Lions Well Represented for Junior Black Ducks

On Tuesday, the WA State team for the Under 16’s and Under 18’s boys were announced, and Subiaco FC was proudly represented by 6 under 16 and 2 under 18 boys making the teams. The players from the under 16’s team were Malakai Champion from Mines Rovers, Mitch Bell from Marist JFC, Caylon Seelander from Manning Rippers and Boulder City, Thomas MacGillivray from Wanneroo JFC, Xavier Hickey from Kingsley JFC and Koopa Walsh from Newtown Condingup. The players from the under 18’s team were Koltyn Tholstrap also from Newtown Condingup and Tyrell Dewar also from Mines Rovers. We are proud of the boys for this accomplishment and cannot wait to see them in action on their state teams. 

In preparation for their competition, they will be training with their respective age groups twice a week on the state teams and will be playing scratch matches against teams who are on bye weeks. The under 16’s will be playing Colts teams while the under 18’s will be playing the reserves of other teams. 

After talking with our Subiaco Talent Pathway Manager Stuart Berryman, we were able to gain some insight into what this achievement is and means for the players. “This achievement means that out of all the state WAFL teams these are the thirty best players who have been selected for the team in their prospective positions”. 

When looking at the next steps for these players with Berryman he spoke about how the under 18’s will be looking to get drafted into the AFL while the under 16’s will be looking to next make the under 18’s state teams in the coming years. He then goes on to tell us that “some of the AFL draft picks in the coming years may be these boys because they have proven that they are able to compete against the best football players in Australia.” Showing the depth of talent within the Subiaco district and Western Australia as a whole. 

Specifically for the Subiaco talent pathway, when players make the state team it “shows that we are doing something right at the club and the main idea is to have consistency each year and to hold players to a higher standard and try to do more conditioning or training than the other clubs.” A way that we measure this can be saying that our futures are 10% fitter, faster and more skilled, we also had the second most players on the under 16’s team which is a good reflection of how our talent pathway can help get players to the next level.” 

When asked how Subiaco is trying to grow their representation Berryman stated, “We are already growing our representation through trying to benchmark ourselves above the rest of the competition, having the best training out of all the other clubs and trying to improve players skills to be able to compete at the highest level.” 

To continue to track these rising stars you can stay tuned for more information and news on our website and social media accounts. We are extremely proud of these young men and cannot wait to see what their futures hold!