WESTERN Jets midfielder Thomas McGuane is our Coates Talent League Player of the Week after stuffing the stats sheet in Round 3. The Collingwood father-son gun racked up 38 disposals, 10 clearances and six inside 50s to stand tall in his side’s 59-point loss to Eastern Ranges.

McGuane, the son of 152-game Magpie champion Mick, has been on the radar since debuting for the Jets as a 16-year-old in 2023. He went on to play 16 games last year across an outstanding bottom-age campaign, leading the Coates Talent League for home-and-away disposals at an average of 25.7.

The 178cm on-baller started his campaign with a haul of 28 touches before Saturday’s groundbreaking performance. He showcased a terrific inside-outside balance, complimenting his six centre bounce clearances and 14 contested possessions with 16 handball receives and 21 uncontested possessions.

Lauded for his class and smarts as a small accumulator, McGuane went at a rate of 74 per cent disposal efficiency. Pending the outcome of Friday’s Victorian Under 18 trials, he looks set to bring his talents to the wing and half-forward in Metro colours, but would likely hold his own in the guts on current form.

While McGuane’s numbers were substantial, Bendigo Pioneers over-ager Tom Evans topped the charts in Round 3 with a remarkable 44 disposals. Reinventing himself with time in defence – akin to fellow Pioneers product Harvey Gallagher – Evans also posted 33 touches in Round 1.

More big performances came in Calder’s loss to Northern. Top-age revelation Adam Sweid notched a game-high 30 disposals and nine tackles, while fellow Essendon Next Generation Academy (NGA) member Hussien El Achkar continues to impress after kicking 3.5 from 17 touches.

Collingwood has a couple more club-tied players making their emergence at the Oakleigh Chargers. NGA hopefuls Zac McCarthy (21 disposals, five marks, one goal) and Jai Saxena (17 disposals, six marks, five goals) both showed out in a loss to Sandringham Dragons, boosting their stocks nicely.

Geelong Falcons pair Angus Ford (22 disposals, three goals) and Jesse Mellor (21 and two) also did the damage in their side’s 70-point win over Murray. Only Sandringham and Gippsland remain undefeated after three rounds, with the first block of the Coates Talent League season officially completed.

The competition will take a break over the Easter weekend before returning on Friday April 25 for Round 4, which stretches with five games across to Thursday May 1. It marks the entrance of the Northern Academies, who recently kicked off their Academy Series.

2025 CTL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Round 1: Willem Duursma (Gippsland Power)
Round 2: Cody Templeton (Gippsland Power)
Round 3: Thomas McGuane (Western Jets)