The South Fremantle-Claremont reserves match started with club officials, friends and relatives of the combatants the only interested parties – other than West Coast’s Ian Miller, who was there to observe the performance of Sharrod Wellingham.
Miller was there to appraise the return of Wellingham, playing his first game in six weeks after injuring an ankle against North Melbourne in the club’s thrilling last-second triumph in round eight.
Aligned to East Perth, Wellingham played in the Claremont reserves because the Royals had a bye, and Miller would have been impressed by what he saw as the club’s major off-season signing went about his work.
Wellingham had 23 disposals, took five marks, laid three tackles and kicked a goal for the Tigers, but those numbers were not the most significant outcome on the day. It was more about getting through unscathed and then assessing how he pulled up. The news was good on that front.
While that reserves clash took front of mind, there were a couple of other significant contributions later on the program at Fremantle Oval.
Ashton Hams and Adam Carter turned in eye-catching performances for the Bulldogs as they lost narrowly to the highly-rated Tigers.
Hams played through the midfield and was thrust forward later in the game as South Fremantle tried to manufacture a winning formula. He was almost a match-winner, kicking three goals and winning some important one-on-one battles deep in the attacking zone.
At the other end of the ground, Carter showed he continues to develop in a defensive capacity, effectively cutting down Paul Medhurst, the hero of last year’s premiership when he won the Simpson Medal with a dominant display.
Carter reduced the former Fremantle and Collingwood forward to just one goal, but also generated some important rebound for the Bulldogs with 19 possessions.
At Steel Blue Oval, players at opposite ends of the ground were also under notice, with Jamie Bennell producing a solid defensive effort and Murray Newman contributing in attack as Swan Districts eclipsed Perth.
Bennell shut down dangerous Demons forward Paul Bevan, who had 36 goals for the year going into this contest, and managed to squeeze just one major out of his contest with the Eagles recruit.
Aside from 12 possessions, Bennell laid three tackles and took five marks – though his team’s dominance of the game meant the ball spent long periods at the other end of the ground.
Newman kicked two goals from his 12 touches, but used the ball efficiently and helped set up other scoring opportunities.
Perth pair Fraser McInnes and Simon Tunbridge struggled to impact a game that the Demons lost by 89 points. McInnes had 12 touches and four marks, while Tunbridge, who made his senior debut against Essendon, might have suffered from a let-down after that career peak.
The only other Eagle in action on the day was Subiaco ruckman-forward Callum Sinclair, who also played in a game where his team was well beaten.
He battled hard from limited opportunities up forward and had 10 possessions and four marks, as well as 24 hit outs as East Fremantle beat the Lions by 11 goals.
