EARLIER this year, the prospect of a Fremantle side without Peter Bell, Shaun McManus, Des Headland and Paul Hasleby thrashing the Sydney Swans at the clearances was unthinkable.

That Fremantle’s brigade of young on-ballers did just that on Saturday night is testament to how far the side has come in 19 rounds.

While Fremantle lost a thrilling clash by four points, first-year player Rhys Palmer said his teammates took plenty of heart from their performance.

“It just shows that we’ve got it in us. We’ve got a great group of young boys coming through and we’re getting more confidence each game,” he said.

“Hopefully it carries on through to the next couple of years and we can build some good trust in each other and become a strong team.”

Palmer was exceptional against the likes of Jude Bolton and Brett Kirk, putting his body on the line to finish with 15 contested possessions among his 20 touches.

He appreciated the opportunities the absence of old heads Bell and McManus had generated, but he looked forward to the day that the club’s youth would be complemented by experience.

“Next year we’ll get ‘Hase’ [Paul Hasleby] back and Headland’s still got to come back in, so there’s still some good players out that – when they come back in – will make a huge difference,” he said.

Like many at the ground, Palmer thought his side had the game “wrapped up” inside the last 10 minutes with a 14-point lead.

Clearly, there’s a lesson to be learned and the 19-year-old was already chalking the narrow loss down to experience.

“It’s all these little bits during the game that you look back and think, ‘If we’d kicked that goal, it would have been the difference,’ but full credit to Sydney – they came back and deserved the four points,” he said.

“We did real well just to fight back in it and get ahead, but it’s just disappointing to let the lead slip again. It’s something we’ve got to work on next year.”

While Palmer has been a standout for Fremantle this season, he admitted the rigours of his first AFL season were starting to take a toll.

“The body’s starting to get a bit sore,” he conceded. “The coaching staff have been really good, letting me have light weeks to get my body to recover, but I’m looking forward to the end of the season.”