Fremantle defender Joel Hamling believes Freo’s young players stood up in the 77-point loss to Richmond on Sunday at the MCG.

Freo had five players who had never played at the MCG before and Hamling says they were some of the positive aspects of Freo’s game.

"I think we battled really hard,” Hamling said.

“A lot of our young guys stood up and showed really good signs, along with our pros as well in Nathan (Fyfe) and Aaron (Sandilands.)

“There’s definitely some improvement there and there are some aspects to be happy about.

“We’re a young side and we’re definitely growing.”

The 25-year old finished with a game-high 11 one per centers to go with his 12 disposals and believes there’s a lot to take out of the loss to the reigning premiers.

“Playing against a premier team like Richmond you can really see what it takes to be a premiership side,” Hamling said.

“We’re really going to run through the game with a fine-toothed comb and find things to try and put in our game as well.”

A positive from the game was during the third quarter when Fremantle kept Richmond goalless and kicked three goals.

“We just fought back really well,” Hamling said.

“I thought we were good around the clearances, we moved the ball forward and gave our forwards more opportunity to get on the scoreboard.”

Fremantle will take on St Kilda next Saturday 12 May at Optus Stadium and the defender is looking forward to the challenge.

“The Saints are going along similar to how we are at the moment,” Hamling said.

“So it’s going to be a really good challenge and hopefully we can get all our members and supporters there, it will be exciting.”