Emerging Fremantle forward Liam Henry remains a chance to play in round one after impressing senior coach Justin Longmuir with his work rate and fitness this pre-season.
Henry played three games in his debut AFL season, including the final game of the home and away season against the Western Bulldogs as he came in as an injury replacement for Michael Walters.
After spending much of the first half of 2020 recovering from a knee injury, Longmuir believes Henry has emerged as a better player.
“Time will well about how he performs in the pre-season, but every indication we’ve got at the moment is that he’s ready to play AFL,” Longmuir said.
“He’s leading a lot of our running. He’s improved his fitness out of sight. He’s definitely got that up to an AFL level now.
“He just needs to be able to put it all together and impact in his role.”
Longmuir said that it was important Henry spent time getting stronger to prevent any more issues arising from his dislocated knee injury, which was sustained playing school football for Christ Church Grammar in 2019.
“(Putting on muscle) was a big goal last year, especially his lower body strength,” Longmuir said.
“He had knee issues coming into the club and a large part of that was to get his lower body strength to a point where it made him more resilient and he’s done that.
“He’s worked really hard over the off-season on his fitness and came back in unbelievable shape. He’s put his hand up for some game time.”
