Brandon Matera feels he’s on the cusp of playing one of his career-best seasons if he can keep his form going into the second half the year.
Matera has kicked 21 goals from 10 games so far this season, playing his part in an in-form forward that has helped Freo to a 7-5 record at the mid-point of the year.
The small forward sees a big test coming in Melbourne on Saturday at the MCG, where he hopes Freo can consolidate their positive start to the season.
“The way we’ve been playing, we had a huge summer. We were pretty confident going into round one and we just really enjoying our footy at the moment,” Matera said.
“We’re in a good spot halfway through the season but there’s a lot more footy to come. We’re taking it week-by-week and trying to play consistent footy.”
Playing his second season at Fremantle since joining the club from the Gold Coast, Matera said that the presence of former Demon Jesse Hogan up front has had a big impact on his own game.
“It probably is my best year so far. I was pretty disappointed with the way I played last year, I had a massive off-season and I worked really hard,” Matera said.
“I feel the talls we have up front this year has helped quite a bit to bring the ball down to the ground, whereas last year we probably lacked that tall.
"This year is definitely better but we’re still half-way so there’s a lot of footy to go.”
Matera and Hogan kicked three goals each in round 13 against Port Adelaide, and Matera praised the efforts of his fellow forward.
“I reckon it probably was (Hogan’s) best game. I think he’s worked pretty hard whenever he’s played,” Matera said.
“He obviously got a bit more of the ball and he finished his shots. I think it’s the way we’ve been playing in the past three or four weeks, the way we’ve gelled together in the forward line.
“He’s probably been getting two-on-ones since (Matt) Taberner’s gone down but I think the way he presented himself last week, coming at the footy and taking contested marks and finishing his work, I probably would say it was his best game and, hopefully, he can continue that.”
