Malaxos looks to get balance right for Sharks in Anzac DerbyMonday, April 27, 2015 - 4:19 AM - by Chris Pike

EAST Fremantle coach Steve Malaxos is looking forward to the first Fremantle derby of the season on the Anzac Day holiday on Monday and is glad to have new arrivals George Hampson and Liam Anthony at his disposal heading into the clash with South Fremantle at Fremantle Oval.

East Fremantle enters the now traditional Anzac Day weekend derby with South Fremantle in good form coming off a strong 31-point win over Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval to see the Sharks improve to a 3-2 record after five rounds.

South Fremantle is also on a 3-2 record after winning its first three games of 2015 and then losing its last two of the season to Swan Districts and Subiaco meaning there is plenty riding on the result of the first derby of the year at Fremantle Oval on Monday.

Malaxos is looking forward to taking on the Bulldogs on the occasion with a big crowd expected at the port with no AFL fixtures to go up against and with it being a public holiday in Perth.

He also hopes he now has his mix right as coach of getting his East Fremantle players sufficiently fired up to take on South Fremantle, but not to be too far over the top.

"One of the benefits for playing with South Fremantle or East Fremantle is you get to play in the Anzac Day and Foundation Day derbies and my players and our club is really looking forward to this Monday," Malaxos said.

"When I first came to the club we lost our first three derbies and the critical scuttlebutt was that I didn’t fire the players up enough for the games and that South Fremantle were more fired up. I spent that next summer thinking about that to try and fire them up.

"Since then we played a little better in derbies but then last year the critical scuttlebutt was that I fired them up too much and went over the top. The coaching challenge obviously for me is to get the balance right."

East Fremantle has had a number of players in tremendous form to start the 2015 season including veterans Rory O'Brien, Rob Young, Jamie McNamara, Brock O'Brien, Bradd Dalziell, Andrew Stephen and youngsters Cameron Eardley, Jake Schleicher and Brandon Ellis.

However, two players who have made a significant difference when the Sharks have played well so far in 2015 are Hampson and Anthony, and Malaxos will be hoping not only can the pair make a difference in the derby on Monday but also help the team go at least one better this year overall than the preliminary final exit of 2014.

Hampson joined East Fremantle in 2015 after being a fairest and best winner, State representative and premiership player with Subiaco.

He then got injured against East Perth in Round 1 on debut for the Sharks, but he returned in style last Saturday kicking five goals against Swan Districts and even Malaxos was pleasantly surprised with just how well he was able to perform.

"He played well there's no question about that and I didn’t have those expectations of him in terms of playing so well, I thought he would contribute," he said.

"I was really pleased for us that he played well and his challenge in the discussions I've had with him is that he wants to be a consistent, top-line WAFL footballer.

"He is quite ambitious and part of what George has to do is be able to replicate those performances more regularly, and a lot of things go into producing a performance like that.

"He is working during the week on those things so hopefully we get more of them. He did play well on Saturday and to an extent he surprised me by just how well."

Anthony has returned to East Fremantle in 2015 as well after spending six years listed with North Melbourne in the AFL.

With his sublime kicking skills, Anthony has made a strong return to the Sharks this season beginning with 28 possessions and two goals against East Perth in Round 1 before he missed the next week's loss to Subiaco.

He returned with two good performances against Peel and Claremont before again being near best on ground in the win over Swan Districts with 30 disposals, 14 marks and a goal. Malaxos is delighted to have someone with his running ability and kicking skills at his disposal.

"He has played good footy so far. He didn’t play Round 2 for us against Subi because he had a long-standing commitment, but other than that he's been in pretty good form," Malaxos said.

"Coming off an extended block at North, which is a good club, and being relatively young he has some good years ahead of him at East Fremantle I would think."