Sam Switkowski wasn’t at Fremantle Dockers training as Nathan O’Driscoll and Matt Johnson push for selection

Fremantle forward Sam Switkowski was a notable absentee from training on Monday as he attempts to recover from a knee injury in time to play in the elimination final against Gold Coast on Saturday. Here’s what we saw at Cockburn. Finals atmosphere: The sun was out, the grass has been cut, the construction work which has produced constant noise for months is over and all of the focus at Fremantle is now on playing finals footy. Jaeger O’Meara had a huge grin on his face as he prepares for both his 200th AFL game and potentially his first finals win. O’Meara was running with ruckman Sean Darcy who is getting his reward for the hard work he did to fix his body over summer and now he’ll be part of the September action. Murphy Reid was buzzing and bounded onto the field while being chased by Liam Reidy. The Dockers have high hopes for what they can achieve this season and it all starts in front of a sold out home crowd against Gold Coast on Saturday night. Where’s Switta? There are big question marks hanging over small forward Sam Switkowski after he failed to train on Monday morning. Switkowski injured his knee during the team’s win over the Western Bulldogs in round 24 and while the club was initially confident he’d be healthy to play in the elimination final, he’s yet to be seen at training. Isaiah Dudley was at training and looms as the likely replacement if Switkowski isn’t available. Dudley played 15 games for the season and kicked 13 goals. Who replaces Wagner? Corey Wagner’s season is over after he required surgery on his right pectoral muscle but he made sure to support his teammates and was on the field with them at training. Wagner’s arm was in a sling and he still had a bandage protecting the wound. Nathan O’Driscoll and Matthew Johnson will be fighting for his position in the team. O’Driscoll was dropped for the game against the Dogs and responded with 25 disposals and three goals in the WAFL. He also did extra training on Monday. Johnson returned from injury in the WAFL in the final round and had 20 possessions. Soccer skills: The Dockers have shown plenty of talent with a Sherrin all season, but their form with the round ball was impressive on Monday. They’ve been playing soccer as part of their recovery session all year but added a net this week and had to keep the ball in the air. Caleb Serong’s juggling skills were on show and Nat Fyfe certainly knows how to use his head. The competitive nature of players is always on show. They never want to lose any type of game they’re playing.