Down a rotation for most of the game, defender Michael Johnson was pleased with how Fremantle fought out a tough eight-point loss to West Coast at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
Freo pushed on following the injury to Michael Walters, who came off the field in the second term.
Coming off a five-goal performance in round five, Walters was always going to be crucial to Freo’s chances.
“It’s what you want in a team. You don’t want to go into a game without the desire to go to the end,” Johnson said.
“It’s always tough when you lose a quality player like ‘Sonny' (Walters).
“We needed more guys going through the midfield and pushing forward and when we lost ‘Sonny’, it was tough to get back and control that area.
“Credit to the boys, we only had three on the bench for about three quarters. We stuck to our structures and the way we wanted to play.”
Normally a key defender, Johnson supported Aaron Sandilands in the ruck while playing periods in the forward and backline.
With West Coast naming two specialist ruckmen in Nic Naitanui and Scott Lycett, Johnson knew it would be a tough ask to keep the game on Freo’s terms when resting Sandilands.
“I was happy to come in and try and win a couple of taps but they’re a quality unit and two (specialist) ruckmen,” Johnson said.
“It was tough in there, especially when they’re a lot heavier and stronger than you but I thought ‘Spider’ (Sandilands) battled really hard today and I was happy to play my role for the team.”
Johnson paid tribute to Freo’s backline for their tireless work against the Eagles tall forwards Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling.
West Coast finished the game with 10 more inside 50s, however Freo’s defence never let up - led by Joel Hamling’s eight spoils and Luke Ryan’s five intercept marks.
“We knew going in that with Kennedy and Darling and their other tall players, they will always make a contest,” Johnson said.
“And their smalls are really smart, creating space for their talls and getting back for the crumbs.
“I noticed it, especially in the first half, the defenders were right up against them and stopping their easier lead-ups.
“I thought the defence worked really well as a unit, their forwards kicked a few goals but I thought our defenders were right up and stopping those lead-ups.”
Johnson said the team will regroup with a focus on bouncing back against ladder-leaders Richmond.
“We’re going to the MCG and playing a quality side,” Johnson said.
“We’ll prepare and we know we play the MCG well so we’ll go over there and play our game and match up against them.”
