Fremantle were outmatched by Carlton in a 12 on 12 scratch match on Saturday at Victor George Kailis Oval.

From Freo’s perspective, the game was highlighted by the return to football of midfielder Stefan Giro, who has missed more than 12 months due to an ACL and ankle injury.

As indicated by senior coach Justin Longmuir in his weekly media conference on Friday, Jesse Hogan played a mix of defence and forward as he looks to make his return as a part of Fremantle’s backline.

Head of development Simon Eastaugh said Fremantle were let down by fundamental skill errors.

“We were beaten by Carlton on the day and it was a result of not being as organised as we should have been defensively,” Eastaugh said.

“When you play in a 12 on 12 format, your skill execution is pivotal to be competitive. When we missed easy targets or fumbled a ball we should have taken, Carlton made us pay dearly.

“Carlton were able to score quite freely off our errors which is an area some of our young players need to improve on. They’re in a position where they’re expected to perform and give themselves the best opportunity to be available for our AFL team."


Eastaugh said Giro’s return was the main positive from the morning.

“Stefan got through half a game as was prescribed to build his game conditioning,” Eastaugh said.

“He played high half forward and on the wing. It was a really positive return to playing footy again for him.

“He’ll build his game time over the next couple of weeks to get up to full match fitness.”

Eastaugh said talls Hogan and Hugh Dixon worked well down back.

“Hugh continues to grow in his position playing down back. He really competed and showed some versatility playing on talls and smalls,” Eastaugh said.

“Jesse split his time between playing back and playing forward. Down back, he worked well with Hugh. He was able to provide some leadership to the team with his experience.

“Dillon O’Reilly played half the game as a forward and presented well on the lead. He shifted to the backline when Jesse moved forward.”

Eastaugh said speedy defender Jason Carter was one of Fremantle’s better performers on the day.

“Jason returned to showing some strong competitive work,” Eastaugh said.

“It was probably one of the better performances that he’s had over the past month, playing a mix of midfield and half back.”