Didn’t watch Freo’s 62-point win against West Coast at HBF Arena on Sunday? Here’s what you might have missed.
Fit and firing
While pre-season results mean nothing, Fremantle can at least be confident in the fitness of the playing group. After a slow start with West Coast kicking the opening two goals, Freo looked the fitter and stronger side in hot conditions - working hard, applying pressure and winning every quarter to finish the pre-season on a positive note.
Reliable mids
If this pre-season is anything to go by, Fremantle fans can rely on a standout performance from at least one of their experienced inside mids. Nat Fyfe was the standout against Adelaide in JLT1, while David Mundy impressed in last week’s scratch match against West Coast. On Sunday it was Lachie Neale's turn, collecting 36 disposals, 13 contested possessions, eight clearances and kicking three goals.
Adding no.2 and no.5 draft picks Andrew Brayshaw and Adam Cerra into this mix makes an it engine room worth getting excited about in 2018.
Moving the ball from defence…
New recruit Nathan Wilson and second-year player Luke Ryan were two of Freo’s shining lights against West Coast, with Wilson showing his ability to move the ball quickly with three rebound 50s and six inside 50s.
Statistically, you couldn’t fault Ryan against the Eagles, with 21 disposals at 100 per cent disposal efficiency, with a pin-point inside 50 delivery to Lachie Neale the highlight.
…and keeping it up front
Fremantle saw a return of the trademark forward pressure that has been lacking during the past two seasons.
Hayden Ballantyne was at his vintage best with seven tackles and kicking 3.3, while Michael Walters out-ran and out-smarted his opponents, kicking two goals with seven inside 50s.
Waiting in the wings
Any concerns about Freo’s ability to perform without the Hill brothers on either wing were relieved when a trio of players stepped up in their absence. Darcy Tucker’s 27 disposals was four better than the most he has collected at AFL level. Ed Langdon (22 disposals, 1 goal) and Danyle Pearce (20 disposals, 1 goal) also helped keep the ball moving and see Freo dominate the inside 50s 61 to 33.
Remarkable Taberner
Forward Matt Taberner’s marking was his strong point from his eight games in 2017 and it's continued to be the case in the pre-season. The 24-year-old big man was a nightmare to handle for the Eagles defenders, taking 12 marks, with five contested marks and five marks inside 50.
Round one prospects
In his post-match media conference, Ross Lyon flagged two potential round one debutants in Andrew Brayshaw (19 disposals, 9 tackles) and Bailey Banfield (18 disposals, 1 goal).
Lyon said Brayshaw was “doing everything right” in the pre-season and highlighted a desire to get games into the 18-year-old.
While a round one debut coming off the rookie list is almost unheard of, Banfield could do just that with Lyon stating he "would think (Banfield's) going to play” against Port Adelaide in two weeks time.
