Read the key stats and stories as Fremantle defeated North Melbourne by four points at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Dream debut
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably heard of Ryan Nyhuis – which wasn’t something that could be said on Sunday morning when the young defender was called up as an emergency replacement for the ill David Mundy.
A few hours later, Nyhuis was hailed as the hero with four goals on debut – the most ever by a Freo player, surpassing the three-goal debuts of Ryan Crowley, Paul Medhurst and Leigh Wardell-Johnson.
Vintage Fyfe
Nat Fyfe made a return to his excellent best against North, equalling his season high of 33 disposals (19 contested) while racking up 12 clearances. He did this while combatting a heavy tag from Sam Gibson in the third term, eventually moving forward in the final quarter to kick a crucial goal.
The kids are alright
Freo fielded their youngest side for 2017 at an average age of 23.66 years – the third youngest side of the round.
Freo also has the second-most inexperienced side with an average of 68.2 games.
For context, Fremantle fielded a side with an average age of 26.46 years with an average of 11.3 games experience in round two against Port Adelaide.
More importantly, Freo’s youngsters contributed strongly.
The average age of Freo’s top five contributors – according to the AFL Player Rankings – was 23.15 years, including Nyhuis (20), Connor Blakely and Luke Ryan (21) alongside Nat Fyfe (25) and Michael Walters (26).
Darcy continues to grow
Coming up against his strongest opponent yet in 2015 All Australian Todd Goldstein, Sean Darcy led the hitouts with 34, with a career-high of 10 going to advantage.
The 19-year-old has totalled 107 hitouts since making his debut in round 14, the sixth-most during this period, behind Ben McEvoy, Jarrod Witts, Billy Longer, Paddy Ryder and Max Gawn.
Hill an ‘unsung hero’
Stephen Hill is yet to get back to his best since his hamstring in round five and missing Freo’s round 15 game with St Kilda with a calf injury – but the AFL Players' Association highlighted Hill’s contribution against North, calling the midfielder an ‘unsung hero’ for the week.
The AFLPA said Hill was as effective as ever against North. Collecting 20 disposals, Hill used the ball at 95 per cent efficiency and recorded five inside 50s.
The one stat that shows that the running midfielder is still building is his meters gained, averaging 488.8 metres gained prior to his round five injury and 303.2 metres gained since then.
Conversely, Stephen’s brother Bradley has stepped up his game, averaging 482.1 metres gained since Stephen's injury compared to 393.7 metres gained prior.
Marks on the up
Fremantle’s marking inside 50 was a cause for concern during their recent close losses to Geelong and St Kilda, marking 12.5 per cent of forward entries during rounds 14 and 15 – the lowest in the competition.
Against North, Freo’s percentage more than doubled – marking 26.1 per cent of forward 50 entries, the sixth highest for the round. Freo were led by Fyfe, Walters and Nyhuis up front, with the trio taking three marks each inside 50.
