Rookie-listed forward Hamish Shepheard was Fremantle’s WAFL player of the round with Murphy unlucky to miss out after kicking seven goals for South Fremantle.
Casey Sibosado, who has this week been cleared to move from Claremont to Perth, played his best game for the season with the Tigers reserves, while Justin Bollenhagen made the step up to league level and kicked four goals.
With West Perth out of action, Kepler Bradley had the weekend off, while East Fremantle’s Ben Bucovaz and Chris Hall were rested. Rhys Palmer and Dylan Roberton travelled to Melbourne for Fremantle’s clash with St Kilda.
Ahead of this week’s fixtures, senior development coach Simon Lloyd shared his WAFL notes with fremantlefc.com.au.
Claremont 20.8 (128) d East Fremantle 8.8 (56)
Byron Schammer
Byron worked very hard and was always around the contests. His skills were good and he had five tackles. Being a more experienced player at the club, Byron’s been extremely professional in going back and playing some good football in the WAFL and it’s putting pressure on the players in the side.
Nat Fyfe
Nat played half-forward and was moving really well. He’s got a high work-rate and is very team-orientated. Steven Dodd played on him and Nat did very well early, kicking two goals in the first quarter. He ended up with three. Nat’s very clever and he’s playing some very good footy.
Steven Dodd
While Nat was a bit slippery on him early, Doddy knuckled down and slowed him up a fair bit for the next three quarters. He took seven marks and continues to play good football, which is really professional from Doddy and good for the group.
Casey Sibosado (reserves)
Casey played centre half-back in the reserves and had his best game for the year. His skills were very good and he ended up having 23 touches, six marks and four tackles. He had a hand in three passages that resulted in goals and he showed leadership in zone set-ups. A big thing for Casey is learning to position himself so that he can demand and receive the footy when his defence wins possession. He can be a good user by foot.
Subiaco 18.10 (118) d Swan Districts 13.18 (96)
Michael Walters
Michael played half-forward and on the wing and took a little while to get into the game. His disposal is above average, he’s spreading really well and he laid a couple of very good tackles on the weekend. One thing we’re looking for from Michael is a consistent work-rate through the game, but that’ll come. We’re tracking that sort of thing with GPS at WAFL level and getting some good results.
Clayton Hinkley
Clayton played in a number of roles for Swan Districts, including wing, half-forward and half-back. He started slowly, but worked his way into the game and found the ball in tight, contested situations. Clayton’s had a couple of setbacks and is returning from a shoulder injury, but we’re looking forward to him getting a couple of weeks where he gets a good run at it.
South Fremantle 25.17 (167) d Peel Thunder 12.11 (83)
Ryan Murphy
Ryan played forward and was a damaging player, kicking seven goals. He’s an intelligent player and he knows his teammates’ strengths, so he judges leads very well. His forward pressure was good and he was very energetic and involved. He’ll continue to push for senior selection at different times.
Jesse Crichton
Jesse’s been up for a while and he started well early but probably suffered a bit with his team being beaten convincingly. He played onball, which was good for us to see. He’s playing some good football and we’re happy with his progress.
Brock O’Brien (reserves)
Brock started well and gathered a bit of the football in the first quarter. Really with Brock, we’re continuing to focus on the long-term. He’s working closely with the sports science guys to improve his conditioning. We’ve just got to build up his fitness base and be patient.
East Perth 19.12 (126) d Perth 8.11 (59)
Hamish Shepheard
Hamish played probably his best game for the year. He played forward for the first three quarters and back for the last term. He led with real intensity and purpose and to the right spots. Multiple leads are something you need at AFL level and we’ve been working hard with Hamish on that aspect of his game. He ended up taking eight grabs and four to five of those would have been contested. He’s learning to get up in the ball carrier’s vision.
Zac Clarke
Zac played on West Coast’s Will Sullivan, who was probably his toughest opponent so far this year, but he won his position. He won his hit-outs at ball-ups and boundary throw-ins and his starting positions were very good. He’s really starting to learn the game and his marking is improving. We’re really happy with Zac.
Justin Bollenhagen
One of Perth’s better players after a few weeks in the reserves, Justin would have taken a lot of confidence out of the game. He started on the wing for the first quarter-and-a-half and then went deep forward. He looked sharp early and his skills were very good. He ended up kicking 4.2. We’re still working on the defensive side of his game, but there are some things that we like offensively.
Joel Houghton (reserves)
Joel’s work-rate was good in the reserves for Perth. He’s always on the move, but we’re working on his positioning. We’ll also keep working on his timing and forward pressure. His work rate is good and we’re happy with how he’s progressing.
The views in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the clubs.
