FREMANTLE tall forward Matt Taberner is confident his best football is good enough to hold down a spot alongside boom recruits Jesse Hogan and Rory Lobb, and he had little hesitation signing a contract extension until the end of 2021.
Taberner is keen to repay Freo's faith after inking a fresh two-year deal coming off a campaign ruined by a broken foot.
The strong-marking 25-year-old was spearheading the Dockers' forward line and appeared on the verge of a breakout season before he was struck down in round five.
Much of that positivity stems from the Dockers' off-season recruiting spree, and the attacking weapons now at coach Ross Lyon's disposal after three years ranking bottom three for scoring.
Lyon is keen to employ a three-pronged tall forward set-up and Taberner, blessed with elite running power and versatility to pinch-hit in the ruck if required, appears poised to be given first shot alongside Hogan and Lobb in the JLT Community Series.
BEST FORWARDS We rank every club's attack
"There's no limit on how many tall guys you play," Taberner said. "At my best, I'm good enough to play in the team.
"The beauty of that is we're all pretty flexible and Jesse has got a great tank and gets up the ground, and Rory is very athletic as well and can play in the ruck.
"I think it's one of my strengths, my endurance, and I definitely like to get up the ground.
"I think you'll see us all rotate during a match."
Taberner accepted there would be "disappointment at times for everyone" at the selection table this season with pressure for forward spots heating up.
Developing tall Brennan Cox has already been swung back to defence after impressing leading the attack at times last year, while 192cm Cam McCarthy could have to play as a small to nail a spot and revive his career.
The make-up of Freo's best attack is up for debate, but the Dockers have been preparing to play quicker and direct football with more targets to aim at.
"There's definitely been an emphasis this pre-season going direct, having that aerial presence allows us to do that," Taberner said.
"Having said that, we need that ground level support as well, because you're not going to mark every ball.
"We've seen some great signs from (Brandon) Matera, (Sam) Switkowski, those small forwards getting to the feet of the talls.
"My job, and the fellow talls, is to apply that pressure and be part of that forward defence."
The Dockers will trial their options during an intraclub on Friday ahead of their first JLT clash against Collingwood at Joondalup on Monday, March 4.
Key defender Joel Hamling, who pulled out of AFLX due to calf awareness, appears a chance to play in the intraclub after training freely on Monday.
Veteran ruckman Aaron Sandilands (calf) was absent again, while recruit Reece Conca, reportedly battling a knee issue, and Shane Kersten (plantar fascia) were also unsighted.
Second-year midfielder Andy Brayshaw joined a group on modified training, also featuring Harley Bennell (calf), draftee Luke Valente, who continues to be held out of drills, and Stephen Hill (quad).
Hill is set to miss the opening month of the campaign but ran more powerfully at Cockburn than previous weeks.
Connor Blakely was back walking laps in his first appearance since suffering a serious hamstring injury late last month, with a long road ahead until a likely comeback close to round seven.
