FREMANTLE'S 15-point loss to Carlton on Sunday was bittersweet for re-deployed forward Luke McPharlin, with some exhilarating football soured by a final-quarter fadeout.

It was a sweet night personally for the former defender who has moved forward, with McPharlin booting three goals and presenting as a constant target.

However, Carlton's seven-goal-to-two final term overhauled an 18-point Fremantle lead at the last break, and left McPharlin with a sour taste.

"We played some exciting football at times, but unfortunately we weren’t able to get away with a win, which is disappointing," McPharlin said after the match. 

"We certainly looked a lot slower in the last quarter. They were able to just keep running and running. I'd probably put it down to (us) running out of legs."

Gun youngsters Stephen Hill and Nick Suban dropped off after half time, while goalsneak Hayden Ballantyne didn't add to his three first half majors.

However, fellow first-year players Zac Clarke and Matt de Boer lifted their output in the second half, while Greg Broughton played a complete game to finish with 31 possessions – a game-high 13 of those being contested. 
 
It was another positive for McPharlin to take out of the side's seventh straight loss.

"When you have the emergence of young guys like Ballantyne and Hill and Broughton in defence, those guys have slotted straight into the AFL scene and look pretty comfortable," he said.

"Last week against Collingwood, they certainly prepared for [Ballantyne] and had his measure, and we weren't delivering the ball too well.

"Today he was able to get it a bit more on his terms, and he certainly showed his ability."

Having a big target alongside no doubt helped Ballantyne, and McPharlin said it was nice to boot some goals himself after taking some time to adjust to his move forward. 

"I guess I've always been a pinch-hit forward over my career, and with (Chris) Tarrant playing pretty well in defence, it looks as though I'll be more of a permanent forward," he said. 

"It's been a steep learning curve for myself considering I've played most of my career in defence.

"I've just got to keep working at it and keep developing chemistry among the guys who are down there.

"(But) it was good to get on the end of a few. The forward line was structured so that we were able to get some more one-on-ones today, which as a forward is golden."