The effort of Ed Langdon in a 55-point loss to Brisbane didn’t go unnoticed by Fremantle leader Michael Walters on Sunday at Optus Stadium.

On an off-day for the home team, Langdon continued to emerge as one of the most exciting players on Fremantle’s developing list.

The 22-year-old led Freo for marks with nine, racked up 25 disposals and was one of Fremantle’s key ball movers with six rebound 50s and two inside 50s.

He also amassed 499 metres gained and ran 14.9km, the second most for Fremantle behind fellow speedster Stefan Giro (16.7km).

“Ed’s a running machine and that’s what we encourage him to do,” Walters said. 

“We need him to run hard each game and he delivers whether we’re down or not, the scoreboard doesn’t matter to Ed.

“He’s still going to put that pressure on and chase opponents down and that’s what we saw today.”

Walters also credited Michael Apeness for taking on the bulk of the ruck role in the absence of Aaron Sandilands, who was a late withdrawal with a calf injury.

Going up against Brisbane’s Stefan Martin, Apeness had 26 of Fremantle’s 31 hitouts, collected four clearances, laid three tackles and kicked a goal.

He also led the game with seven one percenters, which is a total of knock-ons, spoils, smothers, and shepherds. 

“Michael stepped up and he came up against quality player as Stefan Martin is unreal and he’s a big boy,” Walters said.

“It was always going to be tough, especially up against a player like Stefan. He competed well and we just need him to keep on competing hard, whether he’s in the ruck or forward.”