INJURIES to key midfielders have seen the hard-running Andrew Foster bolt into contention for this week's clash with Carlton, and a solid hit-out in the WAFL didn't hurt his chances.

Foster was among the best couple for East Fremantle as he continues to recover swiftly from a back complaint that restricted his pre-season.

"It was only two weeks ago that he played three quarters of a reserves game," development coach Steve Malaxos said.

"Then last week he played league for about 70 minutes and this week he had about 100 minutes in the league. It's been reasonably rapid, so he's done well."

With Ryan Crowley (foot) and Rhys Palmer (knee) ruled out for the long term, Foster's form in the middle of the ground stood out for the Sharks and has him in the mix for the trip to Carrara Stadium. 

"He's pretty close. We're pretty light on for midfielders with Crowley and Rhys going down, so that's why he's in with a chance so soon," Malaxos said.

"It remains to be seen whether he needs another week or two. He may still just be a better option at this point than the other guys."

Foster missed about a third of Fremantle's pre-season, and Malaxos said he was capable of boosting his fitness levels rapidly.

"If he was able to do all of the training he'd be super fit," Malaxos said. "He's got good genetics if you like for endurance, so that comes up pretty quickly."

Fremantle debuted its fourth player for the season at the weekend, with Matt de Boer's accomplished performance against West Coast proof the WAFL nursery is playing its role.

Malaxos said de Boer played his role in his western derby debut with his competitiveness and pressure standing out.  

Clancee Pearce and Michael Walters both played well for Swan Districts and appear to be the next players in line to debut.

Ahead of Thursday's selection, Malaxos shared his WAFL notes with fremantlefc.com.au. 

West Perth 12.9 (81) lost to Swan Districts 17.15 (117)

Adam Campbell: Just an average one for Adam at West Perth. When he was in the play he was quite good, but he didn't manage to get involved as much as was required to play a good game.

Clancee Pearce: He played well as a running half-back and continues his good form. He had 21 touches and nine marks and is continuing to play consistently good, solid footy.    

Luke Pratt: Played very well for Swans on a variety of opponents. He took some good marks and used the ball well coming out of defence. Whoever he was opposed to he beat and then he attacked.

Michael Walters: A slow start for Michael, but he was very good after quarter time. His kicking in particular stood out. Had 16 touches and booted two goals for Swan Districts.

Claremont 16.13 (109) lost to Peel Thunder 17.11 (113)

Casey Sibosado (reserves): Was among the best in the twos, so he's gradually improving. That was his best run so far this season playing at centre half-forward. He's line ball for the Claremont league side this week, so he'll step up either this week or next week. He's been training well and that's been reflected in his improved form.

East Fremantle 19.7 (111) lost to Perth 20.4 (124)

Chris Hall: He had 19 possessions and did some good things for East Freo, particularly his kicking going inside 50m. He was also linking up play pretty well. Unfortunately he fumbled on a few occasions, which let the opposition through.

Andrew Foster: He played quite well for the Sharks. Had about 10 clearances through the midfield and forward and capped off his work with some good kicking. He was quite good at the stoppages and he also kicked a couple of goals. In line for selection but he's only played the four AFL games, so he's still pretty raw.
 
Marcus Drum: He played forward in a different role, which we asked Perth for. What he did was good, but we'd just like him to be more involved and do it more often. He's been solid across centre half-back, but we just felt that a different role might encourage his creativity and his attack on the ball – he's played a lot of footy in defence and was just continuing to play at a certain level.

East Perth 7.10 (52) lost to South Fremantle 22.18 (150)

Zac Clarke:  
Played ruck and forward, but it wasn't his best game for the Royals. He used the ball well, which was the positive, but just an average game. He's still learning his craft as a forward. He's done some good things down there, but he's often positioned deep, so you don't get the opportunities.

Hamish Shepheard (reserves): That was his second game for the season, he played better than the previous week for his 11 touches and a goal, but he's still short of his best for East Perth.

Josh Head: 
Different role for Josh, playing forward, wing and on-ball, and we were happy with him. He had four shots on goal and showed a bit through the midfield, particularly on the wing. We wanted to see how he goes in a different role at Souths.

Daniel Gilmore:
He played for the Bulldogs, but he didn't have a good one. He went into the game suffering from an illness. It was decided he would play but I think he realised once he started that he was feeling worse than expected.