Ahead of the first AFL Grand Final in club history, key Fremantle defenders Luke McPharlin and Michael Johnson were notable absentees as the Dockers made their lone public training appearance before Saturday’s showdown.
The recent All-Australian backs weren’t the only players MIA on Tuesday- Zac Dawson, Aaron Sandilands and Chris Mayne all skipped Tuesday’s session with the main group.
Both McPharlin and Johnson were treated with care during Fremantle’s convincing preliminary final win over Sydney on Saturday, receiving specialised treatment for calf strains throughout the match.
The absence of just one of the Dawson, Johnson, McPharlin trio will make Fremantle’s task of stopping a Hawthorn forward line led by Buddy Franklin and Jarryd Roughead all the more difficult.
News was fairly bare from Hawthorn’s perspective on Tuesday, however veteran midfielder Brad Sewell did discuss his return to prominence among the club’s top 22.
Dropped after the halfway mark of the season, Sewell found his way back into the team after a two-week absence when star Sam Mitchell became a round 17 late withdrawal.
“I’ve played well in big games, I’ve played well in finals before,” Sewell said Tuesday.
“I think everybody at some stage goes through little fluctuations and I sort of had mine in the mid part of the year and have bounced back really well.”
“So I guess just sharpening the focus and putting everything else to the side and ensuring that all your energies are focused where they need to be, I guess that was the no risk (approach) I wanted to take,” the 29-year-old said of return to senior footy.
Both Sewell and defender Josh Gibson both felt the need to remind reporters that Fremantle will prove formidable foes this coming weekend.
“They play as a team and that’s really important, they’ve got 22 guys playing a role – Ross Lyon has been awesome since he’s been there,” Gibson said.
“They’ve played some really good footy this year – I saw that game against Geelong and they were super and obviously good against the Swans as well.
The 27-year-old was careful not to take too much away from their early season win over the Dockers.
“So much has changed – line-ups have changed and teams probably start tinkering with their game plan from Rounds 6 or 7,” Gibson told Hawthornfc.com.au.
“To think it’s just going to happen like it did down there because we beat them, that won’t be the case.”
Get amongst CraveOnlineAU on Twitter and Facebook for daily sport, music, entertainment and gaming news.
Follow Robert White on Twitter @RobertWhitebrrr.
Michael Dodge, Getty Images.
