WEST Coast father-son prospect Charlie Banfield has a wealth of experience to draw from close to home. His father Drew was pick one in the 1992 National Draft and went on to be a two-time premiership player. What’s more, Charlie’s elder brother Bailey remains alongside him at Claremont.

The most junior of the three is now entering his top-age season having helped the Tigers take out a second straight WAFL Colts flag last year. The wingman also played all four games for Western Australia at the Under 18 National Championships – no mean feat for a bottom-ager.

We spoke to Banfield at last month’s WAFL Colts preseason testing event, hosted by Rookie Me, about the key piece of advice his dad has instilled, what he has learned from a range of other players, and how he is set up to attack his draft year.

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PRESEASON Q&A

Q: What are your earliest memories of football?

CB: “My earliest memories are of me playing with my older brother’s side back at Swanbourne Junior Football Club. Then just having my dad coach me at a very early age.”

Q: How would you describe yourself as a player?

CB: “Competitive. I try and be the best teammate I can be and get in the best positions to try to be really damaging by foot and with my work rate.”

Q: Is there a particular player that you model your game after?

CB: “I really do like the way Marcus Bontempelli goes about things, and Patrick Cripps. Those two come to mind because they are great ball winners and good leaders.”

Q: How did you rate the success of your bottom-age year?

CB: “I was really happy with it. I worked hard over the off-season and the pre-season and thought I was given some great opportunities, and hopefully I took them with both hands. We’ll see how this year goes.”

Q: Claremont achieved the ultimate success in 2024 and you were a big part of that, how can that success be replicated in 2025?

CB: “We just need to bring it back to the new boys in the squad and bring that success and energy again and hopefully we can get the chocolates again which would be great.”

Q: You mentioned your dad earlier, how much of an influence has he had on your development as a player?

CB: “I love to watch a few highlights of the Grand Finals that he played in and I thought he worked hard as a country boy so he’s someone who I look up to and want to model my game after. He’s been huge, he coached me through my younger years and I learned a lot from him and hopefully even more to come.”

Q: What kind of advice has he instilled in you?

CB: “He has instilled in me to forget about mistakes. He always tells me to be a goldfish, which means if something happens forget about it and move on to the next thing. Also just to always be competitive and work hard to be the best I can for the team.”

Q: How valuable has it been to be able to train with the West Coast Eagles, and what have you taken away from that experience?

CB: “I think it’s a huge opportunity. I’ve definitely tried to embrace it. To see some of your idols and people you watch on TV, then go out and train with them and experience the intensity and competitiveness that they bring is something I want to bring into my training with a lot of the younger boys. The mindset that they always go into training with the intensity they do is great. They’re looking very good.”

Q: In the 2024 Under 17 Futures Match you spent a bit more time forward and kicked three goals. Will you look to get forward of the ball more often this season?

CB: “That’s something I’ve been working on, my goalkicking. I’m still happy to play the position I’m seen to be most valuable in, but I definitely love to go forward and I can bring value there through my intensity. Wherever I need to play, I’ll play. But I love to play forward and I love to play wing and I love to play on-ball so I’m not really sure where I’ll play but I’m ready for anything.”

Q: What was it like to play in the State side as a bottom-ager alongside now AFL talent?

CB: “It was just amazing. I’ve gotten to know a lot of the players and how they went about things and it’s no surprise that they’ve made it into an AFL list. I’ve taken a lot in from such a great opportunity, especially from guys like Hamish Davis and Bo Allan who are great players who have inspired me to bring what they brought and do exactly what they did.”