{"id":180070,"date":"2025-02-13T18:13:41","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T08:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/?p=180070"},"modified":"2025-02-13T18:13:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T08:13:44","slug":"preseason-qa-koby-evans-perth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2025\/02\/13\/preseason-qa-koby-evans-perth\/","title":{"rendered":"Preseason Q&A: Koby Evans (Perth)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PERTH prospect Koby Evans<\/a> garnered plenty of attention for his exploits in 2024, no less his goal celebrations. The West Coast Next Generation Academy (NGA) member played three games as a bottom-ager in Western Australia’s Under 18 side, and did enough to earn selection in the AFL Academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evans, an explosive and quick forward, is looking to gain more midfield exposure with inspiration from the likes of Shai Bolton<\/strong> and Isaac Heeney<\/strong>. His brother, Josh Burke<\/strong> is also paving the way having been part of the Eagles’ Reserves squad since 2022. The pair could play against each other this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spoke to Evans at last month’s WAFL Colts preseason testing event, hosted by Rookie Me<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

>> Preseason Q&As:<\/strong> Cody Curtin<\/a> | Joshua Nomlatyu<\/a> | Fred Rodriguez<\/a> | Wes Walley<\/a> | Toby Whan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRESEASON Q&A<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Q: What are your earliest memories of football?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KE: “When I was a little kid with my oldest brother. He went through Perth Colts, Reserves and played a couple of League games and is now at West Coast WAFL, so I would just watch him growing up.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: How would you describe yourself as a player?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KE: “Very agile and explosive. I\u2019m fast and can break away from contest and then use my speed to get out on the run and apply tackle pressure.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Are there any players you model your game on or idolise?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KE: “Shai Bolton<\/strong>, he is agile and has class. Isaac Heeney<\/strong> too is strong at the contest, at ground level and in the air. I think I play similarly to him as a forward or mid.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: You played more as a forward in your bottom-age season, would you rather spend some more time in the midfield or are you happy inside 50?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KE: “I like the forwardline but I want to try to work my way into the midfield because I think that\u2019s where I can use more of my skills and capability. Up forward I can use most of my skills, but I\u2019d like to grow into a midfielder.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Can you speak to the prospect of playing against your brother Josh Burke, who you mentioned earlier at West Coast WAFL. How much it has helped having a sibling in the WAFL system and how cool it would be to potentially line up against him this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KE: “He was thinking of quitting football last year, but after seeing how far I\u2019d made it he opted to play on so that hopefully we can play against each other. Particularly with me being in the NGA program my first league game could be against West Coast WAFL. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019ll look forward to it, he is someone I idolise and going against him when he can play up forward or in the backline could be exciting. If he plays in defence I\u2019ll kick six goals on him though. It\u2019d be a good matchup and a great experience. I\u2019ve only played two games with him for Northam two years ago, so that was a good experience.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What has been the impact of the National Academy on your development as a player?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KE: “The higher standards and professionalism have been awesome to learn from, especially from the coaches. The other players and I have different skills so we can learn from each other too and I can add new things into my game. I\u2019m learning things about nutrition, what to eat, preparation, extras and recovery.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Rookie Me Central (@rookiemecentral)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n