Sibosado, who moved from Claremont to the Demons in round six this season, was Fremantle’s WAFL player of the round after holding his opponent to two possessions in three quarters of football.
The 19-year-old who spends a lot of time training opposed to Matthew Pavlich during the week, has become a marshal in Perth’s defence and is rapidly learning the intricacies of playing as a key backman.
Byron Schammer and Clancee Pearce were other solid performers at the weekend, while Justin Bollenhagen played his best senior WAFL game for Perth. Midfielder Clayton Hinkley was rested.
Ahead of this week’s fixtures, senior development coach Simon Lloyd shared his WAFL notes with fremantlefc.com.au.
Swan Districts 25.14 (164) d Peel Thunder 16.9 (105)
Michael Walters
Michael had a good game, kicking three goals and using the ball extremely well. He was strong early coming off the square and doubled-back on his opponent at one stage to receive the ball and kick a really good goal. His chasing and pressure was good and he finished with seven tackles, which is an area he’s really improved on.
Clancee Pearce
Clancee started at half-forward and also lined up on the wing in the first half before moving to half-back in the third quarter. We know he can perform well at both ends of the ground with his understanding of the game. He won contested possessions and often started rebound from half-back when he was down there, finishing with 24 possessions and 10 marks.
Jesse Crichton
Jesse started like a man possessed, winning 10 touches in the first quarter on a wing where he played most of the game. He worked hard and ran the lines well, often carrying the footy. He won contested possessions and kicked a goal in the second quarter from 50m, which was terrific, and he’s become a good user of the footy.
Brock O’Brien
Brock had an impact on the game with his physical line at the ball, particularly in the air but also at ground level. He got involved with some telling touches in the second quarter, and it was another step forward in his comeback. We took his game time up to 70 minutes this week and he finished with 14 possessions.
East Perth 16.18 (114) d East Fremantle 9.7 (61)
Zac Clarke
Zac played mainly forward again and had a 10-minute stint in the ruck. He was a dangerous forward all day and played with good intensity. He had a number of opportunities when forward and perhaps could have made more of them, but his leading patterns were very good and he showed great intent with his defensive pressure, laying six tackles. He’s getting a lot stronger and is attacking the contest with real intent.
Hamish Shepheard
Hamish played mainly at centre-half forward and looked dangerous at times. His attack on the contest was what we expect - he hits it pretty hard - and he took a really good contested mark. He ended up coming off with a leg injury after three quarters, which hopefully will be okay for this week.
Steven Dodd
Steven started at centre-half forward and then moved to play as a loose man in defence before settling at centre-half back. He’s really pinch-hitting at both ends of the ground at the moment. Doddy didn’t get a lot of the footy, but when he did find it he used it well. He came off after three quarters with an injury, but the game overall wasn’t to his standards.
Claremont 15.16 (106) d Perth 12.6 (78)
Byron Schammer
Byron’s first half was a little bit quiet but he worked his way into the game and his second half really got Claremont going. He played with a lot of freedom after half time and had 20 touches in that period, winning a lot of contested footy and hitting his inside-50 targets. He ran to some really smart positions and was one of the players to ignite Claremont, kicking two goals.
Nick Suban
Nick played half back and back pocket and moved onto the wing for brief periods. He was very clean with his hands and strong through the core when he was being tackled, standing up and dishing out a number of handballs. He was composed and effective in the congested situations.
Joel Houghton
I thought Joel stepped up again this week, kicking three goals and building on his strong leading patterns. He came on at the 10-minute mark of the first quarter and had an immediate impact and he was on the move all day. Although Joel only had two tackles, that doesn’t accurately measure the pressure he put on with his hard running and inferred pressure, which forced a couple of turnovers.
Casey Sibosado
Casey played as a key backman and had two goals kicked on him in the first quarter, but he moved onto David Crawford after quarter time and kept him to just two touches for the rest of the match. He was strong in contested situations above his head, provided excellent run and his kicking was very good off half back. He positioned himself well and constantly blocked his opponent’s run.
Justin Bollenhagen
Justin played his best WAFL game since arriving at the club and took a big step in his development. He showed much better running patterns, attacked the ball hard and moved constantly around stoppages. He’s an elite user of the footy and one of his two goals was from 55m out on the boundary on the run. He had 11 possessions, but they were as valuable as someone else’s 20-odd touches.
Tim Ruffles
Tim played the majority of the game as a high half forward and spent some time on the wing. He hunted the ball, took a strong line at the contest and won possession in congested situations. He missed a couple of targets by foot, which is one of his focuses at the moment.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
