Key defender Mitch Brown is certainly in peak form and, should an opportunity arise this week, against Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday afternoon, he will be ready for action.
Brown has been in outstanding touch for East Fremantle and continued in that fashion on Saturday when he was one of the star performers for the Sharks. Capable of shutting down players of different shapes and sizes, his opponents had just four possessions on the weekend.
At the same time Brown racked up 15 touches, ensuring that if the match committee opts for a ‘like-for-like’ replacement for Will Schofield, he will be at the front of the queue.
Of course, the match committee will first assess the best balance going into the game, particularly with vice-captain Beau Waters available after a one-week suspension.
There were a couple of other outstanding performances on the weekend, with Brad Dick getting through a full game in the reserves, where he created seven individual scoring opportunities. He could be excused for being a little rusty and 2.5 would indicate he was a little off his clinical best.
Koby Stevens, another man who has been in exceptional form for East Fremantle, had a terrific first half, but faded a little in the second - though his match statistics of 22 possessions, three marks and five tackles were still impressive.
Callum Papertalk played in defence for the East Fremantle reserves and did not impact the game, while a handful of West Coast players were effective in Claremont’s Foxtel Cup victory over Mount Gravatt.
Small forward Murray Newman continued his strong form for Swan Districts, with 15 possessions, 10 marks and a goal, while Andrew Strijk had 14 possessions and two goals for West Perth.
Developing tall forward Fraser McInnes was slightly down on his best, but picked up 11 possessions for the Demons.
