State League Kings: The best performances from the VFL and SANFL

The state leagues are in full swing around the country – so who’s started the year with a bang? From draft smokies to local footy graduates, we’ve got the exclusive stats on every player.

The state leagues are in full swing and a mid-season AFL draft prospect, who was so close to landing on a list over summer, has dominated again.

In the second round of the VFL, Werribee star Dom Brew put on another midfield masterclass, tallying 33 disposals, 18 contested possessions, 10 clearances, eight score involvements and 160 Champion Data ranking points against Essendon.

The 27-year-old trained with the Bulldogs earlier this year, following a career-best season in 2024 when he won the Liston Trophy as the best player in the VFL by nine votes.

It didn’t happen then, but is the AFL fairytale still alive in the mid-season draft?

SCROLL DOWN FOR EVERY PLAYER’S RANKING

Dom Brew continues to dominate in the VFL. Picture: Michael Klein

Speaking of fairytales, Riley Baldi’s return to the state league has been just that so far, with the ace midfielder backing up is 32-disposal, 150-ranking point performance in the opening round with another 34 touches in Casey’s win over the Suns on Saturday.

Returning for a second stint in the VFL after winning the Gippsland League medal in 2024, the 23-year-old is the top-ranked player in the competition not aligned to an AFL club after two rounds.

Over in South Australia, the SANFL kicked off over the weekend and Sturt defender Will Coomblas recorded a remarkable 18 intercept possessions on his way to 160 rankings points – the sixth-highest in the country.

Elsewhere, the Crows’ depth was on show with Luke Nankervis booting two goals from 29 disposals to also make this week’s top 10.

Will Coomblas recorded 18 intercept possessions on the weekend.

But, of all the AFL-listed players in the state league, it is Demon Daniel Turner who is likely to earn an immediate recall.

The Melbourne tall responded to his omission with a monster five-goal performance to help Casey topple Gold Coast.

Turner reeled in 14 marks (six contested) as he kicked 5.0 at Casey Fields – his clean finishing in stark contrast to his AFL teammates as the Demons’ scoring woes continued.

The performance of Kangaroos draftee Matt Whitlock is worth noting, too, with the versatile teenager finishing with 27 disposals, nine intercepts and seven marks.

The opening round of the WAFL begins Saturday.

We asked the @VFL captains to say something nice about a Werribee player… fair to say Dom Brew has gained the respect of the competition 🌟 pic.twitter.com/GTW65WS4ug

— Werribee FC (@WerribeeFC) March 12, 2025

Originally published as State League Kings: The best performances from the VFL and SANFL