Ranking points for Vic Metro’s win over Western Australia in U18 national championships
A pair of Bombers NGA members had big numbers in Vic Metro’s first win of the under 18 championships. See all the ranking points and full scouting notes here.
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A trio of Collingwood-linked draft prospects and a pair of Essendon Next Generation Academy members have helped steer Vic Metro to its first win of the AFL under-18 national championships.
The visitors scored a 35-point win over Western Australia in difficult conditions in Perth on Sunday, the triumph coming after Vic Metro had been left humbled by a 61-point loss to South Australia in its first match of the tournament last month.
Magpies father-son Thomas McGuane — the son of 1990 premiership player Mick — logged 19 disposals and kicked a classy left-foot goal from outside 50m rotating between wing and half-forward roles.
Collingwood NGA members Zac McCarthy and Jai Saxena also showed some good signs in the forward half.
The 199cm mobile forward-ruck McCarthy logged 11 disposals, four marks and three goals, while 180cm small forward Saxena (14 disposals) was also lively in attack but couldn’t convert either of his two shots on goal.
Essendon NGA product and fellow small forward Hussien El Achkar was involved in everything, recording 11 score involvements from his 15 disposals but managing just 2.3 as he missed a few difficult shots.
The performance came after the 171cm dynamo had kicked six goals for the Calder Cannons in an eye-catching game in the Coates Talent League the previous week.
Another Bombers NGA prospect — Adam Sweid — was also good in a midfield and forward role, winning 20 disposals while also applying great pressure on opponents and laying a game-high eight tackles.
Midfielders Oliver Greeves (27 disposals, one goal) and Aaron Sharkie (29 disposals) found plenty of the footy to finish among Vic Metro’s best, while defender Max Kondogiannis put up a wall in defence that Western Australia struggled to penetrate.
Midfielders Blake Kelly (29 disposals) and Fred Rodriguez (23 disposals, eight clearances) worked hard for Western Australia, while West Coast NGA prospect Tylah Williams (19 disposals, one goal) provided some excitement in attack and powerful key forward Cody Curtin booted three goals.
The match was Western Australia’s fourth and final of the championships, the side finishing its campaign with a 1-3 record.
Vic Metro now holds a 1-1 record heading into its final two matches against the Allies (July 13) and Vic Country (July 20).
SCOUTING NOTES – WESTERN AUSTRALIA v VIC METRO
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Blake Kelly
29 disposals, 4 marks, 6 tackles
On a tough day for WA, Kelly was perhaps the biggest standout through the midfield. He worked hard throughout the day, won its own footy, made good decisions with ball in hand, and brought good intensity and tackling pressure.
Tylah Williams
19 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal
A 173cm small forward who is part of West Coast’s NGA program, Williams was a standout for his side in the front half. He worked high up the ground and then got back inside-50 to take some marks. Williams took a great contested mark in the air in the final quarter, and took another mark inside-50 late in the game before playing on to kick the goal.
Fred Rodriguez
23 disposals, 8 clearances, 6 tackles
The WA skipper certainly had a crack, as he so often does. He ran hard, showed some great clearance-winning ability and ground ball wins. He’s also defensively minded and got after his opponents with tackling pressure time and again.
Sam Swadling
20 disposals, 3 marks, 1 goal
A classy front-half player, Swadling had a hand in nine of WA’s 17 scores for the game. There were a couple of untidy moments by foot, but he showed great strength to stand up in tackles and still dispose of the footy on a couple of occasions, including one in the goalsquare where he still managed to get a boot on to the ball for a second-quarter goal.
Jacob Farrow
17 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles
While not as prolific as he was in a 29-dispoal game against the Allies, Farrow was still solid and provided some run and drive from halfback. Of his 17 disposals, 14 were kicks and he used the ball well with an overall disposal efficiency of 88.2 per cent.
Charlie Banfield
18 disposals, 5 marks, 2 tackles
A father-son prospect for West Coast as the son of two-time premiership player Drew, Banfield was particularly prominent early in the contest. He had seven disposals in the first quarter along, playing mostly on a wing. Banfield also showed some good hands in the air with his overhead marking and provided some good pressure, but wasn’t as clean as he would have liked to be with a few of his disposals.
Cody Curtin
8 disposals, 5 marks, 3 goals
Playing a forward and ruck role, the powerful 200cm Curtin produced some real highlights. His contested marking was sublime, with four of his five marks for the game having been in one-on-one contests. He booted 3.1 while also missing everything from another shot from a tight angle in the pocket. But he looked to be stuck in second gear at times and didn’t get to as many contests as he perhaps could have.
Dale Sutherland
12 disposals, 5 marks, 5 tackles
It was tough going in the WA defence, with Vic Metro moving the ball end-to-end at speed. But Sutherland was one who stood out down back, with some good one-on-one defensive efforts and nice intercept marks.
VIC METRO
Oliver Greeves
27 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal
Playing onball for almost the whole game, Greeves was busy. He was good in and around contest, winning clearances and ground ball and driving the ball forward for his side. He also applied good pressure and floated forward to find space inside-50 in the third quarter, taking a mark and snapping a goal from the pocket.
Aaron Sharkie
29 disposals, 5 marks, 3 clearances
Vic Metro’s leading disposal winner on the day, Sharkie worked hard both sides of the ball. He showed good hands, won some nice ground balls and was composed and agile in traffic. He also got involved in scoring chains, registering seven score involvements.
Max Kondogiannis
21 disposals, 7 marks, 5 rebound 50s
A 190cm defender, this Oakleigh Chargers product read the ball beautifully to win eight intercept possessions. He also used the ball well coming out of the backline, providing some rebound and registering an overall disposal efficiency of 76.2 per cent.
Adam Sweid
20 disposals, 3 clearances, 8 tackles
An Essendon NGA prospect, Sweid was a largely unknown quantity coming into this year after missing his bottom-age campaign with an ACL. But recruiters haven’t missed him this season and the Bombers will need to be ready for a fairly high bid to come. Playing a midfield and forward role, Sweid was hard-at-it to win his own footy, while he also chased down opponents with hot tackling pressure.
Hussien El Achkar
15 disposals, 2 marks, 2 goals
Another highly-rated Essendon NGA prospect, El Achkar produced another strong performance on the back of a six-goal game for the Calder Cannons in the Coates Talent League the previous week. The 171cm small forward was in everything in the forward half for Vic Metro, registering 11 score involvements as he hit the scoreboard himself and also hit up others for score assists. He can sell some candy, is quick and agile, can gather a loose ball cleanly and can crumb the ball off a pack, making him a dangerous match-up. He’s exactly the type of player the Bombers need.
Thomas McGuane
19 disposals, 4 marks, 1 goal
A Collingwood father-son prospect as the son of 1990 premiership player Mick, this 178cm midfielder started on a wing while also rotating forward. McGuane showed off his quick and clean hands in congestion and some neat kicks, while also providing some run. His highlights were impressive, including a classy set shot goal on the left foot from outside 50m in the third quarter and dragging in a one-handed mark in the final term.
Zac McCarthy
11 disposals, 4 marks, 3 goals
A Collingwood NGA product, McCarthy is a highly mobile 199cm forward-ruck who showed some very promising signs after a quieter first game for Vic Metro. He got around the ground well, recorded 10 hit-outs as a back-up ruck, did some nice follow-up work around contest and flew for his marks in air. The Oakleigh Chargers tall booted three goals for the day, including one impressive one in the second quarter where he took the ball out of the ruck at a forward 50 stoppage and quickly put it on his boot for a goal.
Lachy Dovaston
18 disposals, 1 mark, 2 goals
There’s certainly a bit of Nick Watson about this 177cm small forward from the Eastern Ranges, who had an ‘almost’ type of day. He was particularly lively early, logging eight disposals and 1.1 in the opening quarter alone. A tough-nut, Dovaston kicked a second opportunistic goal in the third quarter, but missed some other chances including an absolute sitter running into an open goal in the goalsquare in the final seconds of the match.
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