Fremantle adapted to the early loss of key forward Matt Taberner in their 54-point win against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night at Optus Stadium, according to fellow forward Cam McCarthy.
Taberner left the field with a foot injury in the opening term and paid no further part in the game.
At the time, Fremantle had raced to a three-goal lead with Taberner a major contributor, taking five marks, kicking a goal and collecting six disposals.
The Bulldogs fought back momentarily, closing the cap to five points before Freo started an eight-goal run.
“Tabs has been unreal to start the season,” McCarthy said.
“He’s been our go-to man and to lose him pretty early is hard, so we had to readjust.
“It was good to bounce back and have a win where we kick a fair few goals so it’s really positive."
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McCarthy said his role didn’t change, despite Taberner leaving the field.
The 23-year-old collected a career-high 10 marks, but if he didn’t reel in the ball, his role was to bring the ball down for the likes for small forwards Michael Walters, Hayden Ballantyne and Brandon Matera.
It was a tactic that worked well, with Walters (5), Ballantyne (2) and Matera (1) combining for eight goals.
“My role was more just get down the ground and bring the ball to ground if I can’t mark it and halve the contest.,” McCarthy said.
“I feel like I did that tonight and I’m happy as long as I’m playing my role.”
McCarthy kicked two goals to bring his season tally to five however lamented some missed opportunities with five scoring shots for the night.
“It was pleasing to get a few, I could have had a few more,” McCarthy said.
“I didn’t have my kicking boots on tonight but I’ll have to work on that later in the week.”
