Fremantle star Andrew Brayshaw says he and his fellow Dockers are keen to ‘toe the line’ with former teammate Lachie Schultz, when the Collingwood forward arrives at Optus Stadium for his first match in Perth since leaving the club.
Schultz’s abrupt trade request after the 2023 season for family reasons, despite still being under contract provided one of the trade period’s biggest bombshells, with the former Docker eventually arriving at the Pies in exchange for pick 34 and a future first-round pick.
The 26-year old is yet to set the world on fire at his new home, managing just 10 goals in nine games thus far in 2024 after a career-high 33 in 2023, and Brayshaw is keen to ensure his former teammate doesn’t have a breakout game when the Dockers face the Magpies on Friday night.
“We’re very excited to play against him,” Brayshaw told SEN WA.
“Lachie was an amazing teammate and I loved playing with him – but now he’s opposition, and all of us will be trying to toe the line, I guess.
“We don’t want to, like you said, get him too sparked up so he kicks three or four [goals]… if we have an opportunity to put a bit of hurt on the kid, we’ll be trying to do that.”
The Dockers have history with affording former players a spicy welcome back to Western Australia, with current Western Bulldog Rory Lobb heavily targeted during his first match against them in Perth last year.
However, their aggressive tactics backfired, with the Bulldogs winning by 49 points and the Dockers in particular slammed for a moment where several players sparked a fight with Lobb mid-play, leading to an Adam Treloar goal.
Friday night’s match will be Schultz’s 100th of his career, and is a crucial one for both sides.
After a shaky start to their premiership defence, the Magpies can move temporarily into the top four with a win, while the Dockers could jump all the way to third on the ladder pending other results throughout the weekend.
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