Fremantle skipper Alex Pearce is banging down the door for a shock early return from a fractured arm, and he’s throwing the fashion world into a spin in the process.
Pearce was initially expected to miss three to four matches after suffering a fracture to his left forearm against Gold Coast on June 23.
But after undergoing successful surgery and missing just two matches, Pearce is determined to return in Saturday’s clash with Hawthorn in Launceston.
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is keen for the skipper to play, but says it will now be up to the medical staff to make the final call.
“He knows I’ll give him a game. I don’t need convincing,” Longmuir told reporters on Wednesday.
“We’ll wait and see how he gets through training … see if the medicos are happy.
“He’s touch and go. He’s progressing well. If it’s not this week, it will likely be next week.
“He’s pushing though. He wants to get home to Launceston and play in front of family and friends.”
Pearce was sporting a purple arm sleeve and an orange head band as he was put through his paces at training on Thursday.
It’s likely he’ll wear an arm sleeve against the Hawks if he plays, and possibly for the foreseeable future.
“I think there’ll always be a little bit of risk,” Longmuir said of Pearce’s early return.
“Given he’s had surgery and had a plate put into the break, it’s probably stronger than what it was.
“But he’s going to be a little bit sore, and there’s some concerns around more the wound and that type of thing.
“I’ll let the greater minds make that call.”
With ruckman Sean Darcy out due to concussion, spearhead Patrick Voss looms as a strong chance to return to the side, which would free Luke Jackson to take up the ruck duties.
Hawthorn will be without forward Mitch Lewis, who will miss the rest of the season after rupturing his ACL.
But skipper James Sicily (shoulder), Jack Ginnivan (knee/fibular) and Calsher Dear (ribs) are all chances to return against the Dockers.
The third-placed Dockers have a horrible 2-11 record at UTAS Stadium in Launceston.
But their most recent trip there – in 2021 – resulted in a 62-point thrashing of Hawthorn.
Given Fremantle rarely play in Launceston, Longmuir is doing his best to make things feel as normal as possible.
“Going somewhere new can sometimes be a bit distracting,” he said.
“So we’ve done a bit of prep already on what the change rooms look like, what the benches look like, the ground size, what the ground looks like.
“(We’ve done this) so it doesn’t feel like when you rock up on game day it’s the first or second time you’ve been there.
“It’s something we did going to Alice (when we beat Melbourne by 92 points) and it seemed to work well for us.”
