PERTH and East Fremantle were among the winners in Round 3 of the 2022 WAFL Colts season. In this week’s edition of Scouting Notes from out West, we highlight the top performers from those respective games before taking a look around the grounds and up the grades.

By: Hayden Narducci

PERTH:

#1 Benjamin Weymouth

In a side without any Under 17 or 19 state representatives from 2021, Weymouth stood up as one of the more exciting players from the Demons. The over-ager finished with 22 disposals and a game-high 15 tackles. At 179cm and 74kg, he isn’t the most imposing figure but he makes his presence known at the contest, stopping plenty of Swans attacks before they could begin. In a low scoring heavily contested game, Weymouth consistently hit the ball at 110 per cent, showcasing a great engine and some very nice disposal throughout the game, setting up many scoring opportunities.

#15 Baxter Philip

A genuine smokey in this year’s draft, more performances like this from Philip will give state selectors something to think about. After 21 disposals and two goals in his first game against East Perth, Philip has shown a lot of early consistency with 25 disposals and two goals in game two. Despite a quiet last quarter with just the three touches, he applied plenty of forward pressure to keep impacting the game. His ability to be dangerous high up the ground or deep inside 50 will excite many recruiters who could be pleasantly surprised with the quality of player they’re seeing. At 181cm and listed at 61kg, he will have some size to put on, but his athleticism puts him in good stead to continue this form at Colts level.

#21 Coen Livingstone

An exciting bottom-ager out of the country town York, Livingstone stands at 197cm and can be impactful around the ground as a ruck, or swung forward as a key pillar. Though he didn’t make as much of an impact as he would like going forward with just the one behind, his 18 disposals and 12 hitouts as part of a ruck duo with over-ager Jarrod Sturch showed a lot of exciting signs for a young man who could still have some growth ahead of him. An exciting prospect for 2023, Livingstone will be one to watch and an important member of the Demon’s push towards long awaited Colts level success.

SWAN DISTRICTS:

#10 Riley Hardeman

Another talented bottom-ager from this clash, Hardeman has already proven the ability to play all across the ground in this season. Off the back of a 37-disposal game last week against East Fremantle down back and in the midfield, Hardeman found himself up forward for moments of this game, kicking one of the Swans’ four goals. He had 23 disposals to go with this as he continued to play further up the ground and open up the game with his kicking. His ability to split the game open with a kick has seen him take the kick outs when playing down back, and if he could find some consistency with his kicking could be one of the best in his draft class. The most interesting question for Hardeman’s footy going forward, is where he will cement his spot full time in this side as they look to regain premiership form.

#18 Angus Laurisson

In his draft year, Laurisson has proved himself a very handy undersized key or medium defender who has the ability to play taller than his 188cm frame. He has a great ability to shut down his man as either a deep full back or higher up the ground at half-back. With 17, 16 and 16 disposals in the first three rounds, Laurisson has remained quite consistent with his ability to find the ball, but shows he prioritises shutting his man down over anything. The Swans have seemed to flirt with playing Laurisson higher up the ground and as they look to revive their form, Laurisson will be a key cog as he looks to break into the state side.

#38 Darcy Jones

By far the standout player in this match Jones finished with 44 disposals, leading the game for clearances and showed the talent that got him in last season’s Team of the Year as a bottom-ager. After a quiet start to the season by his standards, Jones consistently found himself at the right position in every contest to get the ball out by hand or by foot. Despite his 175cm frame, Jones used his speed and evasiveness through the contest to break through many tackles and leave his direct opponent in the dust. He broke through the centre stoppage to assist the opening goal of the game in the first quarter, and set up plenty of opportunities throughout the game. He showcased a very quick reaction time to intercept kicks and handballs alike, and with the game coming to a tight finish, put on a full body smother after being a part of a marking contest that went to ground, which set up the goal for the Swans to get within a kick to win. Unfortunately it was not enough for the boys to get win number one for the season, but expect Jones to continue to dominate the midfield in weeks to come, and put on a show come State 18s.

By: Charlie McCormack

EAST FREMANTLE:

#4 Jed Hagan

The ball magnet wasn’t as influential as he was last week, but still managed to work tirelessly to finish with 23 disposals and five marks to have a strong impact. He appeared to cop some more attention from the opposition this week, but with his elite running ability, Hagan is the sort of player who is so hard to nullify across the full four quarters. He did miss a gettable shot on goal in the first half and will be looking to add a little more scoreboard impact to his game, having booted just the one major from his first three games this season.

#13 James Spadanuda

The Swanbourne junior continued his terrific start to the season, racking up 26 disposals to be the most prolific player on the ground for his team. A smart decision maker with ball in hand, Spadanuda was clean at ground level and often found space out of congestion by wheeling on to his left foot and finding a teammate.

#22 Jack Cleaver

The 18 year-old had an outstanding start to the game, notching up 10 first quarter disposals and marshalling the backline with a commanding presence. His proactive defensive positioning was particularly impressive, with Cleaver often able to read the flight of the incoming ball quicker than his direct opponent and gain front position in the contest. He finished with 21 possessions and five marks to be one of the Sharks best. 

EAST PERTH:

#20 Jordyn Baker

The Royals’ ball movement looked at its best whenever the smooth moving Baker had the football in his hands, with the 17-year old showing good foot skills to lower his eyes and find targets in the corridor. The West Coast NGA prospect also showed a clean pair of heels, using his pace and evasive skills to springboard defence into attack for the Royals. He finished with 17 disposals and four marks.

#34 Jedd Busslinger

The first round prospect had another strong outing, with his trademark intercept marking a feature of his 26-disposal game. At 197cm, Busslinger is an elite aerial operator and he was often able to position himself smartly as a spare man behind the ball and chop off plenty of East Fremantle entries. Busslinger took kick-outs for the Royals and although his ball use let him down at stages in the first half, it got better as the game went on.

#50 Bailey Maxwell

The 200cm ruckman was one of his side’s best players in the first half, getting on top in the ruck battle and providing a strong contest aerially. Unfortunately for the 17 year-old, he was hampered by a knee injury in the third quarter, limiting his impact and forcing him to play forward for large stints in the second half. 

AROUND THE GROUNDS:

By: Charlie McCormack

West Perth made it back to back wins with a 33-point triumph over Subiaco at Leederville Oval. Kane Bevan continued his fine start to the season for the Falcons with 27 touches and a goal, while Noah Farrow managed 21 possessions and two majors. For the Lions, Jacob Evitt won plenty of the football with 23 disposals as Koltyn Tholstrup booted four goals from his 21 touches.

South Fremantle had its first win for the season, defeating Claremont by 30-points at Fremantle Community Bank Oval. The Bulldogs had plenty of contributors, with Seth Connor (28 disposals), Christian Wilson (26) and Roan O’heir (24) prolific, while Chase Bourne kicked three goals from his 18 disposals. Lewis Crump was solid for Claremont with 20 while Levi Berry managed three goals.

At League level, first round prospect Elijah Hewett had 14 disposals to continue his decent start to the season against the bigger bodies. Rising South Fremantle prospect Steely Green missed this week, but will be one to watch in games to come.