Peel Thunder youth could excel in absence of injured Dockers

But there is a chance that the mass of injuries occurring at the Fremantle Football Club could actually be beneficial to the Thunder’s younger players in the long run.

As things stand at the moment, the Dockers have 19 players on their injury list, just three names shy of a full side.

Only three of those names (Jon Griffin, Anthony Morabito, Ethan Hughes) look likely to return by Fremantle’s next match, which will be played after their bye week.

Griffin will be injected straight into Fremantle’s senior side to bolster their currently abysmal ruck stocks, while it is possible one of Hughes or Morabito may be picked for Dockers selection (Hughes looms as the likely option).

So for the foreseeable future, Peel will be lining up with a rough estimate of only five or six Dockers in its squad, compared to the usual 10 or above.

But that’s not as calamitous as it sounds – take a look at Fremantle, for example.

Their unprecedented spate of injuries has opened the door for younger players, who all seem to be excelling despite the team’s 3-11 win/loss record.

Connor Blakely, Lachie Weller and Sam Collins have been huge for the Dockers, while Darcy Tucker, Ed Langdon, Hayden Crozier and Matt Taberner are improving as time goes on.

I’m envisioning a similar process for Peel Thunder, who may find themselves needing to rely on younger talent in the absence of Fremantle regulars like Matt de Boer, Clancee Pearce and Tendai Mzungu who are currently injured.

The first young player who could improve with more game time at WAFL league level that springs to mind is 19-year-old small forward Karl Collard.

While he is yet to set the world on fire and is averaging less than 10 touches a game, Collard is an exciting prospect with a brilliant goal sense.

I followed Collard during his time at the Eaton Boomers in the South West Football League, and despite his small frame and inexperience, he regularly hit the scoreboard and was a big part of the Boomers being a flag challenger and flag winner.

Another showing strong signs of improvement is Andrew Haydon. The 22-year-old collected a career-high 30 disposals against Swan Districts.

The 22-year-old Blair Bell is becoming a regular struggle for opposing defenders and Bradley McGowan, Brayden Lawler and Calvin Thorne are all stepping up nicely.

While these players might not help Peel to many wins in the coming weeks, they are future investments, that have the potential to evolve into players like current teammate Rory O’Brien one day.

Fortunately for Peel in the meantime, they hold a two-game advantage over East Perth, a gap that the Royals will find hard to breach if they want to steal the Thunder’s top-five position.