The Fremantle Dockers winless start to the 2016 season has been disappointing but positives are starting to emerge, especially from the younger crop of Freo players.

Both Alex Pearce and Ed Langdon made their first appearances of 2016 in the loss against the Gold Coast on Saturday, while Lachie Weller continued to display his pressure and work rate in his second game of the season.

The performance of the young trio was a high point in an otherwise disappointing result, according to Freo captain David Mundy.

“They were really good tonight,” Mundy said.

“Ed came in off some pretty good form in the WAFL last week and that’s really important.”

Talking points after Gold Coast loss

Langdon tried his best to turn momentum back in Freo’s favour with a big run down tackle in the third, while Weller showed his tireless effort with a 50m pursuit of Suns running machine Adam Saad.

Alex Pearce contributed as a pinch hitter in the ruck and played a key role in a Matthew Pavlich goal in the first quarter.

Langdon, Pearce and Weller had all performed to a high standard for Peel Thunder before playing for Freo in 2016, and Mundy said the pressure from the WAFL level would continue to help improve the senior squad.
 
“The Peel guys went quite well again (v Swan Districts),” he said.
 
“It takes a solid 30 to 35 players to really knuckle out an AFL season, so for us to keep pressure on spots like that is fantastic.”