A ‘superstar’ performance from Nat Fyfe was overshadowed by a disappointing Match Simulation result on Friday against Adelaide, according to Sam Switkowski.
 
Fremantle and Adelaide put forward strong teams for the opening four segments, with Adelaide prevailing by 11 points.
 
Adelaide ran away with the result from segments five to seven as both teams tested their depth. Nine Peel players topped up Fremantle’s list with a further three for Adelaide.
 
After playing a significant amount of match simulation over the pre-season, the newly elected Fremantle leader said Freo took a lot from playing an AFL opponent.
 
Switkowski added that he was disappointed to see Freo fall away after kicking the opening three goals, with the midfield losing their early ascendancy.
 
“It shows you sometimes where your vulnerabilities are when you come up against different opposition,” Switkowski said.
 
“We had the game on our terms early. Our intensity was good, we were moving well and were on top in clearance and stoppage.

“Momentum is such a big thing. We’re going to expect there’s going be goal swings each way in most games we’re going to play this year.
 
“I think that’s the biggest part that fell away - the contest and our stoppage. We started losing those and it becomes very hard to defend behind that when they’re getting a lot of centre clearances.”
 
Fyfe’s three goals showed he has a lot of promise as a forward, according to Switkowski.
 
“He’s been building really nicely over the pre-season,” Switkowski said.
 
“He looks really good when he’s leading out from full-forward. When we can get good delivery and put it out in space for him, he’s really hard to stop. We’re pleased with his performance.
 
“He’ll keep building. We back him in. He’s a superstar.”

Fremantle will face Adelaide in round four this season on 8 April at Adelaide Oval, and Switkowski said the playing group could take plenty from the hitout.
 
“You get quite used to versing yourself and playing against your own game style which you know so well so it’s quite predictable,” Switkowski explained.
 
“We do our opposition analysis so we knew a fair bit about Adelaide coming into it. But they’re still going to throw things that we’re unsure about.
 
“From a forwards perspective, their high half-backs were really dangerous. They ran off really hard. I know there’s a lot of teams that want to bounce really fast off half-back this year.
 
“That’s something we’re going to look at as well. How we can stem their influence and hurt them on the way back offensively as well.”
 
Fremantle’s pre-season continues on Thursday with a clash against Port Adelaide at Fremantle Oval with bouncedown at 4.10pm.