SUNS Academy standout Jed Walter is our Coates Talent League Player of the Week for Round 6, after dining out in his side’s 99-point win over the Northern Territory Academy on Saturday. The top-ager filled his boots with eight goals from 19 disposals and nine marks on his side’s home patch.
Walter, a hulking key forward who unafraid to throw his weight around, has largely been starved of service during the current Talent League season. That changed against the Thunder, as the National Academy member bested his previous hauls of two goals in the opening two rounds.
The Suns piled on 39 scoring shots in their drubbing of the NT, with over-ager Marlin Corbett (31 disposals) leading all comers, while the likes of Jake Rogers (30) and Leo Lombard (26) also cashed in. The former is one of Gold Coast’s three AFL Academy members, along with ruck Ethan Read.
The lopsided result marks Gold Coast’s first win of the 2023 Talent League campaign, having lost its previous three outings by an average margin of 49 points. A meeting with the GWV Rebels at Princes Park on May 21 will round out the Suns’ cameo in the competition.
Walter became the second northern academy product to earn Player of the Week honours this season, after Swans Academy midfielder Indhi Kirk did so in Round 1. Kirk is the only player outside of the 2005-born crop to have won said award this season.
Around the grounds in Round 6, Tasmania Devils star Colby McKercher again put his hand up in this category with two goals from 31 disposals in a 110-point win over the Giants Academy. Top-age forward Will Groom booted five majors in the same match.
Sydney had a wealth of standout performers in its 37-point win over the Lions Academy. Midfield bull Caiden Cleary topped the disposal charts with 30 touches, while the likes of Kirk, Christian Webster, and Brisbane’s Owen Collins also impressed.
2023 COATES TALENT LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Round 1: Indhi Kirk (Swans Academy)
Round 2: Tom Anastasopoulos (Geelong Falcons)
Round 3: Nick Watson (Eastern Ranges)
Round 4: Joel Freijah (GWV Rebels)
Round 5: N/A
Round 6: Jed Walter (Suns Academy)
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