Feeds

Nic Naitanui made a successful return for West Coast at Patersons Stadium tonight as the club completed a pre-season sweep to fuel expectations ahead of round one.

The enigmatic ruckman was substituted into the practice match against Fremantle with seven minutes left in the first half and played the majority of his game time in attack and as a ruck rover.

He finished with nine disposals as a tall Eagles forward line showed it would be an intimidating prospect this season, with spearhead Josh Kennedy booting five goals in the 13.8 (86) to 9.13 (67) victory.

Fremantle were conversely left with serious headaches over selection and the team’s lacklustre form just a week out from their season opener against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium.

The club emerged from the 19-point loss played in suffocating heat without an obvious answer to who will support Aaron Sandilands in the

All of a sudden it's not such a happy new year for Fremantle ruckman-forward Zac Clarke.

Clarke is set to miss up to eight weeks of pre-season training after injuring his right knee while attending a music festival.

The 23-year-old injured his posterior cruciate ligament on Tuesday while at The Falls Music and Arts Festival in Victoria.

"At this stage Zac is not expected to require surgery and will undergo a normal rehabilitation program for the injury," Dockers football operations manager Chris Bond said.

It was not revealed exactly how Clarke sustained the injury.

Clarke, originally from Victoria, was drafted by Fremantle in 2008. He has played 53 games, including last season's grand final. His 17 games last season was his most in one season and he had become a productive