Written by Megan Taylor, sports reporter covering international sports since 2020
Fremantle Dockers midfielder Hayden Young will return for Saturday’s AFL clash with North Melbourne at Hands Oval in Bunbury after missing a month with concussion.
The Dockers made three changes for the meeting, bringing in Young, Jaeger O’Meara and Oscar McDonald while losing Brennan Cox and Matt Johnson to injury and dropping Chris Scerri.
For more AFL news, read Brisbane Lions Injury Crisis Deepens As Hugh McCluggage Ruled Out Of QClash.
Hayden Young Returns On Managed Minutes
Young last played in the round nine win over Hawthorn before suffering concussion at training. The 25-year-old has had a difficult run with injuries and has played only 14 games since the start of last year.
Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said Young would be managed, but his running base had remained strong while he was in concussion protocols.
“The beauty of his training the past couple of weeks is he just hasn’t done contact, but he’s been able to do a lot of running,” Longmuir said.
O’Meara will play his first AFL match since the Dockers beat Collingwood in Gather Round in early April. He returns after solid WAFL form following surgery for facial injuries suffered in a training mishap.
Dockers Adjust Defence For Hands Oval Test
McDonald comes in as a ready-made tall defender, with Cox dealing with a knee issue and Johnson sidelined by a hamstring problem. Cox was limited to running laps at training while Alex Pearce also watched parts of the session.
“Coxy is an interesting one and with the bye next week, is it an opportunity to give him a couple of weeks off to try to get that knee right,” Longmuir said.
“We’ll see how he feels after training and make a call after that.”
North Melbourne have named Zac Fisher to replace Finn O’Sullivan, who entered concussion protocols after a head knock at training. Tristan Xerri was cleared of concussion and travelled with the team, with official match details available through the AFL website.