Temperatures are expected to soar during Fremantle’s JLT Community Series opener against West Coast in Geraldton on Saturday, but assistant coach Michael Prior has every confidence the players can handle the conditions.

Prior has seen what the players can deal with after a gruelling pre-season, and expects to see a good performance even if the temperature reaches the forecasted 37 degrees.

“It’s going to be interesting, but we’ve trained in (the heat) all summer,” Prior said.

“Our players are professional enough to hydrate well beforehand, and I know our fitness staff will be monitoring it during the game.”

The game will be Fremantle’s first for the JLT Series, while West Coast may have an upper hand in match conditioning after last week’s hit-out against the Giants in regional NSW.

The Eagles lost that game by 33-points, but head into this game with a much stronger line-up - including Brownlow Medallists Matthew Priddis and Sam Mitchell, as well as back-to-back Coleman Medallist Josh Kennedy.

Fremantle have also named a line-up ready to compete, led by their captain and Brownlow Medallist in Nat Fyfe.

“We’ll slowly build into this pre-season, but we’ve named a strong squad,” Prior said. 

“I think there’s only thee guys missing from our best side in Aaron (Sandilands), Harley Bennell and Lachie Neale. We’re coming up against a pretty strong side as well in West Coast, so it’s going to be a good task for us.”

Fremantle will also have up to six players pulling on the jumper for the first time, including new signings Cam McCarthy, Bradley Hill, Joel Hamling and Shane Kersten, as well as draftees Sean Darcy and Brennan Cox.

While the primary focus will be on the team performance and preparing for round one, Prior doesn’t underestimate the importance of building a winning habit early.

“We’ll absolutely going for the win,” Prior said.

“After the year we had last year, winning form is good form, and we want to get back on the horse.”