Fremantle Training Notes: Nat Fyfe’s scare, Matt Taberner impresses and Sebit Kuek’s incredible athleticism

FYFE SCARE Nat Fyfe had a brief scare when he doubled over in pain clutching his left hand after hurting a finger in a contested ball drill on Wednesday morning. The Fremantle captain appeared bothered by the digit, repeatedly glancing down at his hand, as he continued but soon shrugged off the complaint and completed the session. Fyfe, who was left out of the Dockers’ on-ball rotation against Port Adelaide and played as a half-forward, will be eager to have an impact against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night after being held to 11 disposals on his last visit to the venue in round 15. KEEPING TABS Spearhead Matt Taberner began the session in the rehab group with Alex Pearce, who is generally nursed through the week, and Connor Blakely. But the big forward stepped into the main group for the second half of the session and trained impressively, sprinting and jumping for marks in a sign he has regained full confidence in the hamstring that troubled him against Port Adelaide. Defender Heath Chapman and forward Liam Henry also got through the session to push their claims for returns from hamstring injuries against St Kilda. Darcy Tucker trained with his left hand strapped following a finger injury, while Blake Acres (hamstring) and Nathan O’Driscoll (foot) were welcome additions to the main group. WISH WE WERE THERE Fremantle’s only two long-term injured players made appearances to watch their teammates from the sidelines. Small forward Sam Switkowski (back) is aiming to begin running next week and could play the last couple of regular season matches before the finals. Youngster Jye Amiss also watched on as he continued his recovery from a serious kidney injury suffered in the WAFL. YOUNG LEGS WIN The highlight of the session was an absorbing one-on-one battle between young forward Sebit Kuek and veteran defender Joel Hamling, which started in the centre square and ended in the goal square. Hamling desperately pursued the mid-season draft pick-up, who recovered following a fumble, in a long sprint before launching himself into a last-ditch horizontal dive. The attempted tackle missed by inches and the athletic 199cm Kuek strolled in to goal. Hamling, 29, has made just one senior appearance this season, while Kuek, 21, is yet to debut.