Fremantle Dockers captain Alex Pearce backs Luke Ryan to play against Adelaide after Brennan Cox’s calf injury

Fremantle captain Alex Pearce has backed star defender Luke Ryan to step straight back into the team to face Adelaide in Saturday’s pre-season clash after Brennan Cox suffered a calf injury during the practice match against West Coast. Ryan wasn’t selected to play against the Eagles due to his injury-interrupted pre-season. The dual All-Australian had shoulder surgery last year and has barely trained with the main group over summer. He also clutched for his injured shoulder after being driven into the ground at an awkward angle late in a training session last week. Coach Justin Longmuir revealed Ryan’s lack of training had pushed him back in the selection pecking order after the win over the Eagles. But Pearce said Ryan would be ready to take on the Crows in Mandurah. “I think he can definitely play this week,” Pearce told The West Australian from the AFL’s Captains Day. “He’s been able to do a lot of work physically. It’s just a lot of the contact stuff that he’s missed. He only recently got into that. I think he’s physically in good nick and will definitely be putting his hand up to come in this week. “He’s set an incredibly high standard with how he’s trained away from the group. He’s still been able to train with the group quite a lot. “That’s the thing with a shoulder injury. You can do quite a lot of things. “He’s been working with one of strength coaches doing some specific contests and fitness work during training. I’m in the gym with him all the time. The amount of work he does with specific shoulder strengthening exercises - I think he’s done everything he possibly can. Given his experience, when he gets back out there, he will fit in nicely.” Pearce said Oscar McDonald could also play as a key defender, while Bailey Banfield stood out as another option to return to the team after a recent injury. The Dockers beat West Coast 12.9 (81) to 8.5 (53) on Saturday and their game against Adelaide will be their last opportunity to prepare for the round one clash against grand finalists Geelong. Fremantle suffered a heartbreaking one-point loss to Gold Coast during last year’s elimination final and Pearce said the squad had been taught valuable lessons from that defeat. He said they were looking forward to every opportunity to play against elite opposition and show that they could perform when the pressure rises to another level. “We just want to keep being better at that because we want to be in really big games that mean a lot and have high pressure and high stakes at the end of games,” he said. “We’ve learnt some lessons form that and you often have to go through those moments to learnt he lessons and improve. We’re really grateful for that moment and heartbreaking loss because it will mean the boys that played in that game will be more experienced and we can make sure we execute better when we come down the stretch of the next big game.”