Fremantle defender Heath Chapman has used the last official hitout before round one to produce a solid performance against West Coast in Sunday night’s AAMI Series clash at Optus Stadium.

The match was Chapman’s first time back playing at Optus Stadium after dislocating his shoulder at the ground in last year’s round seven RAC Derby.

Chapman collected 23 disposals and eight marks, while also taking a game-high nine intercepts and going at 82.6 per cent disposal efficiency. 

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The young defender said he was looking forward to bringing a new level of confidence with him into the 2022 season.

“I loved it, any chance we get to play here [Optus Stadium] is a privilege,” said Chapman.

"Towards the end of last season I felt (my shoulder) was getting pretty good.

"It was a positive to head into the pre-season with real confidence that I could get a lot of work under my belt and come into this season with the confidence that I’ve done the work.  

“I think I’ve worked hard and hopefully that translates into the season. We’ll see what happens.”  

Senior Coach Justin Longmuir praised the second-year defender for the versatile attributes he adds to the team.  

“The beauty about ‘Chappy’ is that he can play tall and small. I love the way he attacked the contest and was really aggressive with his positioning and his attack on the footy,” Longmuir said.

“He likes to make things happen with the ball, so he’s a really flexible player and we’ll continue to use him in a number of roles.”

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The strength of Fremantle’s backline has been a staple throughout the preseason, and Sunday night’s match was no exception.  

Chapman believed the high pressure displayed by his fellow defenders presented a great challenge for the West Coast forwards.

“They’re very crafty players [Liam Ryan and Willie Rioli]. Hard to handle at times but I thought we handled them pretty well,” said Chapman.

"Obviously, there’s pressure which is an awesome thing to have, there is depth of spots and I guess that makes us all better." 

The 20-year-old also credited the team’s quick ball movement as a standout feature of the pre-season.

“It’s definitely one of our strengths and I think we’ve got a bit of speed coming out of the backline, in the midfield and our forwards ‘Freddy’ [Michael Frederick], Travis Colyer and ‘Switta’ [Sam Switkowski]. It’ll be something we look to do,” Chapman said.

After finishing their past two hitouts against West Coast on top, Fremantle are setting their sights forward to round one against Adelaide. 

“They’ve definitely brought it to us [West Coast] and they were getting the job done, but a few screws need to be tightened,” Chapman said.

“We can go into the season with a lot of confidence off the back of a really good pre-season.”