Gutsy win one for the future

FREMANTLE coach Mark Harvey was quick to remind the football public that winning ugly is still winning, after his team held firm to run out narrow victors over West Coast at Subiaco Oval on Saturday.

The 30th western derby will not go down as one of the best, with turnovers, errors and butchered opportunities permeating much of the play.

But it was close; thrillingly so when the Eagles goaled late to make Fremantle hold tight onto its five-point advantage in the dying seconds.

And it was the ability to win in circumstances that Fremantle has so often faltered in recent times that pleased the coach most. 

"It was an unfashionable win. It wasn't pretty," Harvey said after the game.

"We've been in a number of situations like this in the last quarter and we haven't been able to do it ... It holds us in good stead if we can start to win these games when it's close."

 The race for a priority pick, and not the race for the four points, had been prevalent in the build-up to the match but Harvey said anyone who witnessed the tight, willing contest could be in no doubt that both sides were fully committed to the task.

"That word: tanking. When you go and play like that, it should be thrown straight out the window," he said. 

"You only have to come to games like this to see ... what both clubs are trying to do – they are trying to make sure their teams, leading into the future, have a winning mentality and gain experience and get better as each game goes on. And that's what we're all trying to do.

"The endeavour, some of the goals that have been kicked by some of our younger players were pleasing, and there were times when all our players put their bodies on the line when they needed to."

Harvey conceded he had early concerns about Ross Glendinning Medallist Aaron Sandilands when he spied him "blowing like the north wind" early in the first quarter, but was rapt that he was able to go on to be the game's key figure.

"When you look at the last quarter and you see the dominance of clearances, I think he had an enormous influence in that. And it was the way he rallied – I think there were nine hard-ball-gets as well, so he was a tower of strength today."

The coach also praised his younger brigade, singling out debutant Jay van Berlo as well as Hayden Ballantyne, Clancee Pearce, and Tim Ruffles.

Unfortunately, the day ended poorly for Ruffles who was stretchered off late in the game just after kicking his second goal. Harvey said the club was hopeful the youngster's knee injury would not turn out to be serious, but said the early signs were not encouraging.

Harvey said Byron Schammer and Des Headland would be likely inclusions for next week's match against the Western Bulldogs, while Luke McPharlin was rated only a 50-50 chance.