PEEL Thunder drew level with top spot on the WAFL Colts ladder after a 34-point win over fellow top five side South Fremantle, while Claremont downed Perth by 30 points to keep in touch with the top five. We noted some of the top performers from either clash, before taking a look around the grounds and up the grades in Round 17.

By: Hayden Narducci

PERTH:

#1 Benjamin Weymouth

One of the premier pressure forwards in the colts competition, Weymouth upheld his strong form in this game finishing up with nine tackles. He was unable to impact the scoreboard directly in this game, though this did not stop him being one of Perth’s more dangerous forwards. Consistently putting the pressure on Claremont defenders, he forced many turnovers and prevented opposition players from even getting an opportunity to get rid of the ball. He finished the game with 18 touches, finding his own footy and displaying clean hands off a wet deck, always looking to move the ball forward.

#20 Benjamin Fairbank

The key defender has been one of Perth’s best players this season and continued that form this game. Finding a lot more of the footy than usual, Fairbank finished the game with 20 disposals. On the occasion when taking kick-outs, Fairbank showed some absolutely dangerous kicking from deep, gaining big metres to his teammates advantage with some outstanding foot skills. He rarely loses a contest, using his frame extremely well and has great defensive IQ, a real pleasure to watch defensively.

#26 Jack Poole

The best on ground for his side, Poole’s stats line makes for great reading with 26 disposals, nine tackles and 11 inside 50s, but his actual footy made for even better watching. His partnership with Zolnier-Owens in that midfield was where some of Perth’s best footy was found. Poole showed off the ability to hit the pack and find his own footy, but was far more dangerous getting the ball on the outside, creating space with his kicking and finding separation from his man to take 6 marks. His decision making by foot was a joy to watch, opting to go by foot for 18 of his 26 disposals, miskicks were rare for Poole and though he was often forced to kick to the contest, his follow up work made sure Perth weren’t ever at a disadvantage.

CLAREMONT:

#7 Edward Allan

Off the back of a national combine invitation, the versatile Allan showed off his midfield prowess in this game, finishing atop the disposal charts with 27 disposals. He used a bit of luck to find the scoreboard, receiving a handball on the 50-metre arc in the first quarter, a wayward bounce turned a certain behind into a goal. Luck wasn’t needed throughout the rest of the game, he consistently found his own footy, attacking the pack hard and claiming the hard ball gets to dish off to a teammate. Suffice to say Allan more than showed off the talents that found him on the combine list in this game and is going to play a hugely decisive role in whether or not the Tigers can make the finals in 2022.

#10 Kai Dehavilland

Capping off a great performance in the midfield from the Tigers, Dehavilland’s presence was superb, putting in the big hits and weaving through opposition with class. His goal in the second quarter was a great display of his potential, hitting the ball at full tilt with a clean pick up, dancing past his man and slotting a beautiful goal on the run from 50 metres. He finished the game atop the tackling charts, taking a man down 12 times and it was hard not to notice his impact in the guts as a result of that. Finishing with 20 disposals, five marks, 12 tackles, six inside 50s and a goal, these well-rounded stats still struggled to do justice to Dehavilland’s impact across this game.  

#19 Rohan MacNeill

Starting in the backline, MacNeill shrugged off his defender name and impacted the game in every position, from half-back, to inside mid to forward pocket. He scoops up the ground balls in the contest with absolute ease, rarely looking like breaking a stride.  He looked comfortable in every position, even finding his third career goal in Colts footy, creating great separation to lose his man, lead into space and convert calmly from 50 out on a tough angle. Finishing off with 17 disposals, it’s tough now to say where MacNeill plays his best footy after such a well-rounded game, but more midfield minutes could certainly be on the cards for MacNeill in the future.

By: Charlie McCormack

PEEL THUNDER:

#20 Tristan Bryce

The rebounding defender had a superb start to the match, racking up five marks from eight touches in the first quarter, as he provided terrific drive from the backline. The Rockingham product was bold with his positioning and ball use, as he often looked to springboard defence into offence as quickly as possible by playing on and looking to use the corridor when it was open. He finished 17 disposals and eight marks as one of the Thunder’s best players.

#32 Michael Sellwood

The defender played one of his best games in the back half of the ground, finishing with 27 disposals and five marks. The Baldivas product played with an offensive edge to his game often positioning himself aggressively behind the footy to intercept mark and drifting forward into good positions to allow himself to be a dangerous player when the Thunder had the ball. Sellwood has proven himself to be one of the more versatile players in the WAFL Colts, having been a prolific midfielder early in the season before being shifted down back. He looks to be a weapon for the Thunder to call upon in the finals series.

#39 Jackson Broadbent

The state ruckman had an excellent outing for Peel, booting three goals to go with 12 disposals and 34 hitouts in one of his best performances for the year. While the 201cm talent was typically influential at the stoppages, it was his improved productivity around the ground that really stood out, with Broadbent often dropping back to help his defence and getting involved in the Thunder’s ball movement. Up forward, he got good reward for his hard work, booting three quality goals including a snap on the run in the final term that belied a player of his size.

#40 Corey Tregenza-Cashell

The over-ager showed why he was WA’s first choice key forward at the state championships, putting on a clinic against the Bulldogs to finish with a five-goal bag in an eye-catching performance. The hulking full forward did it all, clunking a number of big contested marks while also showing adeptness at ground level. His second major saw him compete for a marking contest before roving his own work and finishing smarty while his fourth was a beauty, gathering a loose ball before shaking off his direct opponent and snapping truly.

SOUTH FREMANTLE:

#4 Jordan Douglas:

The 17-year-old was one of the main catalysts for the South Fremantle fightback in the third quarter. After being injected into the midfield, Douglas impressed with his ferocity around the contest, winning a couple of important clearances and snapping an opportunistic goal from a stoppage. He finished with only 11 disposals but certainly had an impact on the game.

#11 Liam Brandis

The medium sized forward didn’t have much supply early in the game, but showed why he is the competition’s leading goal-scorer, coming to life at the start of the second half to boot two mercurial goals and show his natural goal sense. The first was a pin-point set shot from an acute angle while his second was a long range snap from beyond fifty that bounced through. It was the seventh time this year the 18-year old has booted multiple goals in a game.

#15 Seth Connor

Stationed in the midfield, Connor was his side’s most consistent performer over the four quarters, working hard to register 30 disposals to go with five marks and four tackles. The over-ager has a happy knack of finding the football and his ability to win the ball at the source and then spread from the contest and provide an option for his teammates saw him pick up plenty of uncontested possessions. 

#33 Roan O’Heir

The diminutive midfielder was one of South Fremantle’s better players, with his cleanliness with ball in hand proving a feature of his game that saw him finish with 19 disposals and eight tackles. The 18-year old had a strong appetite for the contest and was often able to drift into pockets of space to pick up uncontested marks. Having featured at reserves level earlier this season, O’Heir has put together a very solid season and is arguably one of the better performed draft-aged players from outside the state program.

AROUND THE GROUNDS:

By: Michael Alvaro

Subiaco jumped East Perth into third spot with a 41-point win over the Royals at Leederville Oval, doing so on the back of a six-goal final quarter. Though many of the key performances indicators were relatively even, the Lions flexed their scoring muscle in the 14.14 (98) to 8.9 (57) victory.

State Under 18 representatives Tyrell Dewar (three goals) and Koltyn Tholstrup (two) were among a quartet of multiple goalkickers, along with Under 16 jet Malakai Champion and Jack Gouge. The latter also notched 17 disposals, only beaten out in that department by Ky Franceschini (19) for Subiaco.

Meanwhile, East Perth’s Darcy Miller was the sole player afield to tick up over 20 touches, followed closely by Daniel Moore‘s 19. Both players also hit the scoreboard with a goal apiece. Kobe Foster and Alexio Yiannakis each snared two majors, making up half of the Royals’ tally.

Up the grades, Peel Thunder talent Jed Adams made his League debut on Saturday. The 18-year-old fared well for his 11 disposals and six marks as the Thunder downed South Fremantle by 14 points. Elsewhere, Swan Districts notched an 85-point win over West Coast’s reserves, with a couple of gun junior midfielders featuring.

Namely, Darcy Jones snagged two goals from 19 disposals and seven marks in black and white, after bagging multiple majors on debut the week before. Star on-baller Elijah Hewett also returned to the level, contributing 15 touches and a goal.