Fremantle senior coach Justin Longmuir is adamant his side will use this weekend’s last home-and-away game of the season against Carlton to prepare themselves for finals.
Speaking at his Tuesday morning media conference ahead of main training, Longmuir said Fremantle’s Round 24 structure would largely be the team he hopes to roll out in finals, with a week off to factor in while Wildcard Finals are played.
“We've got a week off next week, so that's the beauty of where we are in the season, where we've placed ourselves,” Longmuir said.
“It is a balance. We don't necessarily think that two weeks off would suit many of our players.
“We've been able to monitor game time within games at times through the back half of the season, and there's no real flags in terms of management needs or injuries… we'll listen to the doctors and we'll weigh that up.
“Those discussions haven't really happened yet, but we'll play our best side.
“I would imagine we pick a team this week with the structure that we'll go into the finals with, but we’re not set on that.
“There's lots of little things that can change, and I'm not wedded to going with three talls if that's the way we go this week and in the first final.
“It's probably a sign of what we think is ahead with the team we pick this week.”
An in-form Carlton side this morning officially announced caretaker coach Josh Fraser to take the helm as full-time senior coach after an impressive run of form, with the Blues going 10-1-2 under him.
Longmuir said the challenge of an upbeat Carlton at Marvel Stadium will be good preparation for his side as September approaches.
“They’re playing an aggressive brand of footy, they're tipping into all phases of the game, and it's going to be a great challenge for us at Marvel with the Blues fans fully behind them,” Longmuir said.
“This game's going to be a good one for us. He's done a great job in setting them up.”
Fremantle and Carlton will commence at 11.15am WST on Saturday 22 August at Marvel Stadium.
Fremantle’s team selection for the clash will be announced at 4.20pm WST on Thursday 20 August.
