The second-year player gathered 27 disposals in the come-from-behind 11 point victory.
Senior development and assistant coach Simon Lloyd said Neale’s game was a stand out.
“Overall, Lachie had an excellent contribution in the Swans win. He was physical around the stoppages and had a big impact on the game,” he said.
Lloyd shared his WAFL notes on all Freo's midfielders:
Lachie Neale (SD) 27 disposals (14 kicks, 13 handballs) 3 marks
Lachie demonstrated a lot of stoppage grunt and gathered double figures for first possessions. We were very pleased with the amount of ground balls he collected for the game, which demonstrated he is continuing to put his head in the hole.
Sam Menegola (EF) 26 disposals (16 kicks, 10 handballs) 4 marks
Over the pre-season period and into round one, Sam has been playing some very strong football. His physical approach to the opposition is continuing and he looks a lot stronger over the contests. One of Sam’s greatest traits is his hard run, which he is doing over the four quarters. He applied a lot of ball pressure through his tackling. We were very pleased with Sam’s progress.
Tom Sheridan (PT) 23 disposals (11 kicks, 12 handballs) 5 marks
Tom played on the wing and as an inside midfielder. For a large chunk of the game his effort and attack on the ball stood out. He played with a good balance of inside play and outside run. We were very pleased with his ground ball efforts, first possession and his ability to get back and support the defence.
Viv Miche (PT) 20 disposals (12 kicks, 8 handballs) 5 marks
Viv had a positive month of football leading into round one. He played as an inside mid and high forward. Viv regularly got his hands on the ball first and had a number of quick kicks from stoppages. He put some good pressure on with his tackling and chasing and made an impact as a high forward.
Jayden Pitt (PT) 26 disposals (20 kicks, 6 handballs) 8 marks
It was an excellent performance from Jayden playing as a winger and high forward. He ran with some real purpose, got in the line of play and played with a good mix of contested ball and outside spread. He ran hard for four quarters in tough conditions and his effort was what we come to expect of an AFL footballer.
Rucks and Forwards
Josh Simpson (EF) Reserves 18 disposals (14 kicks, 4 handballs) 6 marks, 1 goal
Josh played on the wing and had some very good involvement in the game, including some strong contested ball and commitment to ground balls. He showed some good high-end run that was explosive in transition.
Alex Howson (EF) Reserves 15 disposals (12 kicks, 3 handballs) 6 marks, 4 goals
Alex positioned himself better this week for aerial contests and tried to implement a lot of the bodywork we have been working on during training. He took a strong contested mark in the second quarter and took six marks for the day. The focus for Alex is on his contested marks and marks on the lead.
Max Duffy (EF) 16 disposals (12 kicks, 4 handballs) 5 marks, 3 goals
It was another positive step for Max this week. In particular his contested pressure was on the rise, which was highlighted by a strong rewarded tackle on the Swans ruck-man on the wing. His tackling temp was high, he had a great attitude towards the contested football. Max kicked three goals and had three quality goal assists.
Josh Mellington (WP) 17 disposals (13 kicks, 4 handballs) 5 marks, 3 goals
Josh played as a high forward and has played some quality consistent footy over the last few weeks. He took a while to get started but his second half effort really improved and he started to have an impact on the game, kicking three goals and showing solid second effort and run.
Tanner Smith (PT) 12 disposals (6 kicks, 6 handballs) 5 marks, 1 goal
There was several passages where Tanner showed excellent body work and running patterns particularly in the first quarter where he took a great contested mark in the goal square. Late in the game he laid a strong tackle on his opponent and fought to keep the ball in the forward 50 which resulted in a free kick and him converting the goal. The focus for Tanner as a forward is to make the most of his opportunities and starting points.
Craig Moller (PT) 5 disposals (2 kicks, 3 handballs) 15 hit-outs, 1 goal
Craig showed some good tap work particularly at boundary throw-ins demonstrating effective communication with midfielders. He worked very hard at times to get back and support in defence. Craig demonstrated through practice matches that he can have a presence around the ground and that’s what we are looking at focusing on in the coming weeks.
Jack Hannath (PT) 11 disposals (10 kicks, 1 handball) 5 marks, 20 hit-outs
Jack played in the ruck and as a key forward. He was good at the center square bounces, working hard around the ground on the spread and presenting well for down the line kicks. We were pleased with his tap work and follow up.
Defenders
Garrick Ibbotson (EF) 9 disposals (7 kicks, 2 handballs)
The positives for Garrick was that he didn’t get beaten or exposed by any opponent. A number of times he dropped off and released his opponent into congestion. He played on Tony Notte and kept him quiet in the second half, we are looking for more rebound run from Garrick.
Peter Faulks (PT) 12 disposals (3 kicks, 9 handballs)
Peter had a strong contested game on Fraser McInnes allowing him little space to move. He demonstrated some strong bodywork and was also very quick to recover and get involved in the next contest.
Alex Forster (PT) 10 disposals (6 kicks, 4 handballs) 4 marks
Alex played on variety on running forwards including Bateman, Reimers and Stack, which was great for his development. He showed improvement around the ground ball contest in congestion. At one stage he released his opponent into congestion and came back and took a strong contested mark through tracking the ball. It was an improvement on previous weeks for Alex.
Haiden Schloithe (SF) 10 disposals (8 kicks, 2 handballs) 3 marks, 5 tackles
Haiden played as a half-back on quality opponents in Paul Medhurst and Ian Richardson. His intensity and effort was very good early but he just needs to maintain this over four quarters. His use of the ball was good.
WAFL Results – Round 1
League
West Perth 19.18 (132) defeated East Perth 9.3 (57)
Perth 12.10 (82) defeated Peel Thunder 9.16 (70)
Claremont 20.12 (132) defeated South Fremantle 12.128 (84)
Swan Districts 13.15 (93) defeated East Fremantle 19.11 (125)
Reserves
Claremont 13.16 (94) defeated South Fremantle 6.7 (43)
East Fremantle 19.11 (125) defeated Swan Districts 7.11 (53)
Peel Thunder 14.8 (92) defeated Perth 12.8 (80)
East Perth 10.8 (68) defeated West Perth 10.6 (66)
