U18 Champs Round 1 - WA vs Vic Metro

[Chris25]

WA kick off their Championships this Saturday - June 8, 10am at Lathlain Park. Doesn't look like it'll be broadcast, at least not on Foxtel.

WA
b: Ben Johnson - Alex Pasini - Jaxon Prior
hb: Jarvis Pina - Trey Ruscoe - Trent Rivers
c: Jeremy Sharp - Deven Robertson - Regan Clarke
hf: Tyrone Thorne - Elijah Taylor - Ryan Bennell
f: Liam Henry - Nicholas Martin - Callum Jamieson
r: Luke Jackson - Chad Warner - Riley Garcia
i: Jake Buller - Cameron Anderson - Denver Grainger-Barras - Jai Jackson - Ryan Hudson
e: Nathan O'Driscoll - Ronin O'Connor

VM
b: James Ross - Corey Watts - Brodie Newman
hb: Louis Butler - Fischer McAsey - Trent Bianco
c: Joshua Worrell - Finn Maginness - Miles Bergman
hf: Darcy Cassar - Harrison Jones - Jack Mahony
f: Mitch Mellis - Charlie Dean - Dylan Williams
r: Nick Bryan - Noah Anderson - Matthew Rowell
i: Jack Bell - Hugo Ralph-Smith - Lachlan Potter - Daniel Mott - Oscar Lewis
e: Josh Honey - Ryan Sturgess

in: James Ross, Corey Watts, Oscar Lewis, Mitch Mellis
Out: Josh Honey, Ryan Sturgess, Adam Carafa, Connor Downie

 

[Joao]

Hope it is on Kayo.

 

[Chris25]

What could a team for WA look like? I'm sure the West Australians amongst us will have a better idea than me, but we'll see how many I get right.

b: Jarvis Pina - Jake Pasini - Denver Grainger-Barras
hb: Jaxon Prior - Trent Rivers - Jeremy Sharp
c: Ben Johnson - Chad Warner - Nathan O'Driscoll
hf: Liam Henry - Trey Ruscoe - Elijah Taylor
f: Tyrone Thorne - Jake Buller - Logan McDonald
r: Luke Jackson - Deven Robertson - Riley Garcia
i: Zak Patterson - Cameron Anderson - Tristan Hobley - Regan Clarke - Ryan Hudson

Main problem I had was with the KPPs. I ended up naming an extra ruck on the bench in Patterson, because it gives more flexibility with Jackson and Buller to play at either end. And I initially had Ruscoe as a defender before moving him forward too - he could potentially switch back to allow Rivers to go into the midfield. Then I filled the team out with the underaged Grainger-Barras and McDonald.

Otherwise the only other issue I had was with the balance of both underaged and overaged players.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Is Jaxon Prior the son of Michael Prior?

 

[Watchfromadistance]

Is Jaxon Prior the son of Michael Prior?

Yep

On SM-G930F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Ysaye]

Would expect Buller in defence (probably as the main Key back) most of the time rather than in attack and Logan McDonald as the "key" forward but you never know; my thinking there is that Buller is more likely to get drafted as a backman, with backup ruck and forward capabilities, so showing off his capabilities in that position would be important.

I suspect Ruscoe would be in defence whilst Rivers moves into the midfield/wing somewhere - again I think if Rivers can show his wares as a mid then that would increase his likely position, whilst Ruscoe showing that he has really good defensive capabilities would increase his chances....

but it is all a little superflous as they will all I suspect get moved around for "the fun of it."

 

[Zurgblade]

Is the objective of championships to win the tournament or to showcase as many potential draft players from each state as possible?

 

[Joao]

Is the objective of championships to win the tournament or to showcase as many potential draft players from each state as possible?

I reckon showcasing is the goal but you can tell by how they celebrate that the kids want to win.

You generally see less of the underage players as they prioritise the draft age players to help them improve their chances of drafting. You also see players played in multiple positions over the 4 games.

 

[Davo-27]

Is the objective of championships to win the tournament or to showcase as many potential draft players from each state as possible?

i think show casing the talent is number 1, winning just ensures a couple extra players are drafted from the team that wins i would think.

the players are obviously competitive and want to win and so are the organisations, but ultimately its to get players drafted.

 

[Chris25]

Would expect Buller in defence (probably as the main Key back) most of the time rather than in attack and Logan McDonald as the "key" forward but you never know; my thinking there is that Buller is more likely to get drafted as a backman, with backup ruck and forward capabilities, so showing off his capabilities in that position would be important.

I suspect Ruscoe would be in defence whilst Rivers moves into the midfield/wing somewhere - again I think if Rivers can show his wares as a mid then that would increase his likely position, whilst Ruscoe showing that he has really good defensive capabilities would increase his chances....

but it is all a little superflous as they will all I suspect get moved around for "the fun of it."

I do think long term that defense is probably Buller’s best chance at an AFL career, but that extra size up forward would really help WA I feel. I imagine he'll spend time at both ends of the ground, but if you move Ruscoe back then him and Pasini should be enough against most teams. Or WA might just have a different KPP altogether stand up.

With Rivers, I think he'll play down back a lot more than some on here would like. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get some purely defensive roles too, perhaps a match up on Taheny against SA. If he can prove his defensive game is good enough, that'll go further to getting him drafted than seeing him run around in the midfield in my opinion.

 

[eDPS]

Teams are out

 

[Zurgblade]

Surprised that Zak Patterson didn't make the WA squad. Certainly has the qualities for an AFL club list

 

[maccamk]

Brandon Walker didn’t make the cut? A little surprised there.

 

[Joao]

Brandon Walker didn’t make the cut? A little surprised there.

He and Western are underage players. The draft age guys generally take precedence.

 

[Freezin]

With the weather meant to be rubbish on Sat for the game, good to see Jai Jackson get a go for WA....tough inside sort I have heard

 

[eastfreo75]

He and Western are underage players. The draft age guys generally take precedence.

rubbish players, only good for the rookie draft. Lol

 

[Davo-27]

for VM i expect Rowell, Anderson, McAsey and Maginness to play well, the question i have is will the other good players perform? Bianco, Dean, D.Williams and Worrell all under performed in 1 way or another against VC, i expect them to play better footy during the Championship, but if they dont VM might struggle.

WA seem to be a strong team this season from their strong trials performances, im interested to see how they go as i think WA and VC could be surprise packets this year.

 

[Eastcoasteagle]

So no telecast anywhere or replay online?

 

[Freezin]

Surely there must be a live stream somewhere.....both those SA v WA games had footage.....and they were trial games

 

[Zurgblade]

The crop of 2001, 2002, and 2003 WA players are very strong so some of the other states maybe in for a surprise.

 

[BigDance]

With the weather meant to be rubbish on Sat for the game, good to see Jai Jackson get a go for WA....tough inside sort I have heard

I think the same goes for Warner.

 

[BigDance]

is anyone at the game? is it definitely not streamed anywhere?

 

[OB11]

is anyone at the game? is it definitely not streamed anywhere?

I can stream Ballarat Rebels v Gippsland Power with all the state players out but I can't stream a Vic Metro v WA game

 

[BigDance]

I can stream Ballarat Rebels v Gippsland Power with all the state players out but I can't stream a Vic Metro v WA game

one would be questioning your dedication mate!

 

[OB11]

one would be questioning your dedication mate!

Just weird that the NAB League App is 100x better coverage than what the u18 Champs are when the U18 Champs are 100x more important than a NAB League game