another hit-out this weekend I should be cherry ripe for round one.

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Exciting Fremantle draftee Lachie Neale is likely to miss the start of the home-and-away season after injuring his left ankle in the NAB Cup match against Port Adelaide at Victor Harbor on Saturday.

Neale was assisted from the ground in the third quarter as both sides felt the impact of a tough, physical contest.

Fremantle’s Nick Suban suffered a cut to his head and the Power’s Steven Salopek broke his nose, while teammate Hamish Hartlett sent a huge scare through the Port Adelaide camp, leaving the ground after a hit to his injury-prone left shoulder in the third quarter.

The Power said after the game that Hartlett was fine, but the news wasn’t so good for Neale.

“It doesn’t look great,” Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said.

“It’s not a broken leg or anything, it’s just an ankle – but it looks a significant ankle. It’s disappointing … but we’re waiting. (The doctors) will assess it.”

Neale was set to make his AFL debut in Fremantle’s round one clash against Geelong, but Lyon conceded that now looks unlikely.

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