FREMANTLE faces a searching test of its list depth in the coming weeks after a night of injury chaos against the Western Bulldogs that claimed captain Nat Fyfe and could end the season of important defender Brennan Cox.
The Dockers lost Fyfe with a dislocated shoulder in the fourth quarter, while Cox and ruckman Sean Darcy both suffered hamstring injuries in the same 90-second passage of play.
DOCKERS v BULLDOGS Full match coverage and stats
Cox will head for scans on what the club suspects is a high-grade tendon-related injury, while Darcy suffered a less serious hamstring strain.
Griffin Logue was concussed earlier in the match, colliding with Bulldog Aaron Naughton when he was running back with the flight of the ball.
Mitch Crowden suffered a knock to his AC joint in the dying stages, but it is Cox's hamstring injury that shapes as the most pressing concern, with Longmuir conceding it was "potentially" season-ending.
"It doesn’t look positive at this stage unfortunately. We’ll get it scanned, but it looks high-grade," the coach said.
On Fyfe, who injured the same shoulder he has previously had reconstructed, Longmuir said: "He’s going to have to get it scanned. I think it’s positive that it popped back in on the field … I can’t put a timeframe on it."
The Dockers chose to be conservative with late withdrawal Matt Taberner, who "wasn't 100 per cent comfortable" at training on Saturday, but the key forward looks likely to be a much-needed inclusion against Gold Coast next Saturday after an ankle issue.
Longmuir was confident the Dockers had replacements ready to face the Suns, despite an already bulging injury list.
Defender Alex Pearce, midfielder Brett Bewley, ruckman Lloyd Meek and potential debutant Joel Western all look likely to be called on.
"We’ll be right. We might be a little bit thin in the emergency department," the coach said.
"It’s a big hit. But 'Fyfey' might get some good news. I still have my fingers crossed on a few of our players, but we’ll definitely have three or four changes."
Defender Nathan Wilson also faces a nervous wait after striking opponent Cody Weightman in the groin in frustration, an incident that Longmuir said he would follow up during the week.
Overall, the coach was pleased with how his players fought through the fourth-quarter carnage and matched the Bulldogs' midfielders throughout a gritty match.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said his players did an "extraordinary job" to fly into Perth after recent quarantine challenges and walk away with an important win.
"We're grateful for the boys' efforts after the long-haul flight over, being in air-conditioning for a week or so and then being cooped up today," he said.
"We were a bit concerned at times. It didn't look like we had the energy here and there. And they were a bit stiff in the last quarter to lose a number of players.
"But I thought we dug in and it's an important win for us."
Ruckman Stefan Martin suffered a shoulder injury and will head for scans, but Beveridge was hopeful he would be available to face Geelong after the round 13 bye.
The coach also revealed the Bulldogs will train right through their bye period and instead give players and staff a mid-season break after they play the Cats and in the build-up to the round 15 clash against West Coast.
"We've recalibrated our next couple of weeks … with the [lockdown] in Victoria, it wasn't ideal our players were going to have time off and sit at home or live under constraints of lockdown," the coach said.
"Previously everyone had organised to go away for a few days and come back refreshed, but we'll train through. We'll freshen up a little bit and go two weeks into Geelong. Then we'll engineer our own bye between Geelong and West Coast."
The Bulldogs are scheduled to play Geelong on Friday, June 18, and will give players Saturday to Tuesday off, before starting their preparation to face the Eagles.
That clash is scheduled for Sunday, June 27, at Optus Stadium.
