Fremantle defender Alex Silvagni has won the race to replace injured backman Luke McPharlin for Saturday night’s AFL elimination final against Geelong at the MCG, but the club’s need for speed has cost ruckman Jonathon Griffin his spot.
The Dockers opted to take a squad of 25 to Melbourne on Thursday, with Matt de Boer, Silvagni and Kepler Bradley all recalled into the 22.
Dylan Roberton, Zac Clarke and Cameron Sutcliffe were named as the emergencies.
De Boer replaces Tom Sheridan in the 22 after recovering from an ankle injury, while Silvagni beat out retiring defender Antoni Grover for the spot left vacant by McPharlin, who is set to miss two to three weeks with a hamstring injury.
But the heartbreak story of the day was Griffin’s axing.
The 26-year-old filled in admirably while Sandilands was sidelined by turf toe for 10 weeks earlier this season, and the pair combined successfully in last Saturday’s 61-point win over lowly Melbourne in Perth.
But Griffin’s lack of versatility and ground speed has cost him his spot, with ruckman/forward Kepler Bradley reinstated in the 22 after overcoming a recent bout of concussion.
Sandilands and Griffin have played together on just three occasions, and coach Ross Lyon said their lack of game time as a duo was too costly to experiment with in a final.
“We really liked a bit of what we saw from Jon, but we would have liked more of it,” Lyon told DockerTV.
“Going forward it’s something we’re keen on but it certainly needs more practise.”
Silvagni has played just three games this season after falling behind McPharlin, Zac Dawson and Michael Johnson in the defensive pecking order.
The 24-year-old struggled for form in those three outings.
McPharlin has been a tower of strength in defence for Fremantle this season, and will be sorely missed as Fremantle attempt to tame the likes of Tom Hawkins, James Podsiadly, Trent West and Nathan Vardy.
But Lyon backed Silvagni to add his own dimension to the backline.
“We just want Alex to be himself, not play like Luke. Just give great effort. I’m sure he will be fine,” Lyon said.
Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich, who has been battling a series of leg issues in recent weeks, trained on Thursday and is considered a definite starter against Geelong.
The Cats made just one change, replacing suspended forward Steve Johnson with 24-year-old utility Jonathan Simpkin.
Geelong are hot favourites to get the job done against Fremantle, but Lyon said his charges wouldn’t be daunted by the challenge.
“They’re a proven premiership team, triple-premiership players in the majority, so it would be great to announce ourselves on the big stage,” Lyon said.
