The loss of Embley (hamstring) and Kerr (adductor) prior to the game had the potential to throw West Coast's preparations off kilter, particularly for midfield roles, but Worsfold was delighted that didn’t eventuate.
Andrew Gaff and Brad Sheppard came into the side, and Chris Masten was elevated to start on the ground after being set to be the substitute in his first AFL game back from a knee injury.
"It's a credit that the players just got on with the business. The way that Gaff prepared, the way that Sheppard prepared and even Masten was pleasing, and those players just got on with the job," Worsfold said.
"They are only young players and it's great maturity that they showed and the rest of the team weren’t phased by what happened. It was only just before we ran out that they realised Kerr wasn’t playing, but they knew they still had their roles to play."
The Eagles were dealt the double blow pre-match when Embley felt his hamstring tighten up, and Kerr felt a twinge in his adductor.
Worsfold is glad both players put their hands up and didn’t try to play through their injuries.
"Embley wasn’t confident that he could get through a game and he'd just felt his hamstring. He's had a tight hamstring for a couple of weeks and has got through, but it flared up. Kerr was obviously after that and in the on-ground warm-up he felt it out there," Worsfold said.
"He saw the physios and we tried to test him in the rooms, and he thought he might have been able to play, but could feel it when he tried to sprint. Subsequently when he cooled down he knew that it was the right decision and that he wouldn’t have been able to get through."
As for next Sunday's clash with the Western Bulldogs at Patersons Stadium, Worsfold is hopeful that both Kerr and Embley can play, but is more confident on the latter.
The game itself was a terrific performance of defensive pressure from West Coast, restricting Fremantle to 30 entries inside-50 and 18 scoring shots while kicking 14.12 themselves with Jack Darling, Mark LeCras, Josh Kennedy and Quinten Lynch providing a potent forward line.
Worsfold was proud of the effort and hopes it is a continuation of his team's overall improvement from last year's wooden spoon to now sitting in seventh spot on the table with a 4-3 record.
"I'm just really pleased with the efforts of the boys. It was a stronger effort over a longer period of the game. In our losses this year we've had lapses and the boys really fought to make sure that those lapses weren’t going to raise their head," Worsfold said.
"It's not about the derby, it's about where we want to get to as a team. We are working hard to improve enough to get to where we want to get to. We have taken some steps but there are a lot more still to take to get things where we want them."
