VIC METRO picked up its second win of this year’s AFL Under 18 National Championships yesterday, thumping Western Australia to the tune of 81 points at RSEA Park. Despite heavy rotation, there was a host of top-end talent afield for the victors highlighted in the latest edition of Scouting Notes.

>> Match Report: Allies, Metro claim wins in champs double-header

VIC METRO:

By: Michael Alvaro

#3 Nick Watson (Eastern Ranges)
Small Forward | 170cm | 67kg | 24/02/2005

In what can only be described as a clinic, Watson booted five first half goals and was near-impossible to stop inside Metro’s forward 50. Despite being marked by WA’s lockdown specialist, Oscar Hine-Baston, the mercurial goalsneak ran riot with some of the cleanest ground level play you’ll likely ever see, excellent one-on-one craft, and pure striking of the ball to finish. It was all too easy for Watson as he dove into his bag of tricks, albeit for a more modest return in the second half to finish with 13 disposals and 5.3.

#8 Kynan Brown (Oakleigh Chargers)
Midfielder | 181cm | 72kg | 13/01/2005

With heavy rotation in the squad, Brown has been a consistent performer and relative mainstay in the on-ball mix, where he again contributed strongly for 26 disposals and six clearances. The Melbourne father-son prospect combined well with namesake and captain, Will Brown, receiving and breaking on the outside. With such fluent link-up play from the middle, Brown also snared a running goal and assisted Taj Hotton via a slick pass in the third term.

#15 Caleb Windsor (Eastern Ranges)
Wing | 184cm | 74kg | 09/06/2005

Though his strengths lie on the outside, Windsor mixed his usual time on the wing with a few centre bounce rotations and was super productive with 22 touches, seven marks, and nine inside 50s. He started in style by getting on the end of the game’s first goal, and looked notably sharper with his disposal – which has been a big area for improvement. Windsor backed his speed and ran all day, proving a menace in attacking phases to give his forwards fast and frequent supply.

#16 Archie Roberts (Sandringham Dragons)
Defender | 184cm | 77kg | 18/11/2005

Roberts is such an important part of Metro’s side and when he’s driving the ball fluently from defence, the Vics look better for it. The vice-captain took on his usual kick-in duties, and on home turf, looked to cover plenty of ground when advancing the ball up the field. He would often receive multiple possessions in end-to-end passages and held a higher, more aggressive line as the game wore on. Roberts finished with stats of 17 disposals, six marks, and six rebound 50s.

#18 Harvey Johnston (Sandringham Dragons)
Midfielder/Forward | 184cm | 76kg | 18/08/2005

Stuffing the stats sheet with a team-high 29 disposals, six marks and six clearances, Johnston was somewhat of a quiet achiever on Sunday. The elusive midfielder-forward simply racked up possessions, proving clean and precise with his ball use without being overly expansive. He put the cherry on top of a terrific outing with his classy left-foot snap goal in the final quarter, doing his draft stocks no harm in familiar territory at RSEA Park.

#24 Nate Caddy (Northern Knights)
Tall Forward | 192cm | 91kg | 14/07/2005

It was somewhat of an indifferent day for Caddy, though he ended up having the last laugh in a war of attrition. Early in the game, he leant on his athleticism to search high up the ground on leads without too much marking success. As the contest wore on, his aerial nous came to the fore and he began to clunk the ball from position 1A, also converting three goals in the second half. With good defensive intent throughout (seven tackles), his efforts were eventually rewarded.

#25 Logan Morris (Western Jets)
Tall Forward | 191cm | 90kg | 05/10/2005

Arguably best afield with 16 disposals, 11 marks, and four goals, Morris thrived in his more familiar forward role having previously been deployed in Metro’s defence. Morris is a one-touch marker, able to clunk clean grabs as a 191cm target who plays above his height. His leading patterns up the ground were sound, and he found a good groove when kicking over the mark to convert his chances. There were few players afield who owned their space like Morris, and his form may now pose a selection headache for Metro in the way of tall forwards.

#27 Will Brown (Sandringham Dragons)
Midfielder | 194cm | 86kg | 16/06/2005

Leading from the front with 22 disposals, five clearances, and eight inside 50s, Brown was the player on the inside who allowed others to shine on the outer. His contested game is as sound as you would expect from a 194cm midfielder, and Brown not only waxed well with ruck Vigo Visentini, but also with fellow rovers at stoppage. He began to display his ability to shift gears and had a couple of carries as the game opened up, proving his dynamism as a primary ball winner.

#32 Ollie Murphy (Sandringham Dragons)
Key Defender | 200cm | 85kg | 16/09/2005

There were plenty of Metro players in top form on Sunday, but one who perhaps flew under the radar down back was Murphy. The rising key defender notched 14 disposals, six marks, and six rebound 50s in a steady performance where he flew at the ball with confidence and showed great composure on the last line. He kept WA forward Sam van Rooyen to just one mark and no goals, displaying a great balance of lockdown ability and attacking intercept quality.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA:

By: Declan Reeve

#5 Koen Sanchez (East Fremantle)
Small Forward | 174cm | 70kg | 19/01/2005

The main threat inside WA’s forward 50 for majority of the Championships, Sanchez ended his series with 3.3, demonstrating some electric speed and forward craft throughout. Sanchez was dangerous both in the air and at ground level; leading to good spots and holding his marks, but also making his impact felt around forward 50 stoppages as he read the ball well off rucks’ hands and collected cleanly at ground level. He was typically clean with the footy when moving it to teammates, but did occasionally struggle when kicking for goal on the run.

#12 Kai Dehavilland (Claremont)
Forward | 181cm | 78kg | 12/02/2005

One who built well into the contest, Dehavilland was a bit shaky with his ball use early on but showed strong intent in applying pressure in WA’s forward half. It felt like he was around every contest inside 50, looking to chase opponents or spot out teammates when he won it himself. As he eased into the contest, Dehavilland started getting up the ground a bit more, providing a crucial link up option at times as he got free from opposition to present as a good marking option. 

#15 Reece Torrent (Peel Thunder)
Midfielder/Forward | 182cm | 82kg | 03/08/2005

It was another solid performance for the Peel Thunder product, who had his magnet shuffled – starting on a wing, then moving more inside, and finally settling up forward. Torrent showed good physicality in the early stages of the game as he bodied opponents off the ball to feed it out to teammates, but his impact on the contest was felt most when he moved forward, creating a few scoring opportunities through creative ball use and hard efforts to retain possession. Although his kicking was a bit inconsistent as the game wore on, he still attempted the most damaging passes.

#23 Koltyn Tholstrup (Subiaco)
Midfielder/Forward | 184cm | 83kg | 10/03/2005

The AFL Academy member looks to be working back to his best after some time off through injury, with increased minutes spent on-ball allowing him to have a more sustained impact on the contest. Tholstrup still started in the forward 50 and acted as quite the playmaker early on, showing off his forward craft with some smart leads and ball use, with a well placed kick in the first quarter leading to WA’s first goal. A shift to the centre square in the third quarter allowed Tholstrup more freedom to get around the ground and win the ball, imposing himself at the contest to hurt the opposition with his inside ball winning. 

#30 Daniel Curtin (Claremont)
Utility | 195cm | 91kg | 08/03/2005

The star of the show for WA, there were large parts of the game where Curtin was involved in all of his side’s best pieces of play, with his composure, ball use and ball winning all coming in handy. With debate about where Curtin will line up when in an AFL side, his last few games for WA playing predominantly as a midfielder have been undeniably impressive, and his performance against Metro was arguably the best yet. Curtin ended the game as his side’s highest clearance, tackle and disposal winner as he worked tirelessly to get from contest-to-contest. Demonstrating this work rate best was his second quarter output, as he worked hard to drop back and protect his besieged back line, providing a composed head as WA looked to exit, but also working up to the stoppages that followed his own rebound 50s. 

#35 Clay Hall (Peel Thunder)
Midfielder | 188cm | 83kg | 12/05/2005

It was a bit of an indifferent day for Hall who once again accumulated well, ending the day with 25 disposals, but lacked hurt factor for large portions of the match. Winning majority of his footy in congestion, Hall could be forgiven for not hitting too many flashy kicks or handballs as he regularly fed teammates in better spots from the inside. Hall once again excelled at the things he’s become renowned for to this point of the season; his ability to get contest-to-contest, balance his midfield game between inside and outside, and general his work rate around the ground.