This Saturday against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, Fremantle will be without Luke McPharlin - one of the heavy favourites to win the coveted All- Australian full-back position at season’s end.

The brilliant defender’s one-game suspension comes at a time when Freo faces the second-placed team on the AFL ladder, which is likely to regain its star tall forward Kurt Tippett.

Tippett’s inclusion alongside in-form goal kicker Taylor Walker would give the Crows a daunting attack for any team to counter, let alone one without its best defender.

So, if as expected Tippett plays, how will Fremantle look to counter the danger duo, which has averaged more than five goals per game between them this season?

For starters, the club can gain confidence from its defensive record in games McPharlin has missed in recent seasons.

From rounds 9-15 in 2010, in games without an injured McPharlin, Fremantle gave up multiple goals to key forwards in just two games.

Richmond’s Jack Riewoldt booted five on Alex Silvagni in round 15, while Adelaide’s Walker managed four against Antoni Grover and Chris Tarrant.

In 2011, McPharlin missed only two games, and on each occasion Alex Silvagni did a great job filling in.

In round 19, against an avalanche of Hawthorn forward 50 entries, Silvagni held Hawks superstar Lance Franklin goalless, albeit in wet conditions.

The final round of the season saw an injury-ravaged Fremantle field one of the most inexperienced line-ups ever seen pre-Gold Coast and GWS.

Silvagni found himself playing on Barry Hall in the goal kicking legend’s final game.
After holding him to one goal in the first three quarters, Silvagni eventually budged to the forward 50 barrage, giving up four in the final quarter as every man and his Bulldog tried to get the footy into Hall’s hands.

Earlier in 2011, McPharlin had limped off and been subbed out before half-time in the round 14 game against Brisbane.

Silvagni stepped up to the plate and kept powerhouse Lions forward Jonathon Brown goalless in the second-half.

Antoni Grover is another defender Ross Lyon should feel comfortable throwing straight into the action. The Freo great has proven since 1999 that he is as tough and uncompromising as backmen come.

While he’s in the twilight of his career, Grover showed earlier in 2012 that he can still mix it at AFL level with a solid performance against the Bulldogs in round 15 before injury put him out of the team again.

Peter Faulks has been the best defender in the WAFL over the past few months.

The former Sydney Swan has played in a Peel Thunder side that has regularly been on the end of heavy defeats, yet he continues to beat his direct opponent and win plenty of the ball.

Faulks is currently listed as a test on Freo’s injury list, so his availability is in question, but before that he was doing everything he could to play his first AFL game of the season.

Zac Dawson will play on one of Adelaide’s tall forwards - most likely Tippett.

Regardless of who stands Adelaide’s other goal kicker, Fremantle should feel confident that the job is in trustworthy hands.

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