Hayden Young is hopeful that Fremantle’s thrilling four-point win against back-to-back reigning premiers Richmond is just a sign of what is to come for the talented group.

Freo fielded their youngest team since round 19, 2018, with an average age of 23.8 with Nat Fyfe, Michael Walters and Alex Pearce out of the team due to the injury.

Young was thrilled to see Freo give everything in tricky conditions at Optus Stadium.

“Our final quarter was really impressive. We’re building towards something really special and I think that’s the next step for our group - to close out games and win those tight ones,” Young said.

“It’s a great step forward. We’ve done that tonight and hopefully we can keep going forward and winning close ones.

“We knew that they were going to keep coming and they’re a good team.

“Our mids and our defenders really held up and our forwards provided great options. It was a good performance.”

David Mundy was stand-in captain and Andrew Brayshaw was the only other leader to take the field - having a standout 39 disposals, 12 tackles and eight clearances.

“Brayshaw was super. His pressure and his hunt on the ball is first class and I think that fed into his ability to win the ball and give it to the outside runners,” Young said.

“He had a great game and he really stood up late when it was on the line, winning a few important clearances. He was great today.”

Young said the whole team showed leadership with Fyfe, Pearce and Walters out from last week.

“It’s really promising. Although they are really important leaders for our group, I think we’ve got some really strong young leaders and I think everyone in our team shows leadership qualities,” Young said.

“It just shows that we aren’t reliant on those key players and we can get the job done, whoever’s on the park each week. It’s really promising for the future.”

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