Nine of Steve Malaxos' troops were in action for round 11 of the WAFL competition and there were some eye-catching performances.
The development coach noted small defender Luke Pratt and the versatile Daniel Gilmore as the two standout players from the weekend's games, while 18-year-old Tim Ruffles produced a mixed bag for Perth.
Ruffles, who is on Fremantle's senior list, has been restricted to two games in the past six weeks after suffering concussion, but Malaxos said he had otherwise played his part for Perth.
"I think his season's been quite good, he's been a contributor," Malaxos said.
"At the moment he's just trying to improve his fitness really, coming off a low base. The concussion set him back a little bit from a fitness point of view as well."
Pratt, who was elevated to Fremantle's senior list ahead of round seven, took on former Fremantle livewire Jeff Farmer at the weekend.
Malaxos said the small defender had handled his backline responsibilities well for a player with 11 games of league experience.
"He plays on the opposition's best forward most of the time in the WAFL, if they're a small," Malaxos said.
"He plays on guys like (Ian) Richardson, (Hayden) Ballantyne and Farmer every week, so he's been a steady performer."
Rookie ruckman Brent Connolly played his best game of football yet with the Perth reserves, while Ben Bucovaz was Claremont's best player in the twos.
Malaxos shared his WAFL notes with fremantlefc.com.au.
Perth 11.9 (75) lost to Peel Thunder 17.11 (113)
Tim Ruffles
Was part of some excellent pieces of play, but didn't have a consistent game. He booted two goals and did some really good things with his eight possessions, but that was mixed up with some average things. He's been playing forward pocket or forward flank for most of the year with Perth since starting out in defence.
Marcus Drum
He tried hard, but he didn't have much of an influence with 13 disposals and five marks. He played forward, went back for a couple of periods and then he rucked for the last 10-15 minutes. So he tried hard without having a big influence for the Demons.
Brent Connelly (reserves)
He may have been the tallest wingman to ever play in the reserves, but he did pretty well with his 15 possessions and it was a big step forward for him in a new role. We'll discuss a promotion to the league side with Perth, but it wouldn't worry me either way at the moment, I'd just like to see him consolidate his form as that was clearly his best game. He used the ball well and took some good marks – particularly going back in defence – and his enthusiasm for the game was also really pleasing.
Swan Districts 15.11 (101) d South Fremantle 12.11 (83)
Luke Pratt
Played in defence for Swans and played on Jeff Farmer when he was forward. Jeff also played on-ball, so Luke only went with him when he was forward. He played quite well in that defensive role and had 15 possessions, six marks and seven tackles.
Daniel Gilmore
Daniel played mainly on the wing for South Fremantle and a little bit across half-back opposed to Matt Carr. He ran really hard and had 26 possessions, but he still needs to improve his effectiveness with those possessions.
East Perth 9.11 (65) lost to Claremont 18.13 (121)
Zac Clarke
One of Zac's quieter ones with just the seven disposals and 10 hit-outs. He started pretty well in the ruck and spent most of the second at half-forward, but this was one of his quieter games for East Perth.
Hamish Shepheard
He did some good things as a forward for the Royals and also went back, finishing with 14 possessions and a goal. So he's slowly improving, not that we've ever been disappointed with him. Coming into league footy he's done okay and he's gradually improving as his fitness improves.
Casey Sibosado
He was a little bit quieter in his second league game for Claremont. He worked quite hard but he didn't get involved as much as the week before. He had a couple of good forwards doing well around him, so it's hard for the fourth forward to also go well. But that's not an excuse, there were still other areas he could have contributed in.
Ben Bucovaz (reserves)
Ben played in the twos again as we try to build his fitness up. He played quite well and Claremont listed him as their best player with 17 possessions, four marks and two goals. We'll be looking at him playing in the league side shortly.
West Perth 12.10 (82) def Subiaco 11.10 (76)
No Fremantle players
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
