Our third week of the NAB Cup/Challenge series saw us venturing to Perth for our match against Fremantle.

We took over a very young and inexperienced team – a decision in the best interests of our preparation for round one. Players who had completed the majority of the pre-season were rested.

That’s why guys like Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge and Tim Clarke were given time to freshen up, while we gave opportunities to the likes of Josh Kennedy, Jarryd Morton and Josh Thurgood, who played his first game for the year. Brent Renouf also gained an opportunity and shared the ruck duties with Simon Taylor. Brent did really well, we thought.

Xavier Ellis played his first game in Hawthorn colours and was very good. We've been waiting a while for Xavier to make his debut, but because of his school commitments last year he hasn't played until now. He really stood out against Fremantle and stepped up to this level very quickly, so that was a major positive from the match.

All of those young boys contributed in some way. It was also a good opportunity for those fellas to travel interstate and gain another learning experience. The more they experience travelling interstate, the more it helps their development.

Fremantle fielded a much more experienced side than we did. That was simply a sign of where the Dockers are at with their development, as opposed to where we are at. The Dockers were physically more mature and stronger, because they are probably three or four years in front of us in terms of development.

We were very competitive for the majority of the game, but some inexperienced decision-making and our inability to match Fremantle's strength and fitness over four quarters was the difference.

This weekend we play Essendon in our final hit-out before the season proper.

We'll play as many players as we can that are in contention for round one. Some of the younger guys might not get an opportunity this week, as we intend to field a pretty strong line-up. We’ll be including guys like Trent Croad, Richie Vandenberg, Robbie Campbell and Ben Dixon.

Danny Jacobs played 60 per cent of the game time last weekend and he'll play close to a full game this weekend. Michael Osborne will also be close to playing, but Joel Smith is another week away.