WITH Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands facing a late-week fitness test on his injured foot, understudy Zac Clarke put his hand up for senior selection with another impressive WAFL performance.

Clarke, who had 26 hit-outs playing predominantly in the ruck for East Perth, has been consistent in the WAFL and is now capable of stepping up and contributing in the ruck at AFL level.

Midfielder Byron Schammer also stood out in round 20 of the state competition, winning Fremantle's WAFL player of the round award after a strong performance in the midfield for Claremont, where he has averaged 25 disposals in 15 games this season.

Ten Fremantle players were involved across the round-20 fixtures, with Brock O'Brien lining up for the South Fremantle reserves due to Peel Thunder's bye.

Ahead of this week’s fixtures, senior development coach Simon Lloyd shared his WAFL notes with fremantlefc.com.au.

East Perth 18.10 (118) d West Perth 15.14 (104)
Zac Clarke
Zac played more time in the ruck this week where he outplayed his opponent to finish with 26 hit-outs and 19 possessions. He rested forward and managed to kick a goal and take six grabs, five of which would have been contested. He consistently out-jumped his opponent in the ruck, often put his body on the line and made some really good second efforts. He's worked really hard this year and is now performing consistently.

Swan Districts 18.12 (120) d South Fremantle 12.13 (85)
Clayton Hinkley
Clayton started on the ball opposed to Kris Miller and he did well early, laying a strong tackle and having two clearances in the first 10 minutes. His opponent got on top of him after that and he was then moved to half-forward where he got into some good positions to receive the footy. Clayton ran and broke the lines in the second quarter and he's continuing to learn that half-forward position.

Ryan Murphy
Ryan started at full-forward and had a 10-minute stint in the ruck each quarter, having a good, hard-working game. He looked to relish his time in the ruck and he competed really well even though he's undersized. He pushed hard forward on a couple of occasions and finished with three goals. His leading patterns on transition were very good, as was his pressure, causing a turnover and a goal with a tackle inside 50.

Brock O'Brien (reserves)
Brock played at half-forward before coming off for a break and then going into the midfield. He started really well, running hard and demanding the footy, but he drifted in and out of the game after that. When he had the ball he ran and carried and took the game on, finishing with five inside 50s, so we're now looking for him to be involved for longer patches.

Claremont 17.10 (112) d Subiaco 9.7 (61)
Byron Schammer
Byron had 22 touches playing midfield for Claremont and his skills were pretty good, hitting most of his targets. He worked really hard both ways, pushing back defensively to block space for the Subiaco forwards, and he reacted really well to turnovers and umpire decisions. He wasn't used as much as he should have been but he always ran hard and was the first to give an option.

Des Headland
Des got through his second game back from a knee injury and his time on ground was increased playing midfield, wing and forward. He was very physical at contests, and looked a class above when he had the ball, but he was obviously fatigued and finished with eight possessions. He worked really hard when the ball was in his area, chasing and pressuring the opposition, and he laid some solid bumps.

East Fremantle 16.21 (117) d Perth 7.11 (53)
Steven Dodd
Steven played across half-back for all four quarters and defended the high ball well, having a couple of strong spoils. He showed some really good pressure in the second quarter and tried to take the game on. He's been a bit down on his recent performances and is working hard to get back up.

Tim Ruffles
Tim played a number of roles, starting on the wing opposed to Anthony Kyanga and he followed his opponent to East Freo's forward line where he played back until half time. He moved forward in the second half and played with some real intensity when the ball was in his area. His attack on the ball was great at centre half-back and he took two strong contested marks.

Casey Sibosado
Casey played key back the entire game and defended at a reasonable level, effecting a couple of strong spoils and only being beaten on a couple of occasions. In regards to the standard Casey's set for himself, he didn't look to attack as much as he has in the past and he didn't set the game up off half-back like he can.

Joel Houghton
Joel played half-forward for three quarters and had a run in the ruck for the last quarter. Early on his work rate and leading patterns were good and he used his voice well. He made repeated efforts and worked hard, but overall he didn't have a great impact after making a bright start.

The views in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.