Barlow, 22, a mature-age recruit from VFL club Werribee, had 25 possessions, five clearances and five inside 50s in Fremantle’s 38-point win on Sunday.
He was a unanimous choice for the Ross Glendinning Medal in the 31st western derby and thoroughly deserving, Duffield said.
“He’s had a fantastic start to the year,” Duffield said. “He’s a really likeable guy and he’s a hard worker and does all the right things.
“He’s really humble with what he’s trying to do. He’s just trying to fill his role and play for the team (and) he’s getting rewards for it.”
Barlow said he had loved every minute of his introduction to AFL football.
“The Fremantle Football Club’s been so good to me (and) I’ve been able to play all six game so far,” he said after accepting his medal.
“We’re tracking really well at the moment, but there’s still a lot of footy to be played.”
Defensive pressure up the ground and a resilient backline is becoming a hallmark of Fremantle’s season, and Duffield said the backline was feeling confident after a dominant second half against West Coast.
The Eagles built a 23-point lead early in the second quarter, but they would kick only two more goals for the match, both coming late in the fourth term.
“It came in bursts, I thought in the first half they put tremendous pressure on us and they had us on the back foot,” Duffield said.
“In the second quarter they kicked four unanswered goals and got away a little bit. So it was a great fight-back from the guys to get it back to square and then go on with it in the last quarter.”
It was an even performance from Fremantle’s back half, with Duffield (24 possessions and nine rebound 50s) the standout.
Youngsters Alex Silvagni and Greg Broughton were also good, while old heads Chris Tarrant, Luke McPharlin and Roger Hayden were hard to fault.
“We’ve played together for a couple of years and we’ve got some really good experienced players down there, and probably some of the more experienced players in our side,” Duffield said.
“We know that’s pretty important to us, and the boys stood up today under pressure at times.
“All credit to the whole team. The pressure they’re putting on is great.”
