AFL table toppers Fremantle have been handed a huge boost heading into the final few weeks of the season with the news that Matthew Pavlich and David Mundy have both been passed fit to play despite struggling with injuries over the past couple of weeks. Currently 10 points clear at the top of the AFL ladder, Fremantle have been the form team this season and look in great shape heading into the finals. Two of the Dockers most influential players this season, having Pavlich and Mundy out on the field between now and the end of the season is going to be crucial to Fremantle’s hopes of going all the way between now and the end of the finals.
While Mundy has been nursing a sore ankle, Dockers captain Pavlich has been playing on with an Achilles issue. But heading into the final five rounds of the regular season, both players will need to be carefully managed to ensure they are ready for the finals. Mundy has been an important part of this Fremantle side for 10 years now, and the defender/midfielder has shown little signs of slowing down this year, racking up over 100 tackles and almost 500 disposals. Playing in his 15th season as a professional, Pavlich has continued to lead the Dockers by example, averaging almost two goals a game and guiding the team to the top of he ladder in August.
CC by Michael_Spencer
Priced at around 3/1 with the likes of bet365 and other bookmakers, the Dockers need to have their strongest team available if they’re going to be able to compete with the Hawthorn Hawks and the West Coast Eagles. Having suffered a defeat in the semi-finals last year, Fremantle have plenty of motivation to mount a real push towards the title during the finals, but head coach Ross Lyon will be under no illusions that his side look a lot weaker without some of their best players. The likes of Pavlich, Mundy, Nat Fyfe, Michael Walters and Lachie Neal have all been key to the Dockers success this season, and the spine of the Fremantle team has made them a popular bet with a lot of AFL fans heading into the finals.
Fyfe has been another player who has struggled with injury in recent weeks, although his groin problem doesn’t look set to keep him out of action and the frontrunner for the Brownlow Medal will be hoping to end the season with two pieces of silverware to his name. The midfielder has wasted little time in establishing himself as one of the best young payers in the AFL, and the 23-year old’s form this season has proven beyond doubt that the Dockers have a real star on their hands in Fyfe. The 2014 All Australian might not have hit the same personal heights this season as he did last, but Fyfe won’t be too upset if he missed out on the Brownlow Medal if it meant he could win his first AFL title with the Dockers this year.
