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The preseason gets underway for two more clubs on Thursday night, as the Fremantle Dockers take on the Melbourne Demons. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:00pm (AEDT).
The Dockers have had a very quiet off-season, and it’s hard to get a read on how this club is travelling heading into their first hit out.
Apart from a minor injury complaint for star midfielder Nat Fyfe, the club has stayed relatively unscathed, and have named a strong squad for this match.
Matthew Pavlich and Luke McPharlin have both been named to play, joining the likes of Hayden Ballantyne, Michael Walters, David Mundy, Chris Mayne, and Michael Johnson in the squad of 29.
Melbourne made a couple of splashes over the off-season, bringing in experienced campaigners Heritier Lumumba and Jeff Garlett, along with young prospects Sam Frost and Ben Newton.
However they have been hit by injuries, with high draft pick Christian Petracca suffering an ACL injury, Jack Trengove suffering a reoccurrence of his foot injury, and Jeremy Howe struck down with a hamstring complaint.
Melbourne will have a lot of first-gamers, with Lumumba, Garlett, Frost and Newton all set to play their first games in the Demons jersey.
Father-son selection Billy Stretch will get his first taste of AFL football, while young key forward Jesse Hogan gets his chance to impress the coaches as he looks to cement his spot in the Demons’ best 22.
Prediction
Like any preseason game, this is near impossible to predict. Generally younger teams will feel like they have more to play for in these situations, but I can’t go past the Dockers in Fremantle.
Dockers by 22.
Join The Roar for lives scores and coverage, as well as post-match highlights from 7:00pm (AEDT). If you are following the action live, be sure to share your thoughts on the match in the comments below.
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