WESTERN Australia’s Under 18 side has claimed a comfortable win in its second trial match before the National Championships, defeating West Perth by 48 points in Joondalup on Saturday morning. The Black Swans bounced back from a heavy defeat last week to enter their campaign on the right note.

Imposing Claremont tall Cody Curtin booted a bag of five goals, while newly appointed captain Fred Rodriguez ran riot with a game-high 33 disposals to lead a bolstered midfield unit. WA will officially begin its national carnival on Saturday June 7, when it hosts Vic Country at Mineral Resources Park.

WA U18 3.2 | 7.5 | 9.12 | 14.14 (98)
WEST PERTH 1.1 | 3.2 | 5.2 | 6.4 (40)

WA U18 GOALS: C. Curtin 5, H. Mellody 2, S. Swadling 2, W. Walley 2, F. Rodriguez, C. Watson, T. Williams

WA U18 BEST: F. Rodriguez, C. Curtin, S. Swadling, T. Whan, J. Farrow, W. Walley

>> Scouting Notes: Western Australia U18 vs. U21

WESTERN AUSTRALIA U18:

#3 Tylah Williams (Swan Districts)
Small Forward | 175cm | 22/02/2007

West Coast NGA

Stats: 14 disposals, 4 marks, 1 goal

Williams is a player with dancing feet, able to liven up the play with each possession. His darting runs and productivity up the field were felt increasingly as the game wore on, with Williams showcasing great evasiveness and creativity. He hit a lovely inboard pass early in the piece proved hard to contain with ball in hand. One who seemingly only needs a few moments to impact.

#7 Toby Whan (South Fremantle)
Midfielder | 184cm | 09/05/2007

Fremantle NGA

Stats: 24 disposals, 3 tackles, 3 inside 50s

After missing the first trial game, Whan stepped straight into WA’s starting midfield and looked to have hardly missed a beat. He got to work straight away with typically industrious running patterns to compliment his physical brand on the inside. The left-footed prospect looks stylish when kicking the ball, though was arguably more directional that pinpoint with his early ball use before pulling off some punchy passes later on. Whan’s ability to fend and roll out of tackles made up for a lack of explosive pace at the contest, and his running ability allowed him to accumulate further.

#9 Fred Rodriguez (Claremont)
Midfielder | 184cm | 10/07/2007

Stats: 33 disposals, 6 clearances, 5 inside 50s, 1 goal

Once again among his side’s absolute top performers, Rodriguez led from the front as WA’s newly appointed captain. The midfielder’s running power was immense, racking up a whopping 17 handball receives en route a game-high 33 disposals. That kind of link-up play in attacking phases was complimented by clearance wins, though Rodriguez looked far more dangerous when able to utilise his sharp kicking in slow play heading inside 50. He rode the bumps well and hit the scoreboard with a second quarter goal, making for another well-rounded outing.

#12 Wesley Walley (Subiaco)
Forward | 182cm | 29/11/2007

West Coast NGA

Stats: 9 disposals, 6 marks, 2 goals

After showing glimpses in game one, Walley sustained his impact for longer against West Perth and threatened to take hold of the game in term two. He got going before quarter time with a lovely set shot goal from long-range before making a menace of himself inside 50. Walley was difficult to contain with his movement and leading patterns, resulting in several marks close to goal and 2.3 on the scoreboard. His radar was slightly off, but the West Coast NGA prospect provided ample pressure and showcased his aerial ability with some high-flying attempts.

#13 Heath Mellody (Claremont)
Wing/Forward | 181cm | 27/07/2008

Stats: 11 disposals, 4 marks, 2 goals

The sole bottom-ager to feature in this write-up, Mellody again showed great potential through his composure and ground coverage. He produced a terrific opening quarter with two goals from five disposals before going without a touch in the second. Mellody was hardly rushed with ball in hand and often manufactured just enough time to find his target, stationed mostly on the wing.

#17 Sam Swadling (West Perth)
Midfielder | 187cm | 16/01/2007

Stats: 30 disposals, 7 marks, 4 clearances, 2 goals

Swadling was again prolific through the middle of WA’s lineup, accumulating a game-high 25 uncontested possessions. Like Rodriguez, he combined well with teammates by hand and was integral to his side’s ball movement in transition. His clean distribution fed the Black Swans’ running waves from end to end, also utilising his size and side-step to forge forward with a bit of swagger. Less of a stoppage midfielder, Swadling tended to dump kick out of the packs but proved capable of punchy kicks on the outside and compounded his impact with two final quarter goals.

#23 Max Thomas (South Fremantle)
Defender | 188cm | 24/07/2007

Stats: 14 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles

Among WA’s fleet of aggressive running defenders, Thomas took the game on as a metres-gained threat. He was constantly there on the overlap, finding opportunities to carve a path forward with strong bursts from the back half. In that sense, he took up quite high positions and looked to penetrate the forward half with ball in hand. While erratic at times, he showed the right kind of intent and was one of his side’s more productive movers of the ball.

#24 Jacob Farrow (West Perth)
Defender/Midfielder | 188cm | 21/09/2007

Stats: 19 disposals, 3 tackles, 3 clearances

Much like Thomas, Farrow took on an attacking mindset when moving the ball out of defence. Recently drawing comparisons to Fremantle’s Hayden Young, his kicking execution didn’t quite match up to such elite standards but the left-footer got good purchase off his boot. He broke the lines that way and with eye-catching running forays where he carved through the corridor. Farrow also spent time on-ball where he used his size to advantage at the contest.

#40 Cody Curtin (Claremont)
Key Forward/Ruck | 200cm | 18/05/2007

Stats: 14 disposals, 7 marks, 12 hitouts, 5 goals

Curtin dined out with a five-goal haul as he continued his work rotating into the ruck from up forward. The 200cm physical beast proved too big and strong for any number of opponents he jostled with deep inside 50, which is where he earned many of his scoring chances. Curtin reeled in four contested marks and won a team-high 12 hitouts to highlight the competitiveness and strength which drew opponents into conceding free kicks. He also finished his work well via set shots.