We’ll go game-by-game across the AAMI Community Series to offer all the latest insights from coaches into who’s in form, who’s got a good role and the latest injury updates.
Fremantle vs Melbourne
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir
On Shai Bolton:
“He was a bit the same as the team. It’s his first competitive game with us. He’s coming off that little calf injury, so he probably felt the conditions, the heat, the fatigue, a little bit more than others. I thought his best was very good, but there was a little bit of rust in other areas of his game.
“I think he led us for score involvements off a pretty low possession base. He kicked a nice goal, and he created opportunities for others. He’ll build off that.”
On Luke Jackson:
“I thought he had impact around contests all day. Whether that was at centre square or stoppage, he has impact on all lines. The third quarter wasn’t going our way and I thought back-end of the third quarter he started winning some contests. I thought he played a really good game.
“It’s hard to say he’s going to do this, this and this, because he is so flexible and we can use him in a lot of different ways. In round 1 that might be in the ruck, but it might not be. He must just play forward, mid and in the ruck.”
On Murphy Reid’s Round 1 chances:
“Not sure. He plays a different role to the other mids. He spent a lot of time forward. He gives us a bit of flexibility. There were elements of his game which were a bit off today. We’ll review it.”
On Nathan O’Driscoll:
“He adds flexibility to play inside and out for us. In the second half, especially that last quarter, his run was really important to us. A lot of guys were stopping. He had a lot of energy.”
Melbourne assistant coach Troy Chaplin
On Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca:
“I know Clarry came off a really good game last week. He’s had a full pre-season. He’s in really good form.
“But also for Trac. It’s been a really tough time for him. He’s had to jump through a few mental hoops. It hasn’t been easy. He’s come back in fantastic condition.”
On Jacob van Rooyen’s injury:
“Rooey had a bit of a back spasm there at the start of the game… He’s pretty sore, but he’ll be fine for Round 1.”
About The Author
Ben Somerford
