WAFL 2014, players to watch

[Pennant St Dee 13,173]

WAFL Round 1 commenced last week and I headed to Lathlain Park to see Perth vs Claremont, with the Demons being in control all day and running out big winners. I was keen to have a look at former GWS U/17 recruit Gerard Ugle and potential first round pick Clem Smith.

Ugle- this kid looked very good and I can see why GWS took a punt on him when he was so young.. Showed good cruising speed and acceleration across the ground and hits the loose ball at pace so is very hard to stop when reading the play. Ball use by hand and foot was good and seemed to have a lot of awareness in traffic, but I would like another look at him to see what he is like in a game with greater intensity and physicality as Claremont were never in this and showed little. Not afraid to tackle and catches opponents out with his closing speed

Smith - on this show will slip down the pecking order, he will do well at underage level because when he has the ball he does well and if it is within his vicinity will hit the contest hard. However he does not work overly hard to get to contests and I noticed on a few occasions the shaking of the head when being spoken to by runners and during breaks between quarters. I see a lot of Dayle Garlett circa 2012 in this kid plenty of talent but poor attitude, whilst Smith is harder at a contest and a much better tackler than Garlett his foot skills are not as good and his hands are not as strong, nor does he possess good size. At this size he needs a higher workrate and to provide greater x-factor, which I don't see at the next level

Darcy Cameron who missed out in 2013 played as back up ruck to Mark Seaby for Claremont and performed well against the older Leyendeckers but was given limited opportunity but he did not disgrace himself and was worth another look. Needs to work on aerobic capacity and second efforts

One kid who caught my eye was a young indigenous small forward for Perth Callum Collard who was picked up from Amatuer club Kelmscott and showed some great zip around goal with a real willingness to tackle and harass defenders while always wishing to provide second efforts at the fall of the ball and his efforts saw plenty of turnovers or left defenders hesitating allowing team mates to capitalise on errors.

Not many other kids on offer today but a friend who attended the Subiaco vs South Fremantle colts game said South looked very very good. They have a number of boys expected to go this year and he said the standout was CHF Matthew AH SIU(think that spelling is right), good size and very mobile and will lead and run hard to provide options, Jarrod Pickett and Jacob Dragovich were dominant in the middle along with a Callum AH Che whose brother Brandon is already on the Port Adelaide list, I will do my best to get a look at this side for myself because by all accounts they are stacked with a lot of very good up and comers

[SaberFang 7,151]

Great to scout out the talent (there's lots in the WAFL), but IMHO we're in a rebuild of a rebuild of a rebuild and this club won't survive 3 or 4 more years if we throw our hope behind young players. If nothing else, we'll struggle to re-sign any draftees that turn out to be superstars if we aren't winning anything.

I've decided what I want at the end of this year is auctioning off our draft picks for already established, experienced AFL players. We desperately need to get as much talent from other top 8 teams as we can. If we can't win more than 4 games this year Frawley's gone and we'll probably have two top 5 draft picks, so throw them at other clubs and recruit established but upcoming stars (thanks GWS) that have been in the system already.

Our list has zero depth and the key players we need fit just can't get there. The best thing to happen thus far with Roos' was his recruitment of senior players (not the idiots Neeld has ruined us with). Cross, Tyson & Vince have been an instant success and another 5-6 at the end of this year will help enormously. I'm sure working out a trade for Shuey is high on his agenda, and securing at least another 3 midfielders to improve our depth.

That said, Michie I think will turn out great and Georgiou has been fantastic. So there's definitely gems out there in the various leagues that are already senior players, and would be very handy pickups at this stage.

[ChaserJ 5,096]

Thanks PSD, great stuff.

Look forward to seeing how Smith and Pickett play this year, both were exciting in champs last year.

Ugle's a talent, but I'd worry about the go home factor.

[drdrake 3,163]

I'm heading back to Perth in a couple of weeks and looking forward to getting down to watch the Demons play. Lathlain Park is a great place to play footy it is a monster of a ground. Great to see the Demons beat Claremont, Claremont always has been a good team but that was on the back of their AFL players coming back. I believe this year West Coast and Fremantle are aligned with one club each which should see clubs like Claremont and Subiaco drop down the ladder which will be great to see.

[rjay 24,924]

Great to scout out the talent (there's lots in the WAFL), but IMHO we're in a rebuild of a rebuild of a rebuild and this club won't survive 3 or 4 more years if we throw our hope behind young players. If nothing else, we'll struggle to re-sign any draftees that turn out to be superstars if we aren't winning anything.

I've decided what I want at the end of this year is auctioning off our draft picks for already established, experienced AFL players. We desperately need to get as much talent from other top 8 teams as we can. If we can't win more than 4 games this year Frawley's gone and we'll probably have two top 5 draft picks, so throw them at other clubs and recruit established but upcoming stars (thanks GWS) that have been in the system already.

Our list has zero depth and the key players we need fit just can't get there. The best thing to happen thus far with Roos' was his recruitment of senior players (not the idiots Neeld has ruined us with). Cross, Tyson & Vince have been an instant success and another 5-6 at the end of this year will help enormously. I'm sure working out a trade for Shuey is high on his agenda, and securing at least another 3 midfielders to improve our depth.

That said, Michie I think will turn out great and Georgiou has been fantastic. So there's definitely gems out there in the various leagues that are already senior players, and would be very handy pickups at this stage.

Not this year, we will already have the foundation of a good midfield and will desperately need some class talls, that's what this draft offers. A bit like the draft that got Hawthorn Buddy and Roughy.

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

Love your work PSD

[Pennant St Dee 13,173]

I'm heading back to Perth in a couple of weeks and looking forward to getting down to watch the Demons play. Lathlain Park is a great place to play footy it is a monster of a ground. Great to see the Demons beat Claremont, Claremont always has been a good team but that was on the back of their AFL players coming back. I believe this year West Coast and Fremantle are aligned with one club each which should see clubs like Claremont and Subiaco drop down the ladder which will be great to see.

Claremont will drop down but Subi are on the rise, they have recruited some good older players and they have an up and coming bunch of players from their zone who are not going to be AFL standard but will be good solid WAFL players and provide a good nucleaus

East Freo have the best zone Metro and Country, but Subi have a good zone in the metro area which I think is getting better than East Freo's. Claremont do well out of the PSA comp and Albany always provides some really good kids for their country zone

[drdrake 3,163]

Claremont will drop down but Subi are on the rise, they have recruited some good older players and they have an up and coming bunch of players from their zone who are not going to be AFL standard but will be good solid WAFL players and provide a good nucleaus

East Freo have the best zone Metro and Country, but Subi have a good zone in the metro area which I think is getting better than East Freo's. Claremont do well out of the PSA comp and Albany always provides some really good kids for their country zone

East Freo's zone has always been strong, was even stronger when I was playing WAFL they had half of the old Sunday League zoned to them as well, that was changed to Perth's zone but to late the Sunday League started to die.

East Freo from memory also have a very good country zone.

[Pennant St Dee 13,173]

East Freo's zone has always been strong, was even stronger when I was playing WAFL they had half of the old Sunday League zoned to them as well, that was changed to Perth's zone but to late the Sunday League started to die.

East Freo from memory also have a very good country zone.

Yep East Freo's Country Zone is Geraldton, Northampton, Mullewa and around there which is very strong footy country, they used to have Esperance but that has now gone to Subaico.

This is a break up of the country zones

www.wafooty.com.au/.../h8zDz2tEdToF4gn1fP1R4LGJams-FtENKy1- RnmVN9c

[Grapeviney 9,718]

Callum Collard

Happy to draft this kid on the basis of his name alone.

[IvanBartul13 2,564]

How did Steve Edwards go?

[Pennant St Dee 13,173]

How did Steve Edwards go?

I didn't notice him at all so I would be lying if I gave you any feedback on him. That's not to say he didn't get touches just to say if he did nothing exceptional came from them. I left at time on in the fourth as the game was gone at that stage but when Perth took their foot off the pedal midway through the 4th and the Tigers got some junktime possessions and goals when the intensity was gone, so stats could be misleading. Jake Murphy & Luke Blackwell usually provide plenty of run and drive from the Tigers midfield but they were really down on their usual output on Saturday and Ian Richardson who has been their livewire small forward option for the last 5/6 years will be missed this year.

[Pennant St Dee 13,173]

WAFL Round 2 West Perth vs Claremont

My second look at Claremont this year and what a difference a week is in footy. The Cardies unveiled the 2013 flag but they were not on their game and their disposal left a lot to be desired and was probably the reason why they lost this game and as reigning premiers not sit with an 0-2 record. The Tigers had the right intensity from the start and they were hard at it all day, their two mids Luke Blackwell and Jake Murphy dominated the clearances and through the midfield. Young players to watch

Darcy Cameron - I saw him last week and whilst he did a few good things he really didn't show much, today he was absolutely dominant against season ruckman Chris Kuenan, Cameron won everything at centre bounces and around the ground, which allowed Claremont to play Seaby forward until Cameron needed a break. I said last week he needs to do more and today he di da lot of work around the ground but needs to take more marks around the ground especially while resting forward but today he provided enough nuisance value when resting forward to cause problems. The improvement in one week was huge I will be interested to see him again this year and on this performance a monty to be drafted this year

Tom Ledger - delisted by the Saints and still only 22 years old, he was clearly BOG today, was in everything floated through the middle and across half back taking plenty of marks and providing fantastic rebound. Ball use was very good and he was fearless at the contest. On todays display reminded me a lot of Mark Hutchings when he came back from St Kilda just looked to show determination to get a second shot.

Shane Nelson - have been saying it for a few years now this kid just knows how to find the footy and his work rate and ability to run out games is exceptional. He is still only 20/21 but will need to improve his disposal at the next level. Has the endurance, pace and workrate at the next level and my only doubt on him is his size, he is light bodied which goes against him and my understanding is he is very shy and does not interview well with AFL clubs.

Someone queried last week about Steven Edwards, did some really nice things today and has some tricks in the bag but he goes missing for long periods. IMO doesn't have anything which stands out not ferocious at the contest, not a great tackler and whilst he has some tricks don't see enough of him

I did not attend the game last night South Freo vs Perth but Callum Collard who caught my eye last week, backed it up with another good performance kicking 5 goals and laying 7 tackles as a small forward which is a nice feather in the cap

[Pennant St Dee 13,173]

Just an update on the last two rounds of WAFL

Round 4

I attended the Perth derby which say a massive 100point win for my Cardies against "The sold outs" from East Perth. an all round team performance who just put the foot on the throat and went for the kill. No draft prospects apart from the mature age Shane Nelson but no different to any of his games over the last 2 years great workrate. East Perth's side had a few young Meth Coast listed players only College and Karpenny showed anything but they were really up against all day.

Round 5.

Went to the Perth vs Swans game today looking forward to seeing Clem Smith but he didn't play, Callum Collard played but was relatively ineffective and was payed a lot more attention than the last time I saw him play.

This was a great game Swans got out to a 5 goal lead early in the first quarter but it was an arm wrestle after that and when Perth looked like they had done enough Swans kicked the last 3 goals to win by 1 point. The 3 Morton's played today and Cale showed a lot of composure with the ball, made really good decisions and did not succumb to any pressure perceived or otherwise with ball in hand. Must say he looked like he was enjoying his footy today which didn't seem like the case last season. Probably a lot to do with playing with his brothers. Jarryd Morton was very polished mopping up across half back and was also polished with his ball use.

Unfortunately it was a day for senior players and not much to see in the shape of potential draftees, although Swans full forward Ricky Cary who was plucked from the Amateur ranks a couple of years ago showed great awareness and positioning with the ball coming in. He ended up with 3 or 4 goals and at 22/23 fits in the right age bracket but IMO doesn't have the body type for the next level

[ChaserJ 5,096]

Thanks for the update mate. Think Clem Smith and the other AIS boys are still getting back from Europe.

Interesting to see Morton back in Demons colours, even if it's of the Perth variety.

What are your thoughts on Haiden Schloithe? Noticed that he's had a big couple of games (and quite a good start to the season in general). Remember he was rookie drafted as a small forward with good pressure and tackling ability, but clearly a midfielder now.

[Pennant St Dee 13,173]

Thanks for the update mate. Think Clem Smith and the other AIS boys are still getting back from Europe.

Interesting to see Morton back in Demons colours, even if it's of the Perth variety.

What are your thoughts on Haiden Schloithe? Noticed that he's had a big couple of games (and quite a good start to the season in general). Remember he was rookie drafted as a small forward with good pressure and tackling ability, but clearly a midfielder now.

I have not seen South Freo play this season so can't comment on him. West Perth vs South Freo was the televised game last Saturday and he was BOG with 37 possessions so you should be able to find it on ABC online possibly

[dazzledavey36 54,923]

Played footy with Brett Mahoney from Subiaco. Hows he going this year.

[The Chazz 4,077]

Played footy with Brett Mahoney from Subiaco. Hows he going this year.

Ask Col Sylvia.

[dazzledavey36 54,923]

Was waiting for that..

[Machsy 2,858]

Played footy with Brett Mahoney from Subiaco. Hows he going this year.

Sounds a lot like a bloke who used to play in the midfield for the dees.

Pretty much the same spelling as most would have you believe...

[Pennant St Dee 13,173]

Round 6: East Perth vs Perth

Headed to this game yesterday to have a look at the Sold Outs vs the Perth Demons. Perth's regular ruckman was out so with Paul Johnson & Callum Sinclair in the ruck the Demons were going to be up against it all day. The game never reached the heights of being a classic but with some rain making the ball greasy a solid contest was there for the 4 quarters. Clem Smith played the whole game on the HBF and without setting the world on fire I watched him closely and showed a lot of good signs. I noticed the senior players in the side and runners continually talking to him about always being aware of his opponent. Yes it looked to hamper his natural instincts but as the game wore on it looked to me that he learnt when was the right time to run and present and when to hang back.

What I liked about SMITH was his aggression, he was given the job on Meth Coast listed livewire Malcolm Karpenny, who himself looks like a decent player. SMITH was constantly niggling KARPENNY and making him earn every possession. Due to the conditions there was plenty of stoppages and SMITH gave Karpenny no room at the stoppages and was always aware where he was. SMITH actually dished out several bumps and looked like he enjoyed it and wanted to hurt his opponent. He was controlled in some areas where you could see him closing in on a contest and could have absolutely lined his opponent up similar to Byron PICKETT but he held back somewhat and the bumps were all legal.

SMITH played with a lot of smarts yesterday and whilst he did not have huge disposals he did not turn the ball over, when he had no team mate ahead when under pressure he avoided kicking aimlessly and hit space or forced another stoppage. On the occasions he took the game on and ran forward he used the ball well after running and carrying and delivering inside 50m to either a 1 on 1 or leading team mate. In the end the Demons whilst brave lost out and didn't create enough scoring opportunities when they had momentum.

SMITH definitely won his contest with Karpenny and showed plenty of good signs. Does not have blistering pace, disposal is good without being elite but he is aggressive and loves to hit and hurt his opponent which is an asset. Wouldn't say at this stage he is a first rounder but showed a lot of good signs and will see if the improvement continues.

Best for Perth was Cale Morton who played on the wing and occasionally floated across half back. Read the play well and found space and disposal was very good generally to a leading forward.

Freddie Clutterbuck was good for East Perth but I only see a good WAFL player in him and don't see him taking the step up

Johnson and Sinclair were the most influential players on the ground and Colledge was the best of Meth Coasts listed players

Plan for round 7 is to see Subiaco vs Swans who are the two form teams and will get to see Brett Mahoney for you Dazzledavey

[ChaserJ 5,096]

Thanks PSD, really appreciate the updates from the West. Really liked Karpany in last years pool, and like Smith, so was especially interested in getting some views from this game.

Caught the replay of South Freo's game last week, Schloithe looks determined to make it back to AFL level, looks like he's developing into a handy midfielder. Noticed he continued his hot start to the season with 27 touches and 4 goals.

Marlon Pickett caught the eye as well. Keen to get your thoughts on these two as the season evolves.

[MadAsHell 4,212]

With the retirement of Mitch Clark this year and our seemingly lack of depth in the tall man department I've been keeping a close eye on mature age key position forwards in particular. And the one that's caught my eye the most is Brett Eddy.

I'm currently unable to post any links sorry, but he's 194cm, 93kg, 23 year old (24 in august) who plays with South Adelaide in the SANFL and has booted 29 goals in the first 6 games of the year with 3 bags of 6 and 1 of 5.

He could be worthy of a late national or early rookie draft pick for cover if one of Dawes or Hogan were to go down. Wondering what our SA dees supporters can tell us about him? Oh and sorry to bring up the SANFL in a WAFL thread PSD.

[MadAsHell 4,212]

Finally found the links:

http://www.sanfl.com.au/league/leading_goal_kicker/

http://www.safc.com.au/football?target=TeamsPlayers

[Pennant St Dee 13,173]

With the retirement of Mitch Clark this year and our seemingly lack of depth in the tall man department I've been keeping a close eye on mature age key position forwards in particular. And the one that's caught my eye the most is Brett Eddy.

I'm currently unable to post any links sorry, but he's 194cm, 93kg, 23 year old (24 in august) who plays with South Adelaide in the SANFL and has booted 29 goals in the first 6 games of the year with 3 bags of 6 and 1 of 5.

He could be worthy of a late national or early rookie draft pick for cover if one of Dawes or Hogan were to go down. Wondering what our SA dees supporters can tell us about him? Oh and sorry to bring up the SANFL in a WAFL thread PSD.

Don't apologise maybe the mods could change the title of the thread and we could have VFL, SANFL & WAFL all in one.

Not much from the weekend attended Perth vs Subiaco which was the most uninspiring game I have seen all season, Subi had the game in control after 20 mins into the first quarter when they banged on 5 unanswered goals. Perth mounted token fightbacks but Subi would just do enough to extend the lead again. Very few hard contests and tackles were down. Cale Morton racked up a large amount of possessions without putting his body on the line, it was that sort of game.

Of possible draftees George Hampson was smooth and used the ball beautifully, he is really slight and pushing 23/4 years and was a great prospect as a teenager knee injuries ruined his chances and he did the hard yards at WAAFL before ending up at Subi. I doubt Hampson will be picked up but could be worth a rookie pick. Josh Deluca was composed with ball in hand and provided a few nice inside 50 entries, although as my post stresses at no time was he really under intense pressure when disposing by foot, one thing I will give him though is he has a great workrate, looks around 5ft 10 or thereabouts and at that size really doesn't have any x-factors which will make recruiters stand up and take notice.

For Perth, Callum Collard was the only draft contender and really had little impact but the game really didn't help him. The kid I am looking at for 2015 draft is Greg Clark, this kid has size and just knows how to find the ball. The former junior KPP player is being turned into a good size mid and if the improvement at this rate continues he will be very sought after at the draft. Connor Wilkinson doing a bit in Subi's colts midfield and Chris Bryan getting a fair bit of the ball and uses it really well but just not sure that these two will develop physically to take the step up to the next level