Fremantle Dockers are feeling like blockbuster against Collingwood is now normal as Gather Round approaches

The days of Fremantle being overwhelmed by the bright lights of a big stage appear over with Dockers footy boss Joe Brierty revealing the build-up to Friday night’s massive blockbuster against Collingwood at Gather Round now feels like a normal game. The Dockers were rewarded for their rise up the ladder with a prime-time fixture for Gather Round alongside the AFL’s biggest drawing club. South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas specifically requested that Fremantle be in that feature spot to maximise the number of eyeballs on the first game of Gather Round that doesn’t involve a local club. Fremantle struggled on the big stages last year. They lost to St Kilda by 61 points on a Friday night in Melbourne and were then beaten by Collingwood at Optus Stadium in a Thursday night clash the following week. The Dockers were also no match for Brisbane when playing for a top-four berth on the Friday night of round 23. The eyes of the footy world will focus on Fremantle, but Brierty said the build-up inside the club felt calm. “It feels like another week to be honest,” Brierty told The West Australian. “It feels like we’re going about it the same way. We’re reviewing Adelaide and being really detailed in our approach to that, and setting up our training and designing that in a way that allows us to focus on what we want to improve and what we might come up against in terms of the way that Collingwood will want to play. “Then we get on a plane, fly over and go again. That consistency allows you to treat every game on its merits. Whether it’s an Adelaide home crowd or we’re at Adelaide Oval or against Collingwood on Friday night, our ability to maintain our focus on what is really important - the way that we want to play - gives us that best chance.” Fremantle overcame a six-day break to beat Adelaide last week and now face successive interstate matches after returning to South Australia. They have multiple six-day breaks coming up, but Brierty said coach Justin Longmuir’s philosophy of not looking to the future had been crucial in avoiding those types of distractions. Fremantle are in fourth place on the AFL ladder with a 3-1 record after an impressive start to the season. They look set to enter the game with an unchanged line-up for the second week in a row and a team that is full of confidence. Bailey Banfield travelled to Adelaide with the team, but the Dockers are keen to stick with their winning formula. Fremantle has left Banfield, Mason Cox, Nathan O’Driscoll, Brandon Walker, Cooper Simpson, Jeremy Sharp, Oscar McDonald and Josh Draper unable to break into the line-up, while Hayden Young and Michael Frederick could return from injury next week. Luke Ryan was overlooked in round one but fought his way back into the team. Brierty said it shouldn’t be easy to get a game. “Pressure for spots is definitely up,” he said. “There’s lots of conversations going on across all lines and different roles, and also the opposition that you’re playing sets up for what you might look to do with the best 23, but I think that ultimately it’s really important that we reward the players that are performing. “It’s ultimately up to our players that are coming back from injury, or players that are playing at WAFL level to squeeze into the side and push those players out. It’s the AFL players holding on to their spot. So I think that competition with availability is important, but we want to keep rewarding those behaviours that we value.”