Pavlich, Sandilands push to return

FREMANTLE captain Matthew Pavlich and ruckman Aaron Sandilands are both rated 50-50 chances to return against the Brisbane Lions on Saturday, with a closed training session on Wednesday night to decide their fate.

Coach Mark Harvey said Sandilands was slightly more advanced than Pavlich but no risks would be taken with his two most important players.

Sandilands missed last week’s AAMI Stadium humiliation with a minor hamstring strain, while a calf injury has sidelined Pavlich for Fremantle's last two matches.

The side will train again on Friday, but Harvey said he needed to make a decision on the pair as soon as possible, and that decision wouldn't be left to the players.

"No question they want to be playing this week [but] we will have to overrule to the expertise of our fitness and medical staff," Harvey said from Fremantle Oval on Wednesday.

"It's whether they get through the training session really.

"We'd like them to be playing. We need them to play, particularly with the younger group, so if we can get them out there we will."
 
Harvey forecast up to three changes to the side that lost to Adelaide by a record–equalling 117 point in round 15, with one of those changes forced by injury to an unnamed player.

However, the side's seven first-year players from Saturday night's game are all safe and Harvey said that number would rise to eight against the Lions with rookie-elevation Clancee Pearce earning a recall.

Pearce debuted against Port Adelaide in round 11 and backed up against Geelong a week later before injuring a hamstring.

"We thought when he was in the side before he got hurt that he was a pretty good player for us," Harvey said.

Harvey said his middle-tier players would be in the gun at selection and he challenged the side to redeem itself after registering just 1.7 (13) last week – the lowest VFL/AFL score since 1961. 

Eight of Fremantle's best 22 were unavailable for the clash, with Pavlich and Sandilands joined by Ryan Crowley, Roger Hayden, Rhys Palmer, Michael Johnson, Des Headland and Chris Mayne on the sidelines. 

However, Harvey said the side's other seasoned players needed to fill the leadership void. 

"We know that we've got a lot of our A-graders out, but there are other guys there that have been around for a period of time that need to lift the younger players," the coach said.

"Last week they didn't.

"We'll see if the same sort of complement of players that we've got available for selection, whether they can rally and redeem themselves on the back of that performance."