ONE of Western Australia’s most dazzling draft prospects, Malakai Champion, got his first taste of senior football for Subiaco on Saturday, impressing with three goals in the Lions’ 19-point win over West Coast.

The livewire small forward was emphatic with his impact, working hard to create opportunities for not only himself, but also his teammates with swift decision making.

We put the West Coast Next Generation Academy member’s Round 17 showing under the Player Focus microscope, dissecting his game quarter-by-quarter.

Subiaco, Western AustraliaSmall Forward

Malakai Champion

Height: 172cm

Weight: -

DOB: 17-05-2006

2024 WAFL League: Round 17
Subiaco 16.11 (107) def. West Coast 13.10 (88)

#33 Malakai Champion (Subiaco)
Stats: 9 disposals, 4 tackles, 1 inside 50, 2 goal assists, 3 goals

FIRST QUARTER

The statistics would lean towards a quiet showing for Champion, but it was clear from the outset every moment had some sort of impact in effecting the scoreboard.

He spent the whole game in the forward pocket, with opportunities to advance higher up the ground later in the game.

Champion made use of his quick feet away from the footy, consistently maintaining separation inside 50 in anticipation of a quick entry that could have fallen his way.

It didn’t take him too long to hit the scoreboard, benefiting from his separation and elusiveness at the drop of the ball. Champion side-stepped an incoming opponent and checksided the kick from 20 metres out in typically dazzling fashion to snare his first at senior goal.

Situational awareness elevated Champion’s forward craft, understanding of his capabilities against the bigger bodies, placing himself in good positions inside 50 to ensure efficiency with his touches.

His main use of the footy was by hand, really proficient in tight, and looking to advance the footy in transition where possible.

SECOND QUARTER

Champion made a conscious effort in the second quarter to slowly start pushing higher up the ground, which found him at the drop of the ball out of the centre stoppage clearances.

His only poor touch of the game was early in the second with a shanked kick, but the lead-up play with his clean pickup at ground level and burst of acceleration to burn his opponent off still showed glimpses of his electric natural instincts.

At forward stoppages, Champion was aggressive with his hunt on the footy, able to spit through a contest to take on two opponents, spin them around, and give off an offensive handball to move transition quickly.

The nature of Champion’s role made his defensive output limited, and his acceleration forward in transition was so quick, that a turnover in transition left him quite far away from the play to go back and impact defensively.

He finished the quarter on a high, producing his run and carry on the outside further up the ground, reading the play ahead of him to a t, weighting a kick over the top inside 50 to a roaming forward, which resulted in a goal.

THIRD QUARTER

It was a limited quarter for Champion, who only found the footy once as Subiaco began to generate scoring opportunities through its tall forward stocks.

The moment he did have was yet another score involvement and goal assist, utilising his agility inside 50 to gather and give off a quick handball to a runner, who was able to run into space and kick the goal.

FOURTH QUARTER

Match fatigue didn’t have much of a say for Champion, as his game instincts remained as high as in the opening exchanges.

His main highlight of the day was his second goal; pushing up to the defensive 50-metre line, starting his sprint the second the ball was turned over, belting his run all the way to the goalsquare, and receiving the final kick in the transition chain to waltz into goal.

The tackle pressure was another element of Champion’s game that improved towards the back end, as most of his pressure efforts fell short of laying a strong tackle to cause a stoppage.

His final goal was the product of executing his pressure acts well, laying a tackle off a stoppage inside 50 to win a holding-the-ball free kick, which he converted with a snap from 15 metres for his third and final goal.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Champion’s integration into senior footy couldn’t have gone much better, proving deadly accurate with three goals straight, and setting up multiple goals with his quick-thinking efforts.

Often quick, small forwards can be easy to figure out as the game goes on, but Champion was constantly on his toes, working off his opponent to maintain separation and remain a threat inside 50 with every entry.

His work rate pushing higher up the ground was deadly, making use of his opportunities to release a runner around him in transition.

Ground ball work made Champion’s moments clinical and he was able to assess his options further afield in an instant.

The stat line reads nine touches, but the impact was the difference in the margin – three goals.