Dixon return adds versatility to forward line

The return of Charlie Dixon this weekend provides the Gold Coast SUNS with added versatility in attack, especially given Rodney Eade’s tendency to play Tom Lynch as a loose man down back in the last fortnight. With Steven May absent once again and Matthew Pavlich en route to Metricon Stadium, the SUNS may elect to throw Lynch behind the ball for extended periods to stifle the Dockers inside 50. After being sanctioned for breaching club standards, the microscope will be firmly focused on Dixon to see how he responds. Fremantle are enduring injury concerns of their own, with Michael Johnson suffering a serious hamstring injury last Friday night, and Zac Dawson and Alex Silvagni still unavailable. Alex Pearce, a man with two games of senior experience, has been rushed back into the side to support Luke McPharlin. With the SUNS forward line boasting Dixon, Lynch and Peter Wright, they may be able to stretch them in attack. The challenge will be getting the ball in cleanly against an accomplished Dockers engine room.

Malceski returns, but only as a substitute

After a six-week absence from the senior side, prized acquisition Nick Malceski returns to add experience to a depleted back six. Although, Rodney Eade has already pencilled in the premiership defender as the substitute with the match committee essentially forced to select Malceski due to the dire state of injury affairs at the club. Eade told reporters at his pre-match press conference that the preference was to keep the All Australian in the NEAFL for a third week to allow him to regain form and match fitness, but there weren’t any other legitimate alternatives. One player that has stepped up in the absence of Malceski this season is second-year running defender Kade Kolodjashnij. After a slow start by his lofty standards, the Tasmanian has grown in confidence in the last month with the SUNS looking to utilise his poise and polish at every available opportunity. Kolodjashnij will undoubtedly benefit from having Malceski back in the side, regardless of how much time he spends on the ground.

Stopping Sandilands poses a colossal task for in-form Nicholls

Tom Nicholls has arguably been Gold Coast’s best player across the last four to six weeks with the ruckman exceeding expectations on the back of building some continuity in his game. An injury-riddled past has not allowed the athletic tall to demonstrate his prowess on a consistent basis. That is now changing. Nicholls will face his toughest task yet in four-time All Australian ruckman Aaron Sandilands. The Fremantle goliath is coming off two record breaking weeks; he registered the most hitouts ever with 69 against Adelaide’s Sam Jacobs in round nine and then recorded the most hitouts to advantage with 23 against Richmond’s Ivan Maric last Friday night. With Keegan Brooksby ruled out with a calf injury, and Eade electing not to put Zac Smith back into the 22, Nicholls will spend the bulk of Saturday afternoon going up against Sandilands. The Dockers have made a change of their own in the ruck department, Jack Hannath replacing Zac Clarke. Expect Lynch, Dixon and Wright to assist Nicholls when required.

Another week, another gulf in midfield experience and class

If the gulf in midfield personnel was large last weekend, you could mount a case for it being even wider this weekend. If that’s possible. Fremantle not only have one of the best engine rooms in the game, they also have one of the more diverse midfield groups. Their big-bodied midfielders – Nat Fyfe, David Mundy and Michael Barlow – complement there outside class – Stephen Hill, Michael Walters and Danyle Pearce. And there is Lachie Neale who flies under the radar, but collects the ball more than any other player in the Dockers line up other than the Brownlow-bound Fyfe. The same argument has been fervently made in recent weeks, but again the absence of Gary Ablett, Jaeger O’Meara, David Swallow, Dion Prestia, Harley Bennell and Jack Martin is the equivalent of the Fremantle players just listed. You would be hard pressed to find that level of decimation ever occurring in the game’s history. And just like with Sydney last weekend, Eade and the coaching staff will need to form a plan to quell the influence of the ladder-leading midfield. Although no amount of planning can compensate for such an enormous gulf in class.

In May's absence, Schade resumes No.1 defender duties

In the past fortnight, Steven May reminded the football world how damaging he can be. He held Hawthorn’s Jarryd Roughead to just a single behind, 11 possessions and next to no impact. And then despite being inundated by inside 50 entries, he didn’t allow Sydney’s Lance Franklin to get off the chain at a time when many defenders wouldn’t have been able to contain his influence. May won more than a handful of telling one-on-one’s, but like miserable weather in paradise, his absence this weekend is yet another tease. A reminder of a season that has been torn apart by injury. With no May or Rory Thompson, Henry Schade will once again be thrown into the No. 1 key defender role. After being beaten early by Adam Goodes last weekend, the Tasmanian fought back to win the duel. An emperor of the West awaits this weekend in Matthew Pavlich. The six-time Doig medallist and six-time All Australian has been reliable without being exceptional this year. He leads the Dockers with 21.13 to his name and will be an enormous assignment for Schade.