Despite falling two points short to Geelong on Sunday afternoon Lachie Weller was really proud of the team’s effort, especially by that of the younger players.
Freo went into the game at Simonds Stadium with two debutants and 11 players who have played 50 or less AFL games.
Of those 11 players seven had played less than 30 AFL games five had played less than five games, four of those being first year players.
“Obviously it’s a little bit disappointing in terms of the result but I thought it was a step forward today and I was really proud of our efforts,” Weller said.
“We all really grew today and the young boys stood up and played their role and that is a really good sign for the future.”
Sean Darcy had an impact in his debut game finishing with 40 hit-outs, 17 of them from the first quarter.
Weller said the ruckman’s work around the ground was impressive.
“He’s fantastic, he was really competing in the ruck and getting the hit-outs, he was also chasing and his second efforts around the ground was great as well,” Weller said.
In a heart-stopping finish, Weller had the ball in the dying moments of the final quarter and gave hope to a Freo come back in the final minute.
“I was just trying to look to the off-ball side, I think we had a fair few runners coming in on the other side and I just hooked it in front of Tommy, and he created a good contest,” Weller said.
“We had blokes everywhere for the crumb, it was really close.
“We gave ourselves the opportunity to win and we just fell short, but we were really proud of our efforts.”
