WA Football Boys Summer Squad selected featuring EGT WAFL Colts young guns

The WA Football Boys Summer Squad talent program has been selected, featuring the State’s best young footballers hoping to realise their AFL dreams over the next couple of years.

The squad features the best 2026 and 2027 AFL Draft prospects, highlighted by seven Claremont premiership players from last month’s EGT WAFL Colts Grand Final at Optus Stadium.

The Tigers are the equal-best represented team with nine players, the same amount as East Fremantle which made the colts preliminary final this season.

Eight players in the squad – including Claremont premiership trio Benji van Rooyen and midfielders Heath Mellody and George Gale – played in the annual AFL Futures Game on grand final day at the MCG.

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Each of the nine WAFL Colts teams are represented in the 45-player squad, which will begin a three-month training program next week.

This year’s State 16s squad will also be well represented including co-captains Axel Walsh (East Perth) and Hunter Hearn (East Fremantle) and MVP winner James Artemis of East Fremantle.

“We’ve got an exciting group of 2026 and 2027 prospects here who have already shown some promising signs at EGT WAFL Colts level as well as in our previous State 18s and 16s talent programs,” WA Football’s State Talent Manager Adam Jones said.

“We had 11 players feature in the colts grand final at Optus Stadium last month as bottom-agers including seven in the premiership-winning Claremont team, while several were picked in the annual AFL Futures game at the MCG on AFL Grand Final day the following week.

“We’ve also got over-agers like East Fremantle ruck Cooper Ramsay who was part of our WA under-18s squad this season and invited to the recent WA State Draft Combine, but hasn’t been able to get on the park due to injury and will really benefit from another year in our program.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how this group progresses over the summer as they look to give themselves the best opportunity to get drafted over the next couple of years.”

WA Football’s Girls Summer Squad is set to be finalised in the coming week.