Hutchings pushed through a tight tag when West Perth lost to Claremont while Brown was also solid in a losing East Fremantle effort against East Perth.
Despite the close attention of Claremont debutante Hugo Breakey, Hutchings accumulated 26 possessions, laid 11 tackles and finished off his work with two goals.
Brown was assigned the task of matching up East Perth spearhead Josh Smith and neutralised the star Royals forward, who managed two goals for the afternoon. Defensively, Brown was strong and aggressive and will be ready to return to senior football should skipper Darren Glass be unavailable to tackle Port Adelaide this week.
When the Royals caused an upset at East Fremantle Oval, experienced wingman Matt Rosa was also prominent. Resuming from a nasty thigh injury incurred in the pre-season clash with Port in Alice Springs, Rosa worked his way into the contest and was still running hard at the game’s conclusion.
He had 20 possessions and will be another making a strong claim for inclusion this week.
Also producing solid contributions for the Royals were ruckman Scott Lycett and defenders Blayne Wilson and Cale Morton. Lycett was prominent both in the ruck and deep forward, racking up 20 possessions and bringing down five marks and capped it off with a goal.
Wilson and Morton also had around 20 touches each and offered strong offensive rebound for the Royals.
Brad Dick managed just one goal from nine possessions for East Fremantle.
Young midfielder/forward Murray Newman had 22 disposals for Swan Districts and was one of their better performers in a disappointing defeat, while Adam Carter made a solid start to senior football with South Fremantle, picking up 14 disposals in defence and on a wing.
