MARK Harvey has indicated that the match committee is paying more attention to defensive aspects than ball-winning ability when assessing Fremantle's WAFL performers, and the players have responded.

A big pre-season focus for sports science manager Jason Weber and his staff, Fremantle players tackled consistently and with intent in round two of the WAFL.

"We're heavily focused on the defensive aspects of our game, both at senior level and WAFL level, and those players that will get games at senior level are those that are playing very well defensively and putting a lot of pressure on the opposition," senior development coach Simon Lloyd said.

"We've done a lot of tackling over the pre-season and we're finding the players' tackling is getting better and they're wrapping players up. You can see that in a lot of the players' games.

"We're not looking at players and their possession rates. We're looking at the defensive aspects of their game."

Lloyd said he sensed the spirit among Fremantle's WAFL players on Sunday as they watched Michael Barlow, Anthony Morabito and Alex Silvagni make their debut for the club.

Fremantle introduced 10 first-year players in 2009 and, while Harvey has indicated he won’t look to unveil too many of his first-year players this year, Lloyd said hard work defensively would be rewarded.

"Watching Barlow, Morabito and Silvagni play their first games was really good for the other young guys," he said.

"I could actually see them watching the debutants very closely. They were very happy for them, but it actually gave them a bit of a surge as well.

"They all want to be there [and] as they play a few games the match committee will be confident they can step up and do well. If they continue to work hard it's only a matter of time before they get their opportunity."

Rhys Palmer continued his return from a knee reconstruction with a positive performance for the East Fremantle reserves in round two of the WAFL.

Lloyd said there had been no confidence issues with Palmer's knee and he had thrown himself straight back into competitive football.

"Players have their own doubts and they question themselves, but Rhys hasn’t shown any of that," he said.

"What Jason Weber and the conditioning staff have actually put him through, he has done a huge amount of lateral work.

"They're very happy with what he's done and all the testing shows his knee is sound."

With Swan Districts having a bye, Clancee Pearce (Perth), Michael Walters (Peel) and Clayton Hinkley (South Fremantle) all lined up for opposition reserves sides.

Ahead of this week's fixtures, Lloyd shared his WAFL notes with fremantlefc.com.au.

Peel Thunder 18.17 (125) d Perth 10.13 (73)
Jesse Crichton
Jesse backed up from a really good defensive game last week and had it 15 times in a variety of positions for Peel. He was very competitive, put his body on the line and had a crack. He has very good awareness when defending, so we're just working on him getting a lot more footy when Peel have the ball.

Justin Bollenhagen
Justin played wing and half-forward for Perth. He looks very good with the football, so we're still working hard on his defensive aspects. We're looking at what he's doing when he doesn't have the football, his positioning. The best thing about Justin is he's very coachable, but he'll have to play a bit of WAFL football first while we address aspects of his game.

Brock O'Brien (reserves)
Brock played half-forward and while he only had five possessions, they were almost all shots on goal for Peel. He played 42 minutes, so we're building up his game time as he comes back from that quad injury. He's pulling up very well.

Michael Walters (reserves)
Son-son was close to best on ground playing midfield and wing. He had the ball 20-plus times and used it very well. He was tagged in the final quarter and was also very good defensively.

Clancee Pearce (reserves)
Played at half-forward and had five tackles. His pressure was very good on the opposition, he worked really hard off the ball and he kicked two goals in quick succession. He'll be pushing up for senior selection in the short term.

Joel Houghton (reserves)
Joel led up the ground a fair bit from centre half-forward and we're continuing to educate Joel on timing and where the right spots are to lead. He worked hard for Perth, but didn’t have a big impact on the game.

Claremont 24.9 (153) d South Fremantle 7.9 (51)
Nat Fyfe
With Claremont teammates Richardson and Jones so dominant, Nat was often playing the role of swallowing up the 'plus-one' for his team - he's a very team-oriented player. He kicked two goals, could have kicked a couple more and his last quarter was his best.

Byron Schammer
Byron played another good game in a very strong Claremont midfield. He gathered a lot of footy in close, he was very strong over the ball and he was good under pressure. He made good decisions when he had the footy and used the ball very, very well.

Ryan Murphy
Souths wouldn't have had too many inside 50s, and once it was in it came out very quickly. But Ryan still managed to kick three goals from very limited opportunities. He was very energetic in the first half and led strongly. His second half was a lot quieter, but Claremont were dominant.

Casey Sibosado (reserves)
We decided after last week's game that we'd like to try Casey down back, so we spoke to Claremont and this week he had a go at centre half-back. He had a good first half, beating his opponent, and his starting positions also improved. We’re educating him on how to play defensively and the move will help him when he goes forward. We'll play him there for a good period of time and Claremont were also happy with him.

Clayton Hinkley (reserves)
Clayton injured his shoulder in the last quarter but should only miss one week. He came in to spoil a marking contest in his forward 50, showing great intent to actually make the spoil, but he landed awkwardly and as he hit the ground that's when he's hurt his shoulder. Won a lot of his own football and used the ball effectively.

East Fremantle 9.8 (62) d East Perth 7.13 (55)
Ben Bucovaz
Played his first league game for East Freo across half-forward. Ben's put a huge amount of work into his pre-season and his body is really adjusting to that; he's in really good shape. He had eight tackles and was very smart by both foot and hand, so coach Shane Woewoedin was very happy with him as well.

Steven Dodd
He played a very solid game on the wing for the first three quarters and moved into defence when the game was on the line as a loose man. Took four very strong marks under high balls and had a very good game for East Freo with 24 possessions. He'll constantly be pushing for senior selection, which is great for competition.

Hamish Shepheard
Hamish played ruck and forward for East Perth and while he led well and attracted the ball, he dropped a couple of marks. His second efforts at stoppages were very good. Hamish plays an aggressive brand of football and there's a fair bit of size to him, so it's good to see him stringing some games together.

Zac Clarke
While not as dominant as last week he had a very consistent game and was good in the last quarter when the game was on the line. Justin Longmuir was very happy with his boundary throw-in and ball-up ruck work, and his second efforts around stoppages were very good. He had 24 hit-outs and 16 disposals for East Perth.

Dylan Roberton
While not as good as last week, Dylan played on a wing and kicked a long goal in the last quarter to give East Perth some momentum. He's got a huge tank and we were really happy with the way he used the footy. One of our most professional young players coming through.

Rhys Palmer (reserves)
Rhys played in the midfield for most of the day with some good stints at half-forward. He was tagged again, but his work rate was very good all day and he put a great deal of pressure on the opposition. We're very happy with his progress - it was a definite step up from last week with a lot of his possessions and involvements leading to goals. He is likely to play league this week.

Chris Hall (reserves)
Chris played midfield and half-forward for East Freo. He's put on a fair bit of size and he finds a lot of space forward of the ball. Chris is playing very well defensively and putting pressure on the opposition, which was highlighted by his eight tackles. He's handling the ball cleanly and using it well.

West Perth 14.13 (97) d Subiaco 8.12 (60)
Kepler Bradley
Kepler played predominantly forward and midfield and he really had a crack. His contested ball was very good, he set up a number of goals and he kicked two himself. He won plenty of the football, having 20 disposals, and won a couple of clearances. He’s a lot stronger than I think people realise.