FREMANTLE ruckman Aaron Sandilands has added some unpredictability to his game in 2009 in an effort to turn the clearance numbers in his side's favour.

The League's tallest player had more hit-outs than anyone else in 2008 yet Fremantle ranked 15th in the AFL for clearances from a ruck duel. However, Saturday night's five-point win over West Coast was largely driven by Sandilands.

Fremantle kicked the last five goals of the match in a six-minute period, with Sandilands taking the ball out of the ruck as well as smashing some of his hit-outs well into attack.

"I think it's something you've got to mix up. If you are [hitting them long] all the time you become predictable," Sandilands said on Monday.

"It's always handy to grab it out of the ruck now and again and dish it to the midfield players.

"We've definitely spent a lot of time as a midfield group working on our setups and handwork. It was good that things started to pay off in those last five minutes".

A number of Fremantle's recent draftees were given the chance to run through the middle as coach Mark Harvey took the opportunity to trial players in Saturday's NAB Challenge match, which raised $150,000 for sporting clubs affected by the Victorian bushfires.

For two of the club's prize picks in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft, Stephen Hill and Nic Suban, it was their first wins with the club after losses to Richmond and North Melbourne this pre-season.

And after losing eight games by ten points or less in 2008, Sandilands said it was important to show the club's young players that they can win.

"It was good to be on the right side of the win this weekend – we've had a few close games over the last 12 months," he said.

"I think it's good for the younger players to know that we can win games of footy.

"There's a few of them now that have played a couple of games of footy and we lost the first couple of games. So it's good for them to have a win going into round one."

A number of young players are expected to rotate through Fremantle's midfield this year after Josh Carr returned to Port Adelaide and Peter Bell, Matthew Carr, Heath Black and Shaun McManus all called time on their careers. 

But after impressive performances from Byron Schammer and 2008 NAB Rising Star Rhys Palmer on Saturday night, and David Mundy's move into the centre square, Sandilands said he had full confidence in the group that he will be working with in 2009.

"Late last year our midfield definitely stepped up as a group and we've been working hard this year over pre-season," he said.

"I think it's just exciting to be out there playing with these younger players and watching them improve, and hopefully helping them out as much as I can with them asking questions."