

"But it's a nice position to be in as opposed to (Michael) Walters."



Lyon says the Dockers are preparing for



"It's a long rehab," Lyon said.



"Let's all assume he probably won't play again this year and if he does it's a bonus." "But it's a nice position to be in as opposed to (Michael) Walters."Lyon says the Dockers are preparing for Walters to miss the rest of this season after the small forward underwent surgery to repair a dislocated ankle tendon in Melbourne on Thursday."It's a long rehab," Lyon said."Let's all assume he probably won't play again this year and if he does it's a bonus."

THE BUMP is dead and the game is better for it, Ross Lyon says.The Fremantle coach was unequivocal in his assessment of the bump's place in modern football after Nat Fyfe was suspended for two weeks for a bump on Gold Coast's Michael Rischitelli in round two that caused a head clash and saw both players leave the field under the blood rule."I think the bump's dead," Lyon said."Unless you hit it perfectly below the shoulders, you're going to be in a lot of trouble."So we're supportive, we all know why the rule's there. We know the intent. We want all the Auskick kids to play. You'd be happy for your son to play the game. It's a great game."We're trying to avoid significant injuries and concussions, because it's a serious issue. So therefore, I'm really supportive of the changes."Lyon is not one who yearns for his playing days when big hits and concussions were week in, week out occurrences."I think (when) the laws were that loose, it was quite brutal and quite dangerous," Lyon said."In the end you play and adapt and do what you need to at the time. But in hindsight, it was a bit barbaric really wasn't it?"Fyfe is available to return against the Sydney Swans at the SCG this Saturday but Lyon says he has not spoken to his star midfielder and that he has had some soreness develop from a heavy training schedule during his suspension."I haven't spoken to him in the last two weeks," Lyon said."He was disappointed he was suspended. He's had some slight hiccups with his body."He's been a bit sore. What happens is they train hard because they're suspended, and they get real DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), sore hamstrings and calves, so that's where he's at."Fyfe appeared to get through the Dockers' last main training session unscathed before they fly to Sydney on Thursday afternoon.Chris Mayne was also in doubt due to a lingering ankle injury that he suffered against Hawthorn a fortnight ago. Mayne missed the Dockers' win over Essendon last Sunday but trained fully on Thursday, creating some selection headaches for Lyon and his match committee."If Fyfe and Mayne both declare themselves [fit] we've got some difficult decisions to make on people who have delivered," Lyon said.