Australian football Hall of Famer Terry Wallace doesn’t think Fremantle have the midfield depth to provide their new forwards with enough goal-scoring opportunities.
The Dockers added more firepower in attack with the additions of Jesse Hogan and Rory Lobb but lost star midfielder Lachie Neale who opted to join Brisbane.
Wallace thinks coach Ross Lyon has his work cut out in replacing the ball-winning ability of the dual best and fairest winner, which could impact the amount of forward entries Hogan and Lobb will receive inside 50.
“I do worry when most of the players who you have recruited are forwards. You’ve got still got to be able to get the ball to them,” Wallace told SEN’s KB and The Doc.
“It looks better on paper because you’ve got (Jesse) Hogan and (Rory) Lobb, that looks clearly a lot better on paper.
“You’ve lost Lachie Neale, I don’t think they’ll have enough midfield strength to be able to get enough opportunities into those bigger fellas.
“I’m expecting them to be better than what they were last year, but not a top-eight side.”
Only Carlton and Gold Coast kicked fewer points than Fremantle last year with small forward Michael Walters taking out the club’s goalkicking award with just 22 majors.
The Dockers face North Melbourne at Optus Stadium on March 24 to kick-start their 2019 camopaign.