FREMANTLE coach Justin Longmuir says he was "really happy" with key forward Pat Voss' defensive approach against St Kilda captain Callum Wilkie last Friday night as the Dockers weigh up another role for the colourful goalkicker in Saturday's blockbuster against Brisbane. 

Voss' tactics were described as "bizarre" by Saints coach Ross Lyon after the Freo forward played behind his man and got in several wrestles off the ball, ultimately keeping Wilkie to just one intercept mark in a key win for the Dockers. 

Longmuir said the Dockers would consider another role for Voss against Brisbane if match-ups allowed, but key forward Josh Treacy would be backed to handle Harris Andrews if the Lions star went to the Dockers spearhead.  

Longmuir said he watched Voss match-up with Wilkie back in detail and had no issues with the 22-year-old's approach.

"I was really happy with Vossy. When a wrestle happens, it takes two and there's nothing to say that the forward has to play in front of the backman in the rulebook," Longmuir said on Thursday. 

"So Vossy tried to play behind him and Wilkie tried to play behind him and sometimes it turned into a wrestle.

"I understand the narrative around that, but I also watched it back pretty closely and felt like there was two involved in that."

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Asked if the Dockers would have a similar role for Voss this week, Longmuir said: "We'll see. We probably went to that last year, and it didn't work as well as we would have liked."

Fremantle captain Alex Pearce will return from a knee injury for Saturday's clash against the back-to-back premiers, while star midfielder Hayden Young is no guarantee after training away from the main group on Thursday. 

Longmuir said the 25-year-old, who has missed the past two matches with concussion, still had boxes to tick and he was "more hopeful than confident" of having the gun ball-winner available. 

Hayden Young celebrates a goal during Fremantle's win over Hawthorn in round nine, 2026. Picture: AFL Photos

"It's just one of those things that we don't want to take any risks with," Longmuir said.

"He's got some boxes to tick today, and I'll leave it to him and the medicos. But I'm probably more hopeful."

Longmuir said he was confident in his midfield's ability to take on Brisbane's star-studded group, despite missing leading clearance player Caleb Serong for another week with a calf injury. 

Matt Johnson stepped into a run-with role against the Saints and kept danger man Hugo Garcia to 10 disposals and two clearances, with the Dockers keeping the role as an option against the Lions. 

"We'll have a look at it. They've got a lot of numbers through there and a lot of players who can do damage, and when we've come up against teams like that, we've chosen to go head-to-head and leave it as a go-to," Longmuir said.  

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"It's a great challenge for us. They've not only got some stars in the midfield, led by two good rucks, but they've got real depth through there as well. 

"I'm really proud of the way the players stepped up in Caleb's absence last week, and it's going to be a different challenge this week away from home against a really good team looking to bounce back." 

Ruckman Sean Darcy will play 80 minutes in the WAFL on Sunday for Peel Thunder after recovering from a calf injury, with the Dockers yet to decide how many weeks he will need at the lower level before pushing into the AFL team.