EAST Fremantle and Claremont maintained their strong standings near the pointy end of the WAFL Colts ladder with respective wins in Round 19. The Sharks handed Perth just its second loss of the season, while the Tigers eased past Swan Districts to put a clamp on second spot. We noted some of the top performers and prospects from either game, before taking a look around the grounds.

By: Charlie McCormack

PERTH:

#15 Brodie McLean

In a game where Perth struggled to create any fluent ball movement, McLean was one player who looked capable challenging the well-organised East Fremantle zone with his bold run and carry. The 17-year-old played a direct brand of football, attacking the ball strongly and gaining good meterage for his side, as he looked to drive the ball forward whenever possible. He finished with 17 disposals and five tackles.

#36 Elijah Scoble

With his side under pressure for much of the contest, Scoble put in a strong performance in a key defensive post for the Demons. Finding himself mostly opposed to prolific Sharks goal-kicker Jack Cocking, Scoble had his hands full but was diligent and disciplined enough to keep the competition’s leading goal kicker to one major in what was a good battle. He also showed good composure when using the ball, although only managed nine disposals and three marks.

#45 Coen Livingstone

Livingstone continued his good form at Colts level, producing a solid display in the ruck to be one of the Demons’ better players. While the 200cm prospect would have liked to have been stronger aerially, he competed well at ground level for a player of his size and gave the Demons a physical presence. He also went forward kicked a remarkable goal, slotting an opportunistic checkside from deep in the forward pocket to show he has a bag of tricks deeper than several rucks.

EAST FREMANTLE:

#3 Koen Sanchez

Playing large stints in the midfield this week, Sanchez was the architect for the Sharks’ early ascendancy, as he produced a dominant 19-disposal first half. The 178cm prospect accumulated a lot of ball and really began to impact the game in the second term, as he started to win clearances and use his speed to break away from congestion. His influence dried up in the second half, but he still finished with 25 disposals to be the Sharks’ leading ball winner.

#17 Jack Eastaugh

With East Fremantle’s usually prolific half-back duo of James Spadanuda and Presley Campbell absent, Eastaugh helped fill their void by producing an excellent display down back. The 18-year-old found plenty of the ball and distributed it well, executing a couple of corridor kicks to help set up the side’s ball movement. He also defended well when called upon, producing some strong one-on-one efforts. He finished with 21 disposals and eight marks.

#22 Samuel Otto

Playing as a tall target in attack, the 19-year-old looked a consistent threat alongside fellow key Jack Cocking, giving the Sharks a terrific aerial presence in the front half. With good mobility for his size, Otto worked hard up the ground to be an effective link man, taking six marks and getting involved in plenty of scoring chains to compliment his 19 disposals and two majors. He also showed his wares as a secondary ruckman, providing a good contest for his side at stoppage.

By: Hayden Narducci

CLAREMONT:

#5 Joe Matthews

Not the biggest accumulator of the footy in this game, every time Matthews had the ball the Tigers tended to find themselves with an opportunity to score. He regularly worked hard up the ground and began his game with a perfectly weighted kick and lovely vision to spot Jasper Peace for the Tigers’ second goal. His well-placed and measured kicking inside 50 was a common feature when he had the ball, showing no signs of feeling the pressure when being chased. Ever the opportunist in front of goal, the first of his two majors came off the back of a poor Swan Districts handball which he chased after, leapt forward and volleyed out of mid-air from the pocket. Matthews looked uncomfortable when forced onto his left, but was otherwise without fault in this game.

#10 Jasper Peace

The 17-year-old tall forward was classy in this game whenever he found the footy. Beginning his day with two goals in as many minutes during the first quarter, he turned his eye to setting up others thereafter as he demonstrated some elegant kicking to directly create opportunities for teammates inside 50. Never rushed when carrying the ball, Peace was happy to wait for the right lead to come his way, not one to go for the long kick to the square. He provided a handy chop-out in the ruck for Max Rohr in the latter stages of the game in an all-round quality performance.

#29 Cody Angove

Featuring on the wing and in a forward pocket, Angove was electric for the Tigers and another player who made a strong impact with every touch he had. Leading his side’s disposal tally, the light 17-year-old was zippy and composed on the outside, showcasing some divine kicking when delivering the ball inside 50. He opened his goal scoring account with a creative mid-air volley over his head in the goalsquare, capitalising on a poor tap from his opposition ruckman. Finished the day with two goals from 21 disposals, his best return so far in an impressive bottom-age season.

SWAN DISTRICTS:

#3 Luke Kelly

One of the leading ball getters and tacklers in the WAFL Colts competition, Kelly continued his workman like approach to footy in this affair. A textbook midfielder capable of impacting the game on the inside and the outside of the contest, Kelly did just that in this game as he hit contests hard and used the footy excellently when given the space to go by foot. Impossible to escape when he wraps you up, Kelly amassed 12 tackles in this game and worked hard to earn himself 27 disposals for the day. Always positioning well and tirelessly tracking back to help his defenders, his effort was encapsulated in the second quarter when he got back and capitalised on a mistake to win a free kick and prevent Claremont from scoring with a three-on-one opportunity inside 50.

#7 Tristen Burgess

Tasked with having to take on National Combine invitee Zane Zakostelsky throughout this game, Burgess and his side would be elated with his performance as he bagged a career-high four goals and came out well and truly on top. With his majors and most of his disposals coming within 20 metres of the big sticks, Burgess was the Swans’ focal point going inside 50 and was clinically proficient in front of goal as he kicked with 100 per cent accuracy. Doing it in the air and on the deck, Burgess was a constant headache for the Tigers as he slotted half of his side’s total score for the game and kept them in it up until three-quarter time.

#24 Chayse Martinson

Beautifully complimenting his two senior midfielders in Kelly and Hardeman, the bullish bottom-aged midfielder loved getting in and under and dirtying his hands in the contest. Regularly at the bottom of a pack, Martinson was fearless in his head over the footy approach and was the leading contested ball winner of the day. A tendency to give away some free kicks in his gung ho approach to the contest was one of the only faults in his game as he used the footy effectively more often than not. His day highlighted by a spectacular goal on the go from near 50 out in the first quarter as he finished with 25 disposals and a major.

#40 Riley Hardeman

Off the back of an All-Australian berth at the National Championships, Hardeman has been in red hot form since returning to the WAFL and this game was no different. Hardeman read the game better than anyone else, intercepting and showing unwavering courage with some of his overhead marking. His run and carry on the outside was vital for the Swans to turn hard ball gets into scoring opportunities, looking a class above all game. Though his light frame could fool you, Hardeman’s tackling and physicality were spectacular all day, never allowing a player to break past him, or fool him with attempted candy sales. With finals out of reach for the Swans, it would be nice to see Hardeman finish the WAFL season off at senior level given how effortless he makes WAFL colts footy look.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

Subiaco remains in with a chance of climbing into the top three after beating bottom-placed South Fremantle by 57 points at Fremantle Oval. The Lions kicked away with 11 goals to one in the second half after the two sides could not be separated at either of the opening breaks.

Tyler Senge (34 disposals) led all comers for the victors, while bottom-ager Malakai Champion (22 disposals, two goals) ran riot and Koopa Walsh bagged three goals. The Whan‘s – Toby and Jacob – were South’s top ball winners with 29 and 22 touches respectively.

Meanwhile at Lane Group Stadium, Peel Thunder took down the finals bound West Perth by 19 points. The hosts had less scoring shots but were more clinical in front of goal, leading at every break in the 16.4 (100) to 11.15 (81) victory.

Ethan Logan popped up with four goals, while promising bottom-ager Deian Roberts (19 disposals, nine tackles) snared one for the winners. Falcons Matt Galjaardt and Jack Wooden were the only players afield to tick over 20 touches in the defeat.

The top five teams are now locked in with one round left to play. Perth and Claremont are level atop the table with one win and a sizeable percentage gap to East Fremantle and Subiaco, while West Perth rounds out the finalists on just six wins.