DESPITE a 52-point win in their final outing of the season, Claremont is set to miss out on this year’s WAFL Colts postseason. The Tigers were spearheaded by a surprise goalkicker, while East Perth took out a crucial win in shaping the bottom half of the top five. We noted some of the top performers from either game, before taking a look around the grounds.

By: Charlie McCormack

CLAREMONT:

#7 Edward Allan

The 18-year-old continued his excellent late-season form, winning plenty of ball around the ground to finish with 23 disposals and five marks. At 194cm, Allan, is an excellent size for an inside midfielder and he showed some good power around the ball to burst from congestion and bounce off oncoming tacklers. He also used the ball pretty well, often lowering his eyes and taking enough time to assess the situation and find the right option. After having a disrupted start to the year, Allan has played himself into draft calculations with an outstanding back half of the year.

#8 Conrad Williams

The Fremantle NGA prospect found plenty of the football roaming across half-back and used his trademark speed and run and carry to provide plenty of drive from defence from the Tigers. The 18-year-old plays with such a creative frame of mind and as a result, he sometimes ran himself into traffic by playing on when he didn’t have. Nonetheless, he boasts such an excellent side-step that he was usually able to run his way out of trouble. He finished with 22 disposals and five marks.

#17 Joshua Sukuroski

The 18-year-old was playing in an unfamiliar role at full forward having excelled as a defender for most of the season, but he looked like a natural forward, kicking a big bag of six goals – including five in the first half to rip the game open and be the dominant player on the ground. For a defender, he showed impressive forward craft, often taking front position and reading the drop of the ball quicker than his direct opponent to mark the incoming ball. He finished with 13 disposals and six marks to go with his six majors to cap off what has been a very solid season from the youngster at colts level.

#21 Daniel Curtin

The highly touted bottom-ager has had an injury interrupted 2022 but showed a glimpse into his enormous talent that sees him poised as an early first-round prospect for next year’s draft. Playing as a key forward, Curtin presented well up the ground to take several marks between the arcs before often wheeling onto his penetrating left foot to send the ball inside fifty. He finished with 17 disposals, seven marks and two goals.

EAST FREMANTLE:

#9 Luke Yeo

The tough inside midfielder spent plenty of time forward in a difficult role but still gave his team a presence forward of centre, competing hard when the ball came his way to finish with 20 disposals and seven tackles. He got some reward for his hard work when he slotted a nice set shot from the pocket in the second term before going getting more midfield minutes in the second half to add a physical presence around the ball for the Sharks.

#13 James Spadanuda

Fresh off captaining Scotch to their third consecutive Alcock Cup at PSA level, Spadanuda returned to club colours and was a solid performer in the midfield, finishing with 22 disposals and six tackles. After a modest start, the 17-year-old got to work in the third term, winning plenty of the ball around the ground and using the ball superbly with his left foot. Spadanuda is a natural footballer and added an injection of class that has been sorely missed in the Sharks midfield throughout the season.

#16 Kaleb Smith

The 18-year-old has emerged as a draft bolter after earning a state combine invite and he produced another very strong game down back for the Sharks, finishing with 25 disposals to be his side’s most prolific player. Playing primarily in defence, Smith had his work cut out having to deal with plenty of Claremont entries but he held up strongly defensively and provided plenty of rebound, often taking kick-outs as well as running the ball out himself. The Melville product is a terrific athlete and has a long penetrating kick and looked at his best when he combined those traits, running with the ball and then sending it long to gain plenty of metres for his team.

By: Hayden Narducci

SOUTH FREMANTLE:

#3 Chase Bourne

The tricky small forward had one of his better games this season against the Royals, racking up 15 touches to go with two goals. Both of these goals came in the second quarter as the Dogs needed someone to step up to get them in the game, one from a fortunate 50-metre penalty, but the second a classy read to crumb the ball off a pack at full speed, break away from any defender and calmly slot one home from point blank range. He proved tricky to tackle and took the game head on whenever he got his hands on the footy.

#37 Ashton Ferreira

Bottom age Ferreira was a standout for the Dogs when getting the ball forward of centre. Lining up on the wing, running through the middle and positioning himself up forward, Ferreira finished this game with 18 disposals and a goal. He was a constant attacking threat, taking on some risky kicks that paid off throughout the game to get the ball inside 50. He used his speed to great success, and has proven himself to be one to watch for the draft in 2023.

#43 Lachlan Turley

The over-age key defender was huge off of half back for the Bulldogs in this game. He knows how to use his body when in an unfavourable position in the marking contest to bring the ball to ground and doubles down with his second efforts when the footy hits the deck. He shows the composure under pressure and decision making you’d want of an over-age player, sweeping up the footy with his intercepting marks, finding space to be a short option during kick outs and finding and executing smart kicks rebounding out of defensive 50.

EAST PERTH:

#1 Alexio Yiannakis

The bottom-age small was an exciting player to watch in this game, with the majority of his 15 disposals coming under intense pressure, he used his speed and agility to evade would be tacklers, create some space and dish off the ball by foot with his good kicking. He provided a great lead in the first quarter, completely leaving his man in the dust to take an uncontested mark and kick the game off with a great set shot goal. He dished off some great goal assists, forcing the ball to spill out with his pressure and being the first man to it, bursting away with his express pace and finding a teammate inside 50.

#20 Jordyn Baker

Despite his lighter frame, Baker was the leading tackler in this game, drawing a free kick from an opponent on three occasions. His time was split between the midfield and the forward line, and although he could consider himself unlucky not to have a goal next to his name, finishing with two behinds, Baker consistently posed a threat, creating many goal scoring opportunities for teammates when kicking inside 50. His pressure around the footy was second to none in this game and he was paramount to the Royals finishing this game with a win.

#28 Darcy Miller

One of the leading mids across the Colts competition in 2022, Miller had another standout game against the Bulldogs, showing off a lot of traits similar to AFL midfielder Clayton Oliver. His bullish attack on the ball with the contest pairs beautifully with his quick decision making to find a teammate with the handball out of the pack. He is a strong tackler and rarely let a man get free in this game. He showed off some classy kicking in this game when he had space and earned himself a well finished goal with a left boot snap from 35 out to round out a great game.

AROUND THE GROUNDS:

By: Michael Alvaro

West Perth consolidated its spot atop the Colts ladder with a 52-point thumping of Swan Districts in a first-against-last clash. The Falcons trailed at the first break but quickly clicked into gear, restricting Swans to just one goal after quarter time to run out 11.12 (78) to 3.8 (26) victors at Steel Blue Oval.

A pair of experienced heads led the way in West Perth’s win, with skipper Kane Bevan notching 31 disposals and seven marks, while over-ager Saverio Marafioti booted four goals. State representative Daniel Gathercole was also prominent with 29 touches, and Luke Michael snared a goal from his 21.

Luke Kelly was one of just two Swans to breach the 20-disposal mark, getting his hands on 27 while laying eight tackles and adding a goal. State Under 16 defender Thomas Cathcart was also busy, booting a goal from his 19 touches (16 kicks) in the loss.

Over at Leederville Oval, Subiaco ensured it would not be usurped in third place with its 23-point win over Perth. The Lions lead at every break in what was a tight tussle, until they booted three goals to nil in the final term to secure the 9.7 (61) to 5.8 (38) victory.

Perth had the better of the ball winners, but Subi’s Ethan Barbieri led all comers with his 23 disposals. Aiden O’Driscoll, the brother of Emma and Nathan, was among Perth’s best with 21 touches. In the goalkicking department, Campbell Henderson and Richard Bartlett each bagged two for the winners.

Up the grades, a pair of Sharks again turned out at League level. Namely, they were Jed Hagan (15 disposals, 1.2) and Jack Cleaver (19 disposals), while Perth’s Baxter Philip was another to extend his run in the top flight. Swan District’s Elijah Hewett impressed once again, notching a goal from 20 touches.

Meanwhile in the Reserves, fellow Swans Darcy Jones (17 disposals, one goal) and Riley Hardeman played their parts in a one-point loss to West Perth. Fellow state representative Steely Green featured for South Fremantle’s twos, collecting 25 disposals in a 61-point win.