SOUTH Australian representative, Tyler Welsh, backed up his strong second-half performance against the Allies, returning to SANFL U18s level with eight goals in Woodville West-Torrens’ 85-point win over Norwood.

As the deepest forward for most of the contest, Welsh had a strong start kicking two goals in the first 12 minutes, but was worked out of it in the middle of the game.

Emphasis of his ability to produce irresistible moments came to the fore in the fourth quarter where he kicked five goals in 18 minutes to skyrocket his tally.

We put the Adelaide Crows father-son prospect under the Player Focus microscope, dissecting his game quarter-by-quarter.

South Australia, Woodville-West TorrensTall Forward

Tyler Welsh

Height: 191cm

Weight: -

DOB: 15-08-2006

2024 SANFL U18s: Round 10
Westville-West Torrens 16.12 (108) def. Norwood 3.5 (23)

#30 Tyler Welsh (Woodville-West Torrens)
Stats: 17 disposals, 8 goals, 10 marks, 2 inside 50s

FIRST QUARTER

In his first outing in the Under 18 competition for 2024, the key focus was on Welsh’s strength in his direct matchups at the junior level.

His first contest was an instant show of his power to create separation at the last moment, absorbing the one-on-one wrestle, pushing off as the ball fell close, and getting his hands out to take a strong grab.

Welsh’s efficiency from set shot kicking was 100 per cent for the day, and the standard was set early as he nailed his first set shot from 40 metres out.

Reading the play ahead of the ball was Welsh’s area of weakness early in the contest, getting caught off balance a couple of steps behind his direct opponent, and struggling to catch up.

He got one back quickly after, light on his toes to stay alert inside 50 off a sloppy Norwood turnover, receiving a quick kick, capitalising on the uncontested territory.

He was called upon in the ruck twice throughout the game, his first call up late in the first quarter where he was outworked, and while he respectively followed up he wasn’t able to execute a strong tackle to force his opponent to slow down.

SECOND QUARTER

Welsh was matched best one-on-one deep inside 50 on most occasions, finding trouble changing directions in contested scenarios to get his hands in a marking position.

In periods where he was shut out of the game in the deep role, he maximised his output by pushing further up the ground to present as an option in transition.

He took a strong grab near the boundary line, one kick away from entering inside 50, but had his moment spoiled with an out on the full call.

It was a classic moment of swings and roundabouts, as Welsh moved back to his deep role, presented with aggression, and took a mark that looked to hit the ground as he went to ground.

The diving mark led to his highlight of the day as he roosted a massive set shot from just outside 50 metres, his third goal early in the second quarter.

Welsh was tactically aware in his ability to understand that his best opportunity at impacting with his forward capability was forcing separation on his direct opponent.

While he tried to seize the moments that presented, opportunities slipped through his hands, lacking a touch of composure in frantic entries inside 50.

His persistence complimented the Eagles’ capacity to maintain inside 50 pressure, and he was close to another brilliant moment late in the second quarter.

Pushing himself ahead of the pack to pick up a loose ball, he snapped around his body under pressure, with the kick falling short of a vacant goal square.

THIRD QUARTER

In Welsh’s only scoreless quarter for the contest, his prevalence around the contest was created through his opportunities further up the ground as he discovered later in the first half.

He was uncharacteristically beaten above his head, letting the ball slip through his hands early in the quarter, and later out-bodied in a one-on-one contest.

There was some showcase of his groundwork ability with loose balls inside 50, generating some speed with his pickups, but he lacked some poise to nail the kick to a teammate loose inside 50.

His second involvement in the ruck contest in an inside 50 stoppage was effective, tapped down to the run of Kade Herbert who streamed into goal and converted on the run.

FOURTH QUARTER

At the seven-minute mark of the fourth quarter, Welsh was still with three goals to his name and quickly burst onto the scene, a show of endurance in his late spark.

The fundamentals in his forward craft were executed efficiently, generating quick pace off his first few steps to lead hard without any one-on-one contact.

His set shot kicking continued to split the middle, with shots from various angles in the last quarter, but relatively straightforward distances for his standard, with only two goals coming from further than 30 metres out.

Being a player of moments, Welsh’s game management set him up for an intense finish, outlasting his direct opponent in efforts down the ground.

A couple of his final goals were a product of endurance, taking some easy uncontested marks deep inside 50 and the margin continued to inflate.

His final goal encapsulated his efficiency, nailing a set shot from 30 metres out from the boundary line.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

It was a paced performance from Welsh who seized his opportunities late where he bottled up energy to hurt his matchup with endurance. He was placed in a deep forward role that wasn’t ultra-demanding of him to produce repeat efforts inside 50 given the upcoming National Championships schedule.

Welsh’s natural burst and acceleration off the mark was unstoppable on most occasions, and his ability limited the Eagles need for him to take a big contested mark, as he found himself open and unopposed.

In the moments where Welsh was battled one-on-one, he struggled to maintain his natural physical dominance, and whilst he struggled to find the needed poise at ground level inside 50, he was able to impact in different ways pushing higher up the ground with his work rate.

Coming off a strong second-half performance against the Allies in the first game of the National Championships and an eight-goal performance this week, the Adelaide father-son prospect is sitting in terrific form heading into the Croweaters’ second game of the Championships against Vic Country.