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West Australian
29-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Fremantle Dockers recall Nat Fyfe among three changes for road clash with Gold Coast Suns
Nat Fyfe has been inserted directly into Fremantle's AFL side for his first taste of footy in seven weeks, with the two-time Brownlow medallist among three inclusions for the Dockers against Gold Coast. It comes as coach Justin Longmuir put his faith in Sean Darcy to resume his ruck partnership with Luke Jackson, while dealing with the unexpected loss of Alex Pearce through injury. SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FULL FREO LINE-UP Pearce has suffered a stress injury in his shin, with the club set to take a cautious approach with the 29-year-old who only days earlier overcoming his three-match suspension at the AFL Tribunal. 'On Tuesday, Pearce advised the club that he had some lingering pain in his lower leg following Saturday night's win over Port Adelaide,' the Dockers said in a statement. 'Pearce had sustained an impact injury earlier in the season, though investigations did not find any abnormalities. Further investigation after a scan on Wednesday revealed a stress response in his left shin. 'Pearce will now undergo a deloading period and complete an off legs program. He will be reassessed after the club's bye when Fremantle will be able to provide a further update.' Fyfe hasn't played at AFL level since Fremantle's final home-and-away game of last season, with the 240-game veteran's 2025 campaign disrupted by a string of injuries. The 33-year-old suffered a hamstring setback playing for the Dockers' affiliate side Peel at WAFL level in April, having had minor knee surgery earlier in the year. Fyfe looms as a potential substitute option and will become the first 200-gamer to feature in a game for Fremantle this year, with the former skipper's inclusion a boost to the side's leadership in the absence of Pearce. Josh Draper returns as a like-for-like replacement for Pearce in defence, while Darcy will be desperate for a clean run of health after being inserted to help nullify the influence of Jarrod Witts. Isaiah Dudley was ruled out earlier on Thursday with a personal issue, with Cooper Simpson (shoulder) the other absentee from last week's win over Port Adelaide. James Aish travelled as an emergency, while Andrew Brayshaw will captain the side in Pearce's absence. The Suns recalled Ned Moyle to partner Witts in the ruck against Freo's twin towers, with Leo Lombard to make his long-awaited debut. Malcolm Rosas and Ethan Read have both been dropped. Gold Coast are yet to lose a home fixture this season, which includes two matches at their People First Stadium base at Carrara and two at their home-away-from-home at Darwin's TIO Stadium. B: L Ryan, J Draper, B Cox HB: H Chapman, K Worner, J Clark C: J Sharp, S Bolton, M Johnson HF: M Frederick, S Switkowski, M Reid F: P Voss, J Treacy, J Amiss R: L Jackson, C Serong, A Brayshaw IC: N Fyfe, N Erasmus, C Wagner, S Darcy, B Banfield EMG: H Davies, J Aish, N O'Driscoll
Perth Now
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Fyfe's IN! Star veteran locked in for first game of 2025
Nat Fyfe has been inserted directly into Fremantle's AFL side for his first taste of footy in seven weeks, with the two-time Brownlow medallist among three inclusions for the Dockers against Gold Coast. It comes as coach Justin Longmuir put his faith in Sean Darcy to resume his ruck partnership with Luke Jackson, while dealing with the unexpected loss of Alex Pearce through injury. SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FULL FREO LINE-UP Pearce has suffered a stress injury in his shin, with the club set to take a cautious approach with the 29-year-old who only days earlier overcoming his three-match suspension at the AFL Tribunal. 'On Tuesday, Pearce advised the club that he had some lingering pain in his lower leg following Saturday night's win over Port Adelaide,' the Dockers said in a statement. 'Pearce had sustained an impact injury earlier in the season, though investigations did not find any abnormalities. Further investigation after a scan on Wednesday revealed a stress response in his left shin. 'Pearce will now undergo a deloading period and complete an off legs program. He will be reassessed after the club's bye when Fremantle will be able to provide a further update.' Alex Pearce is out. Credit: Janelle St Pierre / AFL Photos Fyfe hasn't played at AFL level since Fremantle's final home-and-away game of last season, with the 240-game veteran's 2025 campaign disrupted by a string of injuries. The 33-year-old suffered a hamstring setback playing for the Dockers' affiliate side Peel at WAFL level in April, having had minor knee surgery earlier in the year. Fyfe looms as a potential substitute option and will become the first 200-gamer to feature in a game for Fremantle this year, with the former skipper's inclusion a boost to the side's leadership in the absence of Pearce. Josh Draper returns as a like-for-like replacement for Pearce in defence, while Darcy will be desperate for a clean run of health after being inserted to help nullify the influence of Jarrod Witts. Isaiah Dudley was ruled out earlier on Thursday with a personal issue, with Cooper Simpson (shoulder) the other absentee from last week's win over Port Adelaide. James Aish travelled as an emergency, while Andrew Brayshaw will captain the side in Pearce's absence. The Suns recalled Ned Moyle to partner Witts in the ruck against Freo's twin towers, with Leo Lombard to make his long-awaited debut. Malcolm Rosas and Ethan Read have both been dropped. Gold Coast are yet to lose a home fixture this season, which includes two matches at their People First Stadium base at Carrara and two at their home-away-from-home at Darwin's TIO Stadium. B: L Ryan, J Draper, B Cox HB: H Chapman, K Worner, J Clark C: J Sharp, S Bolton, M Johnson HF: M Frederick, S Switkowski, M Reid F: P Voss, J Treacy, J Amiss R: L Jackson, C Serong, A Brayshaw IC: N Fyfe, N Erasmus, C Wagner, S Darcy, B Banfield EMG: H Davies, J Aish, N O'Driscoll
West Australian
27-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
LIVE UPDATES: Fremantle Dockers challenge captain Alex Pearce's three-match rough conduct ban at AFL Tribunal
Fremantle will look to have captain Alex Pearce's three-match ban overturned at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday. Pearce was offered a suspension for rough conduct following a collision that left Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones concussed during Saturday night's clash at Optus Stadium. The incident was graded careless conduct, severe impact and high contact, resulting in a sanction of three matches. The Dockers will face Gold Coast before the bye, then North Melbourne and Essendon over the next month. Follow along in our live blog. The West Australian put tonight's question to the readers during the day and the response was overwhelming. Coach Justion Longmuir revealed on Monday Pearce was feeling hard done by after the suspension and he was firm he didn't think his skipper had done anything wrong. The Dockers are likely to argue the clash was caused by a 'footy incident' and that Pearce kept his eyes on the ball without bracing, thus protecting Byrne-Jones as much as he could have. They might also argue there was no high contact but only time will tell. It's the day of judgment for Fremantle skipper Alex Pearce as he contests a three-match ban handed to him for a hit on Darcy Byrne-Jones. The pair were both going for a mark in the heavy rain on Saturday night with Pearce clattering into the Power defender who got to the ball first. Byrne-Jones was concussed and took no further part. Can Pearce get off, or will the AFL's argument prove too strong?
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
James Hird's sad truth for AFL fans amid fury over tribunal's Paul Curtis call
James Hird believes the AFL Tribunal's controversial decision to uphold the three-game ban for North Melbourne's Paul Curtis proves the game is moving towards a zero tolerance policy when it comes to concussions and bans will be inevitable when such incidents occur. Curtis failed to overturn his suspension for rough conduct on Tuesday night after the tribunal ruled the tackle which concussed Port Adelaide's Josh Sinn was unreasonably dangerous. Sinn was concussed when his head hit the ground during the second quarter incident in the Power's nine-point win. AFL counsel Sally Flynn said the Curtis tackle was unreasonable because it pinned Sinn's arms and contributed to the concussion. "He (Sinn) really had no opportunity to be able to brace," Flynn told the hearing. She maintained the severe impact of the tackle also had to be weighed in to the penalty. "Sinn was visibly affected by his head hitting the ground ... the impact should be classified as severe," Flynn said. Curtis' counsel Justin Graham KC argued the 22-year-old Roo stopped and dropped his weight, with his knees to the side of Sinn during the tackle. "Joshua's knees then plug into the turf ... (it) causes them to lunge forward and Joshua's head makes forceful contact with the ground," Graham said. There was no slinging and there was no driving motion involved." "Where we're at at the moment is not the solution... it's driving us all mad."Jimmy Bartel fears for where the game is at right now after Paul Curtis' three-match ban.#9FootyFurnace | Watch on Nine & 9Now 🖥️ — Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) April 27, 2025 Graham contested the grading of impact as severe, adding there was "no rough conduct because the tackle was not unreasonable in the circumstance". The tribunal panel Jeff Gleeson, Paul Williams and David Neitz deliberated for around 30 minutes before returning their verdict. "Curtis did not need to propel Sinn forward with such force," Gleeson said. "Curtis could have, but did not, make a significant attempt to roll to the side. Prudent players are today well aware that tackling a player from behind when both the tackler and the ball carrier have some momentum carries a risk of causing a concussion if care is not taken to avoid or minimise that risk. Curtis did not do nearly enough to address that risk." RELATED: Damning footage emerges as Essendon complain about rivals Buddy Franklin exposes troubling issue hurting Swans Jack Ginnivan hit with charge from AFL over ugly incident The incident and the three-game ban for Curtis has led to widespread criticism around the AFL world, with former Kangaroos great former Kangaroos chairman James Brayshaw calling it an 'embarrassing' decision from the tribunal. 'What else was (Curtis) meant to do,'' Brayshaw said on Triple M's Rush Hour. 'When you look at the vision of it, the outcome no one wants ever, but it's a contact sport and accidents are going to happen on a football field." Eddie McGuire also labelled the saga a "disaster" and argued that Curtis was punished for what was effectively a standard tackle. Speaking on Nine's Footy Classified, the former Collingwood president showed a clip of the incident that showed how little time Curtis had to satisfy the guidelines for a safe tackle. "That is less than one-third of a second from when Curtis tackled him, till they got to the ground where he was supposed to roll, pull himself back, not propel and let go of his arms." AFL great Rory Sloane added: "To think about all that during a tackle in a game is impossible. You won't get any arguments from a player saying that's ridiculous that it's three weeks." "That is less than one-third of a second!" 😳The vision that shows the game may be asking too much of players, as the panel reacts to Paul Curtis' 'ridiculous' three-match ban being upheld.#9FootyClassified | Watch on Nine & 9Now 🖥️ — Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) April 29, 2025 And Hird claimed the sad truth stemming from the Curtis saga is that players will unlikely never escape suspension anymore, if their actions result in concussions for opposition players. "It's all about the concussions, it's all about the legal cases going forward and it will get to the point I think where if you concuss a player through your actions, you're out for three weeks no matter what," Hird said. "Except the spectacular high mark... I think they've basically moved to the point that if a player gets concussed because of your actions there's three weeks. If that's where they're going then just make it a point, 'that's where we're going'."
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hawthorn's Nash banned for four games by AFL tribunal
Conor Nash must serve a four-game ban for striking Geelong's Gryan Miers after Hawthorn unsuccessfully tried to downgrade his sentence at the AFL Tribunal. A "genuinely remorseful and apologetic" Nash did not dispute the severity or impact of the incident at the hearing on Wednesday night but argued for a three-game suspension. Nash had been sent straight to the tribunal after collecting Miers with a high, swinging arm in the Cats' seven-point win on Easter Monday. Miers was subbed out immediately and will miss at least Sunday's clash with Carlton at the MCG after entering the 12-day concussion protocols. The incident was assessed as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact. Gryan Miers was helped off the field following this incident involving Conor Nash.#AFLCatsHawks — AFL (@AFL) April 21, 2025 Hawthorn argued the incident only warranted a three-week suspension given Nash had pleaded guilty at the earliest available time. The club also made clear Nash hadn't used his fist to create an excessive force against Miers and that he possessed an "unblemished tribunal record" in the same vein as AFL great and fellow Irishman Jim Stynes. But the tribunal maintained, after 40 minutes of deliberation, that Nash had acted with severe force and a significant degree of carelessness. Tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson KC added Nash was aware of Miers given he had his arm on the opposition player's back. "We have some difficulty in understanding how Mr. Nash got it so wrong here," Gleeson said. "We accept that he was not intending to strike Miers to the head, but he should have known that a forceful swing of an arm at head height may well result in such a strike." Nash had presented the tribunal a text message he sent to Miers in the days after the match. "Firstly, I just want to check in on how you've pulled up today. Hopefully not too bad and can get back on track soon," the message said. "I'm also reaching out to let you know that there really wasn't any malice to that hit. "I tried to play the ball and I just got it badly wrong. "Yes, I do try to play the game with a physical presence, but not in that spirit and just want you to know that. "Again, very sorry for what's happened and all the circus around it." The AFL argued Nash warranted a four-week ban as he had a duty of care to a "vulnerable" Miers and that the contact was made to the Geelong player's head. Miers looked to be concussed before he hit the ground and staggered off the field with the help of medical staff.
