Hayden Young says fear is gone before Bulldogs return

hayden young says he can now step onto the field “without any worries in the back of my mind” before Friday night’s game against the Western Bulldogs. Fremantle’s midfielder has reached that point after a run of soft tissue and leg injuries since the end of 2024. He is back for his third game after another hamstring setback.

Marvel Stadium and 11 weeks

Young said accepting “the reality that injuries are a part of sport” was the career-changing moment. He described the result as playing “without fear or hesitation,” a shift that comes after he was sidelined for 11 weeks when he tore his hamstring against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium in May last year.

That venue carries extra weight because it is also where one of his more serious injuries happened. Friday night sends him back there with a different aim: not a return appearance, but a full run of football after the stops and starts that have defined his recent stretch.

12 of 31 games

Young has played only 12 of Fremantle’s past 31 games since the end of 2024. He also had not played four games in a row since breaking his leg in round 23 2024 without getting hurt, which is the clearest sign of how interrupted his availability has been.

For Fremantle, that kind of absence is not just about one missing midfielder. It affects continuity across a multi-game stretch, especially when a player who should be part of the core is repeatedly out of the side.

Western Bulldogs on Friday night

Friday night’s meeting with the Western Bulldogs is Young’s third game back from another hamstring injury. He has framed the turnaround in simple terms: the fear is gone, and so is the hesitation that used to sit in the back of his mind. That is the version Fremantle needs now, because the next step is not another comeback story but a sustained stretch of availability.