The Eagles defensive pressure overpowered Freo in a dominant second half display earlier this season, but Barlow told The West’s Steve Butler that the club had grown and would be more composed this Saturday.
"People probably have perceptions of us that we'll fall away now," Barlow said.
"That's something we're really looking forward to, proving the critics wrong.
"For ourselves, personally, to maintain a bit of momentum and continue a streak that we've got going now is really important for us and our fans.
"We really value what our fans do for us and what they bring to the table.
"We want to push forward a sustained period of success for them as well as us and I think it's going in the right direction.”
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