East Fremantle ruck Lachlan Blakiston eager to fill the shoes left by mid-season draftee Brynn Teakle

Lachlan Blakiston has proved he can be East Fremantle’s No.1 ruckman with a career-best performance in his side’s 42-point win over West Perth on Sunday. The Falcons struggled to contain last season’s reserves’ best and fairest, who was unstoppable with 61 hit-outs, 19 disposals and nine clearances, stepping up in the absence of mid-season draftee Brynn Teakle. Teakle was picked up by North Melbourne following a short stint back at the Sharks after being delisted by Port Adelaide in 2023. The pair had worked closely this season, paving the way for Blakiston to blossom with his mentor’s departure. “It’s big shoes to fill. When I got an opportunity I’m just out to do my best and it seems to be working,” Blakiston told The West Australian. “I chat to him during the week and it was great to work together in the ruck. I think we’re quite unique, we’re pretty agile for our size and play to our strengths.” Having played just four league games, Blakiston is enjoying the challenge of matching up against the competition’s best big men, which has allowed his game to grow. “It’s taken a bit of adjustment just the speed of the game and everyone’s on that level trying to be the best they can, you kind of rise to the occasion,” he said. With heavy rain and strong winds at Fremantle Community Bank Oval the 26-year-old admitted the Sunday’s win had been a tough slog. “Once you get running around its alright, but the rain makes it hard to see and hear each other,” Blakiston said. “We just had to play to the conditions, we knew it wasn’t going to be clean because of the wet weather so as soon as it fell to our feet and we couldn’t grab it the plan was kick it long and forward to try get the goals.” The Sharks will next face Subiaco who are fresh off their own confidence boosting 65-point thumping of West Coast. “We need to keep our focus on our starts because that’s been our let down the last few weeks,” he said.