Fremantle Dockers training notes: Will Brodie, Neil Erasmus, Matt Johnson stand up in absence of injured mids

The continued injury-related absence of several starting midfielders has allowed Fremantle to experiment with a raft of combinations, as a few uncapped Dockers impressed in match simulation on Monday. David Mundy (ankle), Nat Fyfe (shoulder) and Caleb Serong (finger) were all held out the 10-minute quarters of match play but Fyfe and Serong looked closest to resuming full training after warming up with the main group. With the talented midfield trio sidelined, Will Brodie took the opportunity to stake his claim for round one selection. Recruited from Gold Coast in the off-season, Brodie joined Sean Darcy and Darcy Tucker in the centre circle for team purple. Brodie’s strength as an inside midfielder was evident from the outset, reading the ruck contest perfectly and firing a handball to Tucker who won the first clearance and set up Lachie Schultz for the first goal. His work in tight and accurate hands helped team purple gain an advantage but Brodie did miss a couple of targets when he had the chance to move the ball by foot under pressure. On the opposing red team, Andrew Brayshaw headlined the midfield group alongside ruckman Lloyd Meek, rookie Mitch Crowden and draftee Neil Erasmus. Erasmus positioned himself well on the defensive side of stoppages and provided an option in space for his teammates, his competitiveness a feature. Fellow Subiaco product Matthew Johnson started on the wing opposed to second-year midfielder Nathan O’Driscoll, using the ball well when he won possession. Liam Henry and Blake Acres lined up on each other on the opposite wing. Henry in particular delighted in his new role, spinning out of traffic to evade a tackle in one instance. New recruit Jordan Clark stationed himself at half-back while Darcy and Rory Lobb did battle in the ruck, Meek dropping into attack after centre bounces. Peel Thunder product Roy George also kicked a goal for team red. He is one of several Peel products training at Fremantle as part of the club’s alignment. Luke Valente wasn’t sighted while Brandon Walker, Josh Treacy, Jye Amiss, Matt Taberner and Joel Hamling were among those in rehab.