Despite fielding a team that was on average a year younger and 12 games more inexperienced than their opponents, Sean Darcy feels Fremantle showed their maturity in a commanding 78-point win against North Melbourne on Friday night at Optus Stadium.
Fremantle endured a game preparation like no other in Club history, seeing six players omitted under the AFL’s Health and Safety Protocols during a week that saw players train alone at times to limit any spread.
With an average age of 23 years and 10 months, it was only the second time since 2019 that Fremantle fielded a team that was younger than 24 years of age on average.
Even with the loss of personnel and a week of obstacles as the players kept their distance where possible, Fremantle delivered their system to near perfection to record their sixth consecutive victory and move to first place on the ladder ahead of Melbourne’s game with St Kilda on Sunday.
“This week was a bit full on, a bit unexpected, but they’re things that you can’t really control,” Darcy said.
“We just wanted to come here and play our brand of footy, which we did.
“The coaches were really proud. It was a mature effort, as Justin said in our post game meeting. He felt we dealt with the distractions behind the scenes and the things we couldn’t control, so it was really good to play our brand of footy.”
Darcy shouldered the load in the ruck without his usual backups with both Rory Lobb and Lloyd Meek in the protocols. It meant he relied on defender Brennan Cox and forward Josh Treacy for support and said they were able to laugh about their difficulties at quarter time.
Darcy led the game for hitouts with 42 compared to Todd Goldstein’s 34, with Treacy (four) and Cox (three) also contributing.
“Coxy and I used to ruck together when he was the second ruck in our first year it was really tough (rucking alone),” Darcy said.
“It was pretty funny, Coxy and Treacy didn’t know the hit calls so I had to explain that at quarter time, but they did their role, they came in and competed, brought the ball to ground and followed up. They were super and helped me out a lot.”
Darcy was pleased with how he fared up against the AFL’s hitout record holder.
“He’s an amazing player, he been a great player, one of the best rucks for the past 15 years, it’s always great going up against him, he’s a big test,” Darcy said.
“I haven’t played too much footy this year, which has been a bit disappointing, but I feel like I getting my run back, getting my centre bounce work a bit better. It’s a work in progress but hopefully I can stay fit from here.”
Fremantle have a nine day break, taking on Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium next Sunday, giving the players the best chance to recover and field a nearly fully fit team.
“I think a few of the boys get out of isolation on Sunday so we’ll all train together, hopefully, and touch wood, Covid stays away,” Darcy said.
