A week following a 29-point scratch match victory against a youthful West Coast side, Matt Taberner said Fremantle took their game to another level against a stronger Eagles outfit in Sunday’s 62-point win at HBF Arena in the JLT Community Series.
While Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe returned, West Coast included their own captain in Shannon Hurn alongside six others in Luke Shuey, Jeremy McGovern, Mark LeCras, Jamie Cripps, Jack Darling and Jack Redden.
“They had a different lineup this week and some of their senior players came back," Taberner said.
"I thought we definitely stepped it up this week against their more experienced players."
The key forward said Fremantle’s strong showing stemmed from the pressure the team applied on the Eagles, winning the tackle count 77 to 46.
Through this pressure, Fremantle were able to continually create chances up front with 61 inside 50s to West Coast’s 33.
Tabnerer was one of the beneficiaries of Fremantle’s consistent push forward, taking 12 marks on the way to kicking two goals.
“Our pressure from the two weeks we played West Coast was a standout,” Taberner said.
“We see our first line of defence as our forwards. With our forwards maintaining that pressure, it gives time for our mids and defenders to set up, which is really vital for us.
“With the conditions and the repeat entries, we were able to get some crucial turnovers and we got really good supply in there.”
Taberner said the message post-game was to take the momentum from Sunday’s effort into what will be a tough round one test away to Port Adelaide in just under a fortnight.
“We used it as a rehearsal for round one,” Taberner said.
“We’ll still go about our normal week. We’ll have a strong training session on Saturday to keep that run in our legs to get ready for Port Adelaide from here.”
