THE 2025 West Australian Under 18 squad has been announced, with the 34 included players set to be unleashed at this year’s National Championships. Eight train-on players will also join the group once a week with hopes of being elevated to the final roster.

>> SCROLL to see the full squad & train-ons

Selectors have made 13 changes from last year’s summer squad, including the addition of Peel Thunder pocket rocket Will York after his League debut. Fremantle Next Generation Academy (NGA) member Ryda Luke also made the cut after his eight-goal haul at Colts level.

Luke is among the nine players tied to either Fremantle or West Coast vying to earn a representative guernsey. He is joined in the squad by fellow Dockers NGA prospects Basil Hart (WA U16 MVP 2023), in-form South Fremantle midfielder Toby Whan, and East Fremantle’s Tom Phillips.

West Coast fans will inevitably keep an eye out for father-son hopeful Charlie Banfield, along with NGA candidates Wesley Walley and Koby Evans who are also part of the National Academy. Swan Districts forward Tylah Williams and East Perth bottom-ager Garrison Kenh are also tied to the Eagles.

Walley and Evans are considered among the state’s top echelon of draft prospects this year. Also in that group are Claremont swingman Cody Curtin (brother of Dan) and South Fremantle midfielder Fred Rodriguez, the latter of whom made his senior debut with the Bulldogs in Round 1.

Phillips and Seb Royle were included despite not yet making their WAFL Colts debuts. Kenh is one of just five bottom-agers to have made the cut, alongside George Gale and Heath Mellody (both Claremont), Mitchell Stirling (Peel Thunder), and Harvey Spawton-Guy (West Perth).

Seven of the eight train-on players are bottom-agers. Among that list is last year’s state Under 16 MVP Lucas Robinson, a midfielder out of South Fremantle who is also tied to Fremantle’s NGA. West Perth forward Koby LeCras is another top bottom-age talent in that group.

Western Australia will kick off its National Championships campaign by hosting Vic Country on June 7. The Black Swans will venture onto consecutive away legs against South Australia (June 15) in Adelaide and the Allies (June 29) in Melbourne, before returning home to face Vic Metro on Sunday July 6.

2025 WA U18 FIXTURE

vs. Vic Country, Saturday June 7 @ 10:00am
@ South Australia, Sunday June 15 @ 12:00pm
@ Allies, Sunday June 29 @ 10:35am
vs. Vic Metro, Sunday July 6 @ 12:00pm

2025 WA U18 SQUAD

Claremont (9): Charlie Banfield, Cody Curtin, Oscar Willis, Heath Mellody, Joseph Hopkyns, George Gale, Jay Hill, Benji van Rooyen, Charlie Watson

East Fremantle (3): Thomas Phillips, Luke Carrello, Cooper Ramsay

East Perth (3): Luke Hallett, Garrison Kenh, Seb Royle

Peel Thunder (6): Matthew Becker, Basil Hart, Jax Williams, Mitchell Stirling, Will York, Bol Makuach

Perth (2): Koby Evans, Dale Sutherland

South Fremantle (4): Fred Rodriguez, Toby Whan, Max Thomas, Ryda Luke

Subiaco (2): Wes Walley, Hudson Walker

Swan Districts (2): Blake Kelly, Tylah Williams

West Perth (3): Sam Swadling, Jacob Farrow, Harvey Spawton-Guy

TRAIN-ON PLAYERS (8): Robert Farmer (Claremont), Lachlan McGlade (East Perth), Byron Foster (South Fremantle), Heath Wilson (South Fremantle), Lucas Robinson (South Fremantle), McCartney Murdoch (Swan Districts), David Shanahan (Swan Districts), Koby LeCras (West Perth)