Tom Cole: West Coast Eagles veteran set to sign new one-year deal with club
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Tom Cole: West Coast Eagles veteran set to sign new one-year deal with club
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Perth Now
6 hours ago
- Perth Now
I'll be ready to face Dogs, says crucial Docker
Fremantle midfielder Hayden Young says he will be 'ready' to resume from injury for Sunday's likely sudden-death clash with the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium. 'I'm sure I'll be ready, I just know I will be,' Young told ABC Radio. 'As long as the physios are happy, we'll be good to go.' The midfielder said he was 'pretty close' to taking on the Lions on Friday night but caution prevailed. 'I trained almost fully, probably held back on a few things,' he said. 'But the reality was I wasn't 100 per cent so we didn't want to take the risk, still with a game left in the season, so hopefully I should be right to go next week.' Young has played only seven games this season, sidelined with hamstring issues and the adductor injury, but is confident he can have an impact, as he did in the round 20 western derby when he won his first Glendinning-Allan Medal in only his second game back off a long break. 'I'm super confident I can have an impact. I am not as confident in my body which is fair enough, so that's the challenge going forward,' he said. 'I think I proved to myself (in the western derby) I can come in and have an impact and my football will take care of itself. 'I'm just doing everything I possibly can to get my body right, so I can go out there and stay out there.' Young was listed as a test to take on the Lions at Optus Stadium after he injured his groin in the Dockers' win over Carlton earlier this month. Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said last week Young's availability was a 'tricky one'. 'We want to get some work into him, we want to make sure when he's back he's resilient,' Longmuir said. Should Young return before finals, it would mean the Dockers would play two midfielders who have struggled with soft-tissue injuries this season, with the Dockers weighing up the option of a full game for retiring veteran Nat Fyfe after coming on as the sub in the past two weeks. Longmuir said last week playing both 'comes with risk' but all selection did as September action nears. 'We're at the pointy end of the season and no selection's without risk this time of the year,' Longmuir said. Young in action at training. Credit: Ian Munro / The West Australian Young said it was 'hard to put into words' the impact Fyfe has had on him, who may have played his last home game against the Lions. Young lived with Fyfe after he was drafted at the end of 2019. 'He has meant such much to a lot of players,' Young said. 'The legacy that he leaves on us as young players and the influence that he has had on us and some of the habits that we have created and the things we've learnt through his guidance have shaped the football club. 'It shaped me and it shaped Andy (Brayshaw) and it shaped Caleb (Serong) and that is what is going to be the legacy of Nat Fyfe.' Young recalled Fyfe's sage advice and on-field actions when he made his AFL debut against Brisbane in 2020. 'He was massive back then. I remember a few conversations pre-game and I remember a few conversations in game,' Young said. 'One in particular, I got a late hit from Dayne Zorko and he came up and got stuck into Dayne Zorko for me. That was a full moment for me of my big bro stepping up and looking after me. 'That made me feel comfortable at the level. 'I remember after the game him grabbing me and saying 'many more to come mate'. That was pretty cool as well because you look up to him as a young player.' Young, 24, also opened up on the six-year contract extension that ties him at the club until the end of 2033. Young is desperate to return next weekend. Credit: Janelle St Pierre/AFL Photos / Getty Images Only Kysaiah Pickett has a longer-term deal in the AFL, contracted to the Demons until the end of 2034. 'It is something I did think about a little bit when I was re-signing. Why do I commit so easily and why is it not a hard decision for me?' he said. 'There are many factors that go into that, but I think the way the club took me in, I immediately just fell in love with the club. 'I think it's just the people that you get to know along the journey. I was making my decision and I was thinking, if I am to have success at a club, who would I want to do it with? 'At the end of the day when my career is done, no matter how many premierships we win as a club, it's probably the people that I'll remember and they are the friends I will carry on for the rest of my life. 'These are the people I want to choose to do that with. 'Obviously the prospect of winning the first premiership for the club is super enticing but I think it's the people I want to do it with and I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.' Asked about AFL CEO's Andrew Dillon flagging a possible cap on contract length, Young said: 'My thoughts are if you want to sign a long-term deal, do it, because you want to stay at a club for a long time,' Young said. 'And that's what I'm doing. I don't have any other thoughts on it other than I would probably advise people don't sign long-term contracts if you aren't sure.' Young is part of a six-man leadership at the group alongside captain Alex Pearce, co-deputies Serong and Brayshaw, and Jaeger O'Meara and Sam Switkowski. He had full faith in Pearce and his likely successors Serong and Brayshaw and said the No. 1 leadership role was 'not on my radar at the moment'. 'I want to be a leader of this club for a long time with the support of those players you have mentioned,' he said. 'If that position opened up or it looked like it was coming my way I'd embrace it but with those blokes you mentioned, we have a great little group of leaders there, it doesn't matter who is the captain in title, we are all going to lead this club to its first premiership.'
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
Coach accused of missing obvious trick with Nat Fyfe ‘craziness'
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has been accused of 'missing a trick' during his team's humiliating night out against Brisbane on Friday. The Lions were all over the Dockers at Optus Stadium but the home team still had a faint pulse mid-way through the third quarter. Although they had been badly beaten, only 25 points separated the teams when live images were shown of much-loved champion Nat Fyfe preparing himself to get into the game. The dual Brownlow medallist — who announced his retirement during the week — started the match as the sub and Longmuir had decided to inject him into the action at three-quarter time. Fyfe love was everywhere at the ground, too, who (barring a home final) was possibly playing his last game at Optus Stadium. There was some excitement in the commentary, when they showed live images of 33-year-old stretching and warming up inside the clubrooms. The retiring champ warmed up in the rooms instead of on the sidelines. Credit: @FoxFooty But for fans at the game, they missed all that build-up, totally unaware of what was happening within the bowels of Optus Stadium. And star Seven commentator Jason Richardson felt so disappointed by the missed opportunity, he vented on social media. 'Fyfe warming up in change room …. craziness from a psych point of view,' Richardson said. He also believed the trigger on Fyfe should have been pulled earlier, not at the final break when they were 31 points down. 'Warm him up in front of the crowd. Get the crowd up and into game and then inject him into the game in third quarter when the game was slipping away,' he said. 'Lift the team. Coach missed a trick, I think. 'All over now.' Some fans suggested the game was already over, with or without the addition of Fyfe. But Richardson was emphatic. 'Whole thing was bizarre and a missed opportunity,' he said. There was a whole lot Fyfe love at Optus Stadium on Friday night. Credit: The West Australian Fremantle had the chance to lock away their finals spot and leave the door open to finish in the top four, but now they must beat the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium to make the eight. The situation is eerily similar to last year when they lost the last four games of the season to drop from third to 10th. When asked how the team would handle that pressure, Longmuir didn't mince his words. 'Win. We'll go over there and give it our best shot,' he said. The retiring Fyfe did a lap of honour after the match to say farewell to fans in case the Dockers don't play another match in Perth. But Longmuir insisted it wasn't the end of the club great. 'It didn't go our way tonight, but like I said to them after the game, we will review it the same way, get better, dust ourselves off, and we'll go again,' he said. 'I haven't said farewell to Fyfey yet. We've got plenty of footy left in us.' - With The West Australian
West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
Tom Cole: West Coast Eagles veteran set to sign new one-year deal with club
The West Australian exclusive Tom Cole: West Coast Eagles veteran set to sign new one-year deal with club
