Will Brodie said he’s ready to keep the ball rolling after Fremantle put on an impressive performance during Sunday’s RAC Derby at Optus Stadium, taking down West Coast by 55 points.
The midfielder says it was an exciting game and thanked the purple army for their support during his first RAC Derby match.
“It was awesome, really exciting and I had a good time,” Brodie said.
“The crowd was really good, and it was my first RAC Derby and first win, so hopefully we keep it rolling.”
Brodie thought the depth throughout the midfield was strong despite the absence of Nat Fyfe (injury), David Mundy (HS protocols), Sean Darcy (injury) and Caleb Serong (injury).
He credited how Sunday’s win can give the team confidence moving further into the season.
“We obviously lost a few soldiers, which was disappointing, but we were really confident with our depth and next man up mentality,” Brodie said.
“We were really happy we brought in Neil (Erasmus) who played his first game and ‘Drizzy’ (Nathan O’Driscoll) for his second.
“We had a lot of confidence in those guys to play their role and I thought they did a really great job, so I’m really happy.
“It’s going to be a strange year and we never know what’s going to happen, so just that confidence that we have people that can step up and play the roles when they need too.
“It’s definitely given us a lot of confidence going into the year as anything can happen.”
Fremantle’s dominant approach to the first half of the match was quickly challenged by West Coast during following the main break.
After a rocky start to the third quarter for Fremantle that saw Darcy Tucker taken off the field on a stretcher due to injury and West Coast sneaking through two quick succession goals, the side was able to calm their nerves and continue the momentum through to the end.
“They (West Coast) really came out of the blocks early in the third and we had a bit of a scare there with ‘Tucks’ so we were really able to just calm ourselves,” Brodie said.
“We huddled in and some of our leaders really stepped up.
“We were able to steady the ship and get things back on our terms and swing the momentum, which I think we should be proud of.”
Fremantle’s Lachie Schultz took home the Glendinning-Allan medal for the best performance on field at the RAC Derby, finishing the game with 23 possessions, two goals and three goal assists.
“He was great Lachie,” Brodie said.
“He just works really hard up and down the ground and he got rewarded today but he also set a few up.
“An incredible game from him and building some really good form.”
Brodie says he’s looking forward to next week’s 20th anniversary of the Starlight Purple Haze game, proudly presented by South32.
“It’s really exciting playing in front of the purple army,” the midfielder said.
“It’s going to be awesome, so I am really looking forward to it.
“I think it’s a six-day break, so we’re just going to get ready for it, prepare for it and get ready to go again, it’s going to be awesome.
Fremantle will take on GWS next Saturday at 5.25pm at Optus Stadium.
