Fremantle Dockers name Hayden Young for AFL comeback against ladder leaders Collingwood Magpies

Fremantle has called in gun midfielder Hayden Young for his first game since round nine as the Dockers hunt the giant scalp of ladder leader Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday.

Young has been rushed in after being made available from a three-month absence following surgery on a repeat hamstring injury, along with Neil Erasmus and Brandon Walker.

Walker has not played at AFL level since round three when he had surgery on an injured shoulder and has been building form in the WAFL for the past three weeks.

All three have been named on an extended interchange bench, alongside Corey Wagner, Murphy Reid, Nathan O’Driscoll, Bailey Banfield, Isaiah Dudley and Corey Wagner.

Wagner was successfully deployed as a tagger on Nick Daicos when the two teams last met in round nine.

Collingwood is three from three, losing Jeremy Howe and Dan Houston to injury and managing Tim Membrey, while experienced trio Brody Mihocek, Patrick Lipinski and Beau McCreery have been recalled, along with Ed Allan and intercept defender Charlie Dean.

Dean’s inclusion will help the Pies to combat the tall Fremantle forward line threats of Josh Treacy, Jye Amiss and Patrick Voss.

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said on Wednesday he was confident Hayden Young could run out a full game should he pick the star midfielder in the starting 22.

“You can manage players. We’ve got midfielders who play lower game time and we can even go lower than what we do with some of our other midfielders,” Longmuir said.

“There is that opportunity, but we’ve got to weigh it up if that’s the best thing for him going forward as well.”

Longmuir said Young’s would give the midfield flexibility.

“(He’s) a big body, physical. It might allow us to use Andy (Brayshaw) and Caleb (Serong) a little more flexibly like we did the bank end of last year and like we did when Young was in the team earlier in the year,” Longmuir said.

“It might take a little of the load off them.”

Young will be playing just his fourth games this season.

The 24-year-old said on his regular radio spot he wouldn’t be making up the numbers.

“I feel like I’ve had a really good block of training that has set me up to perform, hopefully. And that’s the thing, I want to come back in and perform, like Switta (Sam Switkowski) did on the weekend,” Young told 96FM.

“I don’t want to come back in and take a while to get going. Whatever the best way to do that, whether it’s the sub or build up my minutes or if it’s straight back in, (the medical staff and coaches) will make the best decision for me.”

TEAMS

COLLINGWOOD V FREMANTLE

Sunday, July 20, 1.15pm

MAGPIES

FB: B Maynard C Dean D Moore

HB: I Quaynor J Daicos H Perryman

C: S Sidebottom N Long P Lipinski

HF: W Hoskin-Elliott D McStay L Sullivan

FF: J Elliott B Mihocek L Schultz

FOL: D Cameron J Crisp N Daicos

INT: T Mitchell S Pendlebury W Parker E Allan B McCreery O Markov R Steele M Cox

DOCKERS

FB: L Ryan B Cox O McDonald

HB: H Chapman K Worner J Clark

C: M Johnson S Bolton J O’Meara

HF: S Switkowski P Voss J Amiss

F: M Frederick J Treacy S Darcy

FOL: L Jackson C Serong A Brayshaw

INT: M Reid H Young N Erasmus N O’Driscoll B Walker C Wagner B Banfield I Dudley