Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir furious over manhandling of forwards after Jye Amiss kneed in face

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has hit out at the treatment of key forward Jye Amiss declaring he is being manhandled behind the play and the free kick he received late in Sunday’s win over Richmond was an example of the way defenders are targeting him.

The Dockers produced a strong 15.13 (103) to 6.13 (49) win over the Tigers at the MCG as Hayden Young starred with 30 possessions and two goals after the club elected to play Nat Fyfe as the sub.

But all eyes turned to the Fremantle forward line late in the match as scuffles broke out and and Amiss suffered a knee to the face from Ben Miller.

Longmuir said he’d had enough.

“I’ve got big concerns with the way he’s been treated all year,” Longmuir said.

“We’ve gone to the umpires asking for a bit more protection for Jye. He had a concussion a couple of weeks ago against West Coast, missed last week with that concussion and some of the treatment he got behind the ball today - I understand defenders need to block runs but that incident late is not ideal.

“I feel like he has been manhandled at times throughout the year. We need to look after those type of players. Opposition defenders see that he’s a little bit lighter framed and he’s young. The only way they can stop him is to get him in those wrestles and sometimes take it across the line.

“In those situations, the umpires need to interpret those situations and stop it because defenders will keep getting away with what they’re allowed to get away with. We will continue that with the AFL. We need to look after him. I am concerned at times he is going to get injured.”

Amiss kicked two goals for the day to take his season tally to 12. The late free kick was one of three he received for the day.

The young key forward had a breakout season in 2023 with 41 goals to stamp himself as a player of the future.

Longmuir said the decision to play Fyfe as the sub had been made to give him the best chance of taking on Sydney on Friday night. The Dockers have a five-day break and he expects ruckman Sean Darcy to play despite being subbed out. He said that was also part of the club’s original plan.

Longmuir said the club was doing its best to keep players fresh to avoid injury.

“We want to be proactive with Fyfey. We’re not waiting for him to break down before he gets a rest. We always earmarked this game. He wanted to play. I wanted to leave him out. It was a bit of middle ground and we made him sub, hoping he would get on late in the game and we’d be able to get another person out.

“We were fortunate that we were up on the scoreboard and were able to get Sean off. he’s had some difficulties with that knee and he’s still on his way back. Giving him lower game time going into a five-day break is ideal.”