The Docker who will fill the Alex Pearce void: Hayden Young backs Luke Ryan to stand up

Pearce may not play again before the end of the home and away season after the fracture, which came in his comeback game against Melbourne on Sunday after he had missed a month from a similar injury.

Fremantle are yet to offer a timeline for Pearce’s return but it is likely they would take the rest of the home and away season for this rehabilitation and hope to secure a finals berth in Pearce’s absence.

Young said every member of the Dockers leadership group had to step up and take more responsibility. It also meant that some who weren’t in the group had to lead and Ryan had shown great qualities during Pearce’s absence from the team, he said.

“In the weeks that Alex was out Caleb and Andy did a great job when they were captain. And then we have got people like Luke Ryan who is not in our leadership group but who is clearly a leader in our group. Players like that have to lift.”

“Particularly Luke playing in the backline. When you think back to that Sydney game when we had Josh Draper and Hugh Davies down there. He was outstanding in that game.”

“We saw what he was able to do, helping Drapes and Hughie play a really important role in that win. His leadership is going to be just as important going forward.”

Ryan is 28 and played his 150th game against the Demons last weekend. He is an outstanding player, a 2020 All-Australian and club best and fairest. But he is seen as more of a knockabout bloke than a club leader yet Young said he had really stepped forward when needed to.

The AFL ladder and a home crowd says that this should be a derby Fremantle win but the Dockers have the bitter experience of a round six defeat by the Eagles to remind themselves that derbies don’t always follow form guides.

“No matter where we are on the ladder it is a good battle. Coming off the last time we played them there were a few areas of the game we didn’t quite get right,” Young said.

“Largely that was around the contest: Around the ball and in the air. They are probably the two things that we will look to rectify because when West Coast get those things going in their game they are pretty strong. We saw that last time. Those areas we will make sure we focus on.”

This is a Fremantle team that has shown it can correct its mistakes. The Dockers lost a tight encounter with Hawthorn in Launceston, then set themselves to be more assertive and aggressive around stoppages against the Demons.

“We felt like we didn’t do that against the Hawks. Our response on the weekend was really good. We obviously had a little bit of ruck dominance but we wanted to be aggressive with our movement and our bodywork and it felt like we were able to create a lot of opportunities. There were times when we didn’t get our hands on it first but we were able to still win the clearance. That is the brand we are developing and it is the sort of thing we are going to need to do against West Coast who are a strong midfield.”

“Young labelled Pearce’s latest injury “devastating”.

“You never want to see someone get injured. It is disappointing. Freak accidents just happen in footy. Fingers crossed from here on all things go to plan and we can get him back on the park.”

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“He is still super invested in the season and he is pumped about the direction we are going in and he was very vocal at this morning’s leadership meeting. He wants to be involved and I think that just shows the character of the person.”

Young and fellow mids Andy Brayshaw and Caleb Serong played superbly against Melbourne – further evidence they are emerging as one of the most powerful midfield triumvirates in the competition. As a midfield performance overall, Young said the effort against Melbourne “would be up there particularly after the Hawthorn game when we felt we let ourselves down…….It is probably the best response we have had in terms of things we have wanted to work on.”

“I think we are starting to see that chemistry building and on the weekend there were numerous times where it was tapping the ball into space or if you were under pressure you just knew where your teammate was going to be. I think that is the synergy you build over a season and hopefully we can keep building it going forward.”