Fremantle recruit James Aish hopes to have even more impact on games as he settles into a midfield role at his new club.
The 24-year-old racked up 26 disposals against Brisbane on Saturday, the second-most for Freo and his highest tally since 2016 despite the shortened quarters.
Primairily a defender at Collingwood, Aish had worked closely with senior coach Justin Longmuir, who at the time was the backline coach at the Magpies.
Aish is benefiting from a change of role under Longmuir. Playing on the wing against Brisbane, he totalled 491 metres gained, trailing only Luke Ryan for Fremantle.
“It’s always nice (to get the footy). I’m playing a bit of a different role, being around the ball a bit more, which helps,” Aish said.
“I’m aiming to be consistent, it comes from doing the team thing and building a good relationship with a lot of the midfielders, that really helps.
“Clearly we’ve got a good midfield group, so I’m just trying to be a part of that.
“I really like it (my role). It gives a bit more freedom to try and impact the game.
“I’m pretty flexible, if I need to go back, I can go back, I can go inside mid at times. It was a fair reason for coming over and I’ve enjoyed the trust JL (Longmuir) has to do that.”
Aish felt his fitness held up well through the game despite the limited training block leading into round two.
“I felt pretty good (late in the game) to be honest. There was a bit of fatigue but I think we’ve been really good in both of our games this year, running out the game and pushing really hard,” Aish said.
“Unfortunately, we’ve left it a bit late so far but I think we’re looking really good and the boys are in good shape.”
Fremantle face an unbeaten Port Adelaide on Sunday and Aish said it would be crucial for Freo to take their opportunities.
“Clearly it’s a bit frustrating. You want to win, we’ve been in both of the games against good opposition,” Aish said.
“There’s a lot to take out of it. This week, we played a bit more how we wanted to play, we probably had a lot more possession and the opportunity to try and score more, we just didn’t capitalise at times.
“I think we’re shaping really well, the challenge is to keep backing it up against good teams and, hopefully, be more consistent.”
