Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe has praised the gutsy performance of his teammates after Freo kicked five of the last six goals to snatch a one-point win against West Coast in the Marsh Community Series at HBF Arena on Saturday.
Freo trailed by four goals near the mid-point of the final term before Banfield (2), Schultz, Walters and Taberner reeled off five majors to get Freo home.
Fyfe played down the pre-season result but was pleased to see the players push for the win.
“I think what that shows is our team has a bit of ticker,” Fyfe said.
“Our young guys weren’t overawed by the length of the game or some of their big-name opponents.
“They kept scrapping to the end and that sets us up for the first couple of rounds of the season.”
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Sean Darcy had an injury scare early in the game and Fyfe said the young ruckman came back to be one of the big influences in the final term while taking on Eagles star Nic Naitanui.
“We started winning the ball inside and winning it around the stoppages, probably on the back of Sean Darcy starting to get a little bit of hand to it,” Fyfe said.
“Then our structure allowed us to score freely.
“We know there’s going to be times when the opposition have a bit of a run on and it’s going to be hard to get the ball off them, but if we just stick to our structure it should open up and it did.”
After a strong pre-season, Fyfe said the playing group was hungry to prove themselves in the home and away season, with round one against Essendon at Marvel Stadium two weeks away.
“I think that gives us good energy and vibrancy around the club but unfortunately, it doesn’t count for anything.
“We’ll reload with two weeks to prep for Essendon and we’ll be well and truly ready come that game.”
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Fremantle are set to bring back defender Luke Ryan and midfielder James Aish, who were late withdrawals due to soreness for the clash. With the Marsh series team of 26 being cut to 22 for the home and away season, Fyfe said a number of players would be unlucky to miss out.
“(Over the next two weeks) we’ll solidify our roles and shape, we’ll start to get a good look at what the 22 is going to be,” Fyfe said.
“There’s going to be some unlucky guys who have had great pre-seasons but the exciting thing is there are some spots up for grabs that I think guys are hungry for and preparing for.
“I think we’ll start to taper towards the line and be ready to go.”
