Fremantle turns to youth for NAB Cup opening round games BRING IT ON: Fremantle's Clancee Pearce will be part of a youthful Dockers squad for the opening round of NAB Cup fixtures. FREMANTLE will take a depleted midfield into Saturday's NAB Cup clashes against Geelong and West Coast, with on-ball stars David Mundy and Nat Fyfe left out of the Dockers squad. Mundy and Fyfe will join other big names including skipper Matthew Pavlich and last season's Doig Medal winner Ryan Crowley on the sidelines. Coach Ross Lyon said the games would be a valuable opportunity for some inexperienced players. "It's a great competition to be able to expose some young players and people that have had really strong pre-seasons," Lyon said. Teams: Bombers, Dogs and Pies The ultimate aim over the next three to four weeks is to condition our players for Round 1 and the season proper, and identify what areas we're going well in and need to improve in. Lyon said his second pre-season in charge at Freo had been an improvement on last summer. "Some really strong summers from our younger players, we've seen improvement - our indicators tell us that," he said. It's been the same volume (as last summer), but more players have done it. More work into more players at a higher quality. Lyon said the club was well-placed to handle the pressure of expectation this season after the Dockers' brave finals series last September. That's about leadership isn't it. From our senior players and our coaching group and really from our president and CEO down, and we welcome expectation," he said. League football, there's a given amount of pressure that goes with it. We'll focus on what we can control and we'll work really hard together and give our greatest effort. And if that leaves us short, that's okay, because we know we're giving great effort and we'll improve. Young ruckman Zac Clarke, who has put on 5kg in the off-season, will also miss Saturday's matches after suffering an adductor strain. Fremantle rookie Matthew Taberner has glandular fever and will be out of action for some time. But the Dockers still have plenty of firepower for Saturday's shortened clashes, with Aaron Sandilands, Stephen Hill, Hayden Ballantyne and off-season addition Danyle Pearce all set to play. WEST COAST recruits Sharrod Wellingham, Jamie Cripps and Cale Morton will all make their club debuts for the Eagles on Saturday night. As expected, forward Mark LeCras was also included in an expanded squad to make his return after 12 months out following a knee reconstruction. Big-name Eagles Matt Priddis, Darren Glass, Beau Waters, Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling have all been named. GEELONG has opted for mix of young guns and veterans for its trip across the Nullarbor. Cats stars Steve Johnson, Jimmy Bartel, Corey Enright and Joel Corey will all make the trip along with skipper Joel Selwood and defender Harry Taylor. Trent West is expected to lead the Cats at the stoppages with recruit Hamish McIntosh (knee), Dawson Simpson (back) and Nathan Vardy on the sidelines. Geelong will blood running machine Mark Blicavs in the NAB Cup along with rookies Ryan Bathie, Cam Eardley, Jackson Sheringham and Josh Walker. West Coast - 1. Mitchell Brown, 2. Mark LeCras , 3. Andrew Gaff, 7. Chris Masten, 8. Beau Waters, 10. Scott Selwood, 11. Matt Priddis, 12. Sharrod Wellingham , 13. Luke Shuey, 14, Jacob Brennan, 15. Jamie Cripps, 16. Eric Mackenzie, 17. Josh Kennedy, 18. Bradd Dalziell, 19. Adam Carter, 22. Callum Sinclair, 23. Darren Glass, 25. Shannon Hurn, 26. Sam Butler, 27. Jack Darling, 28. Ashley Smith, 29. Scott Lycett, 30. Blayne Wilson, 31. Will Schofield, 32. Andrew Embley, 33. Josh Hill, 34. Mark Hutchings, 35. Patrick McGinnity, 36. Fraser McInnes, 37. Adam Selwood, 40. Cale Morton, 42. Jeremy McGovern, 43. Ashton Hams, 46. Simon Tunbridge. Fremantle - 1. Hayden Ballantyne, 3. Zac Dawson, 4. Jayden Pitt, 5. Garrick Ibbotson, 6. Danyle Pearce, 8. Nick Suban, 9. Matt de Boer, 10. Michael Walters, 11. Tom Sheridan, 12. Jonathon Griffin, 13. Tendai Mzungu, 17. Hayden Crozier, 18. Luke McPharlin, 21. Michael Barlow, 22. Tanner Smith, 23. Chris Mayne, 25. Josh Mellington, 26. Kepler Bradley, 28. Peter Faulks, 31. Aaron Sandilands, 32. Stephen Hill, 33. Cameron Sutcliffe, 34. Lee Spurr, 35. Haiden Schloithe, 36. Alex Silvagni, 37. Michael Johnson, 38. Jack Hannath, 39. Sam Menegola, 41. Paul Duffield, 44. Jesse Crichton, 46. Clancee Pearce. Geelong - 1. Mitch Brown, 2. Billie Smedts, 3. Jimmy Bartel, 5. Travis Varcoe, 7. Harry Taylor, 11. Joel Corey, 12. Trent West, 13. Tom Lonergan, 14. Joel Selwood, 15. Jordan Schroder, 19. Taylor Hunt, 20. Steve Johnson, 21. Jordan Murdoch, 22. Mitch Duncan, 23. Josh Caddy, 25. Jared Rivers, 26. Tom Hawkins, 27. Mathew Stokes, 28. Allen Christensen, 29. Cameron Guthrie , 31. James Podsiadly, 32. Steven Motlop, 33. George Horlin-Smith, 34. Josh Walker, 36. Brad Hartman, 37. Cam Eardley, 38. Jackson Sheringham, 39. Shane Kersten, 40. Jackson Thurlow, 41. Jesse Stringer, 42. Ryan Bathie , 44. Corey Enright, 45. Joel Hamling, 46. Mark Blicavs.