Untried Fremantle ruckman Lloyd Meek will make his AFL debut in Saturday's season-opening clash against Melbourne.
The Dockers on Wednesday confirmed that the 22-year old big man would play his first game at senior level in the Round 1 MCG clash.ย
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Meek was drafted to Fremantle with Pick 69 in the 2017 AFL draft and finally gets his opportunity while impressing over the pre-season amid the club's ruck injury crisis.
Rory Lobb is set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines after straining his ACL, while Sean Darcy is racing the clock to be fit for Round 1 with his own knee issue.
Furthermore, draftee Josh Treacy was handed a two-match ban for striking during a WAFL practice match over the weekend.
Drafted in 2017. Debut in 2021.
Lloyd Meek is going to play against Melbourne! ๐#foreverfreo https://t.co/GTVK2tzeeR— Fremantle Dockers (@freodockers) March 17, 2021
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir praised Meek's perseverance at a team meeting on Wednesday where he revealed he would make his debut.
"The reason why this excites me is because I don't think there is anyone at the club that has worked as hard on their game as Meeky has this year," Longmuir said, according to fremantlefc.com.au.
"The thing I love about you mate, is you've stepped up to every challenge that we've thrown at you.
"You've stepped up this preseason and you deserve this opportunity.
Meek is coming off a strong performance against Nic Naitanui in Fremantle's AAMI Community Series clash against West Coast - where he tallied 12 disposals and 18 hitouts.
The Dockers could yet take two rucks into their matchup against Max Gawn and the Demons, with Darcy officially listed as a test on the injury report.
The Demons and Dockers meet on Saturday at the MCG at 1.45pm AEDT.