WEST Perth kicked off its 2022 WAFL Colts season in style, holding on to beat Claremont by eight points at Pentanet Stadium on Good Friday. The Falcons lead at every break but were tested by a final term push from the Tigers, eventually running out 10.7 (67) to 8.11 (59) victors in Joondalup. In our Match of the Round, we highlight some of the top performers from that game, before taking a look at results around the grounds.

SCOUTING NOTES

WEST PERTH:

#7 Luke Michael

It almost seemed as if Michael had a Claremont shirt on at times, given the amount of times he was able to cut off opposition attacks. The prolific defender clunked six marks from 21 disposals and got to all the right spots to intercept across defensive 50. He commanded the Falcons’ backline, with most transitions beginning off his boot and just about nothing getting past him. With Griff Julian thrown into the midfield mix, Michael took on the senior role in defence with aplomb and was as composed as anyone afield.

#9 Kane Bevan

The Falcons skipper racked up more possessions than anyone else on Friday, ending up with 27 – including six marks and five inside 50s. Having started early on his midfield transition as a bottom-ager, the draft eligible prospect looked comfortable at stoppage and truly turned it on in the engine room. He had near-on 15 touches in the first half-hour of play, and even hit the scoreboard from three shots on goal. His strong 192cm frame and clean hands are certainly traits which bode well for midfield domination at the Colts level.

#12 Griff Julian

The defender-turned-midfielder made a promising start to his top-age campaign on Friday, stamping himself on the contest with 24 disposals, five marks and five tackles in his relatively new role. Julian displayed some of his defensive attributes with his ability to dispossess opponents, but also got on the front foot with ball in hand and remained busy between the arcs. He built a nice platform to grow off this year with his first outing.

#18 Jack De Marte

De Marte injected a bit of pace and skill to West Perth’s play in the forward half, and most importantly, hit the scoreboard in a big way. He got involved in a ridiculously high percentage of the Falcons’ scores, including booting half of his side’s goals to half time. The left-footed small had his kicking boots on to notch four-straight majors in the end, with each finish delivered quickly and in a variety of ways – whether it was a snap, dribble, or drop punt on the run.

CLAREMONT:

#4 Will Bailey

Another pacy mover who made an impact on Friday, Bailey was able to push between the arcs and use his speed heading back towards goal. He backed himself to carry the ball and take as much grass as possible with each possession, helping send Claremont into attack. He snared a goal in term two with a lovely bit of roving off the forward 50 throw-in, sharking the ball at pace and snapping home with fluency. He ended a strong outing with 19 disposals and three inside 50s.

#6 Hugh Davies

Somewhat akin to Michael in West Perth colours, Davies was Claremont’s centrepiece in defence. The tall backman had no trouble finding the ball with an equal team-high 20 touches, though it was a surprise to see he only clunked four marks. Davies positioned well in the back half and read the play to make his intercepts count, despite sometimes being lead to the ball further afield. Across defensive 50, he was solid and looked composed when battling to win the ball back for Claremont.

#8 Conrad Williams

The Fremantle Next Generation Academy (NGA) member offers plenty of flair on the wing, and brought some of that to the fore in Round 1. Williams is a smooth operator on the outside and used his pace to help Claremont link forward from midfield. His clean hands allowed him to receive off the extractors and move into space before setting off on the attack, with his stylish and skilful method proving easy on the eye. There was substance to it too, as Williams finished with 20 disposals and six inside 50s in a promising showing.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

Peel Thunder and East Fremantle were next up in the Colts’ Good Friday triple-header, with the Thunder notching a 17-point win at Lane Group Stadium. The 8.8 (56) to 5.9 (39) result was set up by the victors’ five-goal second term, in what was otherwise a low scoring battle.

Among the prospects to watch from either side, Peel bigman Jackson Broadbent earned a whopping 37 hitouts to go with 15 disposals and six marks, while small Sharks utility Jed Hagan accumulated an equal game-high 25 disposals to go with five marks, nine tackles and a goal.

East Perth also notched a win in the final Friday fixture, downing Swan Districts by 31 points to see the Swans’ premiership defence get off to a shaky start. The Royals broke away after quarter time and kept their opponents goalless at one end of the ground to win 11.11 (77) to 6.10 (46) at Leederville Oval.

Royals tall Jedd Busslinger was the big watch in this match, and he delivered on his bottom-age promise with 26 disposals, eight marks and a goal. For the Swans, bottom-age talents Darcy Jones and Riley Hardeman both claimed 20 disposals, as Brayden Jones lead all comers with 28.

The final Colts game for Round 1 was played on Saturday, and saw Subiaco down South Fremantle by 52 points at Leederville Oval. A nine-goal to two opening half set up an imposing lead for the Lions, who capitalised to claim their first points of the season.

Ethan Barbieri got busy for the winners with 10 marks among his 26 touches, with Jacob Evitt contributing 24 and the exciting Koltyn Tholstrup booting 3.2. Connor Seth was one of two Bulldogs to tick over 30 disposals, with talented prospect Chase Bourne managing 14 and four inside 50s in the loss.

Up the grades, leading West Australian top-ager Elijah Hewett made his League debut for Swan Districts. The inside bull finished with 11 disposals and five tackles in a four-point loss. In the same game, potential bolter Reuben Ginbey had it eight times for East Perth, also on his top flight debut.