FREMANTLE midfielder Nathan O'Driscoll has emerged as an early-season bolter after a prominent role in the Dockers' final intraclub match of the summer on Friday.
O'Driscoll, who did not debut in an injury-interrupted debut season, started almost all centre bounces and won plenty of the ball, with his strength in the contest standing out.
Having played on the wing for most of the pre-season, the 19-year-old was injected into the centre in the absence of skipper Nat Fyfe and midfield pair Darcy Tucker and Will Brodie, taking his chance with both hands.
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A tall midfielder who was recruited with pick No.27 in the 2020 NAB AFL Draft, O'Driscoll (pictured below) has added size and strength this pre-season and appears a strong chance of competing for midfield selection early in 2022.
"He showed that he's improving. If you look at him and where he was last year, there's been massive improvement year on year in his game," midfield coach Josh Carr told AFL.com.au.
"He's been able to play wing and also go inside and play onball this pre-season, where his contested possession has taken a big step."
O'Driscoll would still need to push past several players to earn early-season games, but his performance on Friday shows he is close to being ready if a chance presents.
Captain Nat Fyfe (shoulder) is pushing to be fit for round one, while Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong and David Mundy will be prominent onballers.
Will Brodie (soreness) and Darcy Tucker (hamstring) were summer standouts before minor injuries struck but should return for the first and second practice games against West Coast respectively.
Several Dockers coming back from injury were able to get through Friday's match unscathed, including key forward Matt Taberner, who booted a game-high four goals, including two in the final quarter.
Fellow goalkicker Josh Treacy eased back into action, playing the first two quarters before moving into a running session alongside ruckman Sean Darcy, who was limited to three quarters.
Recently elevated into the leadership group, young star Serong was arguably best afield, booting two excellent running goals in the second quarter and standing out in the midfield.
The Dockers hardly changed their centre square combinations for the four 25-minute quarters, with Serong, Mundy and impressive draftee Neil Erasmus combining against Brayshaw, Mitch Crowden and O'Driscoll.
There were cameos throughout the match from forwards Sam Switkowski and Travis Colyer and midfielder Connor Blakely, who spent most of the match battling on a wing with Blake Acres.
Liam Henry was the standout wingman, winning plenty of the ball in his new role, spearing passes inside 50, and pushing forward to snap an excellent goal from the pocket.
"He's doing everything right to hold a wing spot for round one. I think he's been performing well and performing consistently over the pre-season," Carr said.
Versatile forward Sam Sturt got through unscathed and impressed with a long run along the wing, while key defensive duo Alex Pearce and Joel Hamling each completed solid minutes.
Brennan Cox played exclusively in defence and stood out with his intercept marking, particularly later in the match, working in tandem with young backman Heath Chapman.
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Recruit Jordan Clark showed speed and neat ball-use off half-back, with fellow defender Hayden Young also impressive with his ball-use and ability to both intercept and spoil aggressively.
We've got 10 to 12 players fighting for positions in defence and they're all performing really well behind the ball," Carr said.
"Lobby (Rory Lobb) really stepped up and challenged the back six, so there were pleasing signs in all aspects of our game.
"It's going to be nice to play against some opposition and get an idea of where we're at and how much we're improving.”
