Lee to captain WA, Ames and Bevan his deputies

EAST Perth co-captain Brendan Lee has not only been added to the WAFL’s squad to face the NEAFL this Saturday in Sydney, but he has been named captain with Swan Districts’ full-back Tallan Ames and Perth utility Paul Bevan his vice-captains.

Lee was not included in the original squad having missed the first six games of the 2014 season with a nasty finger injury that required surgery, but his performances in his first two games back saw him suddenly rocket into contention.

And then factoring in that he has won fairest and best awards at whatever club he has been playing at the last three years, and is an outstanding leader and ball-winner, he soon became a strong choice to be captain of WA for Saturday’s clash.

The WAFL team will face the NEAFL representative side at Blacktown in Sydney on Saturday. The NEAFL team will be made up of players from Sydney clubs, Queensland clubs and the Northern Territory Thunder.

Lee made his league debut with East Perth back in 2007, but it wasn’t until 2010 when he cemented himself in the Royals’ line-up and he has been one of, if not the, outstanding midfielder in the competition since.

The now 26-year-old won East Perth’s fairest and best award in 2011 and then spent 2012 in the AFL with Essendon where he won the Bendigo Bombers best and fairest in the VFL, and then on return to the Royals last year he again won the fairest and best in the team that made the grand final.

Lee missed the first six games of 2014 with a finger injury, but picked up 63 possessions in his two games back in wins for East Perth over East Fremantle and Claremont.

He now has been picked for his third appearance for WA and will be the captain up against the NEAFL.

Meanwhile, Swan Districts’ captain and full-back Ames will be vice-captain as he prepares to play for WA for the fourth-time and he has been announced as vice-captain just weeks after notching his 200th WAFL club for the league-leading Swans.

The other WA vice-captain is a man no stranger to playing in Sydney. Perth skipper Bevan will be representing WA for the second straight year following his 129-game AFL career with the Sydney Swans which included the 2005 premiership.

Players who are now out of the original 30-man squad for a variety of reasons are East Fremantle’s Rory O’Brien and Brock O’Brien, East Perth’s Paul Johnson, Subiaco’s Lachlan Delahunty, Chris Phelan and Wayde Twomey, and perhaps most surprisingly Swan Districts’ Justin Simpson.

Despite outstanding form this season, Peel’s Brendon Jones, Perth’s Dene White, South Fremantle’s Dylan Ross, Swan Districts’ Matthew Rogers, Kirk Ugle and Matthew Jukes, and West Perth’s Aaron Black haven’t received a look in.

In the absence of big men Johnson and Delahunty, West Perth’s Chris Keunen will lead the rucking duties with support from Swan Districts’ Tony Notte and Keunen’s Falcons premiership teammate Nick Rodda.

WAFL SQUAD
Claremont – Luke Blackwell
East Fremantle – Bradd Dalziell, Steven Dodd, Tom Howlett, Jamie McNamara, Andrew Stephen
East Perth – Brendan Lee
Perth – Paul Bevan
South Fremantle – Ryan Cook, Ashton Hams, Ben Saunders, Haiden Schloithe
Subiaco – Chris Deluca, George Hampson
Swan Districts – Tallan Ames, Blaine Boekhorst, Ryan Davis, Tony Notte
West Perth – Jordan Jones, Chris Keunen, Kody Manning, Shane Nelson, Laine Rasmussen, Nick Rodda, Jay van Berlo