It’s the biggest selection dilemma for any club across the league this week: How will the Fremantle Dockers replace injured skipper and star full back, Alex Pearce?
The big “Moose” will be out seeking veterinary treatment for the next 3-4 weeks after scans revealed a fracture in his forearm, and I reckon if you asked coach Justin Longmuir who the player he could least afford to lose was, he’d tell you it’s his Captain.
The Freo defender has been enormous this season, with consistently sublime performances against the league’s best forwards making him a leading favourite to earn a spot in the All-Australian backline.
He’s led the league’s stingiest defence by both example and stature, and has done so without his key partner in crime, Brennan Cox, all season long.
So, while this all amounts to an impressive campaign, it also leaves Fremantle stranded for options on how to replace their most important player…
Which is why I am imploring the selection committee to get a little, let’s say, abstract.
Now, as I arrive at the point of this column (sorry for burying the lead, but we like the theatre of a piece here at The Mongrel), let’s look at the more obvious options ahead of Longmuir and his staff.
Plan A: Brennan Cox’s return
Unfortunately, it’s a week too early for this one. However, even when declared fit for AFL action, Cox plays a vastly different role to Pearce, and I’d rather he return to what he’s comfortable doing as an interceptor rather than a lockdown defender.
Plan B: Josh Draper
I like this even less. Not because I don’t like Draper, but because pairing a 12-game, 20-year-old with a one-game 19-year-old against the league’s best team on their home deck feels as good as admitting defeat.
I’m glad he has got valuable experience in the absence of Cox this year, but I’m not keen on seeing a Draper / Davies duo take on this Sydney attack (despite the opportunity for some sick nicknames).
Plan C: Play Luke Ryan tall
Of the “obvious” options, this seems the most feasible. Ryan has played this role more than admirably in the past, and he’s bloody good in one-on-one contests. Still, I don’t like the idea of lacking huge amounts of height against a front half consisting of Joel Amartey, Logan McDonald, Hayden McLean and Will Hayward.
Which is why I’d like to propose….
PLAN D: DOGGA DOWN BACK!
The all-caps a bit much for you? Well, I DON’T CARE. That’s how bloody into this plan I am.
Luke Jackson, come on down! I firmly believe Fremantle’s star ruck/key forward could be the antidote to the arsenic that is Pearce’s absence.
But what’s that, I hear you say? He’s never played there before? And what about his presence up forward?
Well, let me explain my theory here.
Jackson is an absolute freak of an athlete, brimming with football potential that we don’t always get to see the most of (but boy, when we do, it’s something else). He’s been labelled one of the AFL’s few unicorns due to his rare ability to play a series of positions, from key positions to on-ball midfielder, but my spidey-sense (or Dogga-divination, maybe?) tells me we could see an epic version of Jackson should he be deployed in defence.
Think about it… he’s 199cms tall and while it’s true he hasn’t taken a huge amount of contested marks up forward lately, he certainly wouldn’t make life easy on an opposing forward should he be attending these contests as a key defender.
But moreso than his aerial capability, Jackson’s deft hands and quick-to-respond talents at ground level would make him a game-changer in the back half.
Imagine how much safer it would make Heath Chapman or Jordan Clark feel, knowing Jackson is more than capable of farming out handballs under opposition forward pressure?
They’d be rapt!
Now, the concerns about what would happen to Fremantle’s structure given their want to play three key forwards (Josh Treacy and Jye Amiss being the others) should Jackson be sent back are fair. It’s a key aspect to their game plan, and Longmuir is loath to go without it.
However, pre-season sign on Patrick Voss has kicked 14 goals across his past four WAFL outings with Peel Thunder (including a bag of four last weekend).
Voss deserves another shot at the top level, and would be a welcome inclusion should Freo wish to experiment with deploying Jackson down back.
So, all in all, that’s my theory. Luke Jackson’s height, aerial ability, ground level skills and athleticism make him the perfect fit to replace Alex Pearce for the next few weeks, and Pat Voss appears ready to fill the forward void.
I’m not sure if it will cross the minds of those in charge of the whiteboard at Freo HQ (surely they read The Mongrel, right?!?!), but I’d love to see the big fella having a crack at another position on Saturday afternoon.
