Double Honour For State DebutantWednesday, May 14, 2025 - 11:09 AM

East Perth Co-Captain Christian Ameduri will complete a rare double when he makes his state debut and leads the Kia WA side against South Australia in Saturday’s match at the Adelaide Oval.

Ameduri was last night named captain of the Kia WA team in a decision which came out of the blue for the 25 year-old.

“Coach Adam Read got everyone into the meeting room before training and said he had an important announcement to make,” Ameduri said.

“I had no idea that he was about to announce who the captain was but once the announcement was made in front of all the boys I was very surprised.

“We have a lot of AFL and WAFL experience in the team so I'll have a lot of help around me and to be recognised to lead the team is an honour and a challenge I'm excited for.”

Ameduri has played 91 WAFL matches and been co-captain of the Royals since 2023.

“First and foremost I'm just focused on playing my role for the team and the leadership role will just come natural to me,” he said.

“It will be challenging leading a team of boys I've never played with before but I'm hoping to lean on the experience in our group to get the most out of ourselves.

“I'm confident that the experiences I've had as a co-captain at East Perth will help me and guide me through whatever challenges arise, especially in a high stakes game.

“The important thing is to not get caught up in the emotion of a big game and lead in a natural way.”

Last year, the Kia WA was beaten by South Australia at Optus Stadium by 63 points, but a new look squad with a new coach brings fresh optimism.

“I'm very confident under Adam’s leadership that we have a group that can win this game,” Ameduri said.

“There's a lot of lads playing their first game at State level so it'll be a new and unique situation for a large chunk of the team but the talent we have is unquestionable.

“Looking at our squad, the strength is evident and the confidence is sky high that we can knock off SA away from home.”