Fremantle has pinned its faith in big-bodied midfielder Hayden Young for Sunday’s sudden-death clash with the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium.

The Dockers are satisfied Young has recovered from an adductor injury and named him in the starting line-up for his first game since the round 21 win over Carlton.

Fremantle also recalled Oscar McDonald and Brandon Walker for extra midfield depth, with the pair named on an extended interchange bench.

Veteran McDonald could provide extra cover for a backline against the AFL’s most potent attack, with Sam Darcy, Aaron Naughton and newcomer Jordan Croft, complemented by ruckman Tim English, who often floats down to be a third or fourth tall.

The Dockers resisted the temptation to bring back another recovering midfielder Matt Johnson, who has missed the past four weeks with an ankle injury.

Young and retiring great Nat Fyfe are both set to be in the mix to be subbed in or out of the clash with the Bulldogs.

The Western Bulldogs resisted the temptation to recall midfielder Adam Treloar for his first game since round 15. He has had three calf injuries this season.

They have recalled intercept defender Liam Jones along with 191cm backman Nick Coffield and livewire forward Arthur Jones into their extended squad.

The Dockers must win or draw or rely on Gold Coast losing its final two games to play in its second finals series in Justin Longmuir’s six seasons as coach and the Dogs also need a victory to keep their season alive.

Young has played only seven games this season with hamstring issues and the adductor injury but is confident he can have an impact, as he did in the round 20 western derby when he won his first Glendinning-Allan Medal.

Young said on Thursday he was ready to play after passing a Wednesday fitness test.

“I feel really good, so I’m expecting to be out there,” Young said on 96FM.

“I felt good (on Wednesday), trained well. So I’m excited.”

Young hasn’t played out a full match since the Anzac Day win over Adelaide in April.

Last year’s third-place Doig Medal finisher had a delayed start to the season due to a hamstring issue, before going under the knife for surgery following a setback against St Kilda in May.

He said late last week he was at confident he could not only play but have an impact, despite his injury issues this season.

“I am not as confident in my body which is fair enough, so that’s the challenge going forward,” Young told ABC Radio.

“I think I proved to myself (in the western derby) I can come in and have an impact and my football will take care of itself.

“I’m just doing everything I possibly can to get my body right, so I can go out there and stay out there.”

The 24-year-old said Freo would be focusing on turning the game into a contested grind to take away the Dogs’ strength of crisp ball movement at a high tempo.

“When you put the game in a contest, you can sort of challenge them,” Young said.

“They love free-flowing games where they can move the ball really quickly. We want to defend well and take that away from them, and hopefully make the game a little bit more of a contest, where we know it can be a bit more even.”

Fremantle recorded a 16-point victory at Optus Stadium in the teams’ previous meeting earlier this season, a game notable for the absence of Bulldogs superstar Marcus Bontempelli.

But the Dogs’ form under the Marvel Stadium roof is compelling, having won seven games by at least 70 points at the venue this season.

The Dockers have lost their last two game at Marvel Stadium, including a 67-point loss to the Dogs at the venue in 2024.

WESTERN BULLDOGS V FREMANTLE

Sunday August, 23 Marvel Stadium, 1.15pm

DOGS

FB: L Bramble J O’Donnell B Dale

HB: L Cleary R Lobb J Johnannisen

C: J Freijah E Richards B Williams

HF: S Davidson A Naughton M Kennedy

FF: R Garcia S Darcy R West

FOLL: T English M Bontempelli T Liberatore

INT: O Baker J Busslinger N Coffield J Croft A Jones L Jones L McNeil R Sanders

DOCKERS

FB: L Ryan B Cox A Pearce

HB: H Chapman K Worner J Clark

C: J O’Meara H Young C Wagner

HF: S Switkowski P Voss S Bolton

FF: L Jackson J Treacy M Frederick

FOL: S Darcy C Serong A Brayshaw

INT: N Fyfe M Reid O McDonald J Amiss N Erasmus N O’Driscoll B Walker B Banfield