West is best! WA crowned National U16 champs for first time since 2017

The AAMI WA Football State 16s Boys have broken a nine-year title drought after completing an undefeated AFL National Under-16s Championships campaign with a massive win over Vic Country on the Gold Coast.

The Black Swans led from start to finish in a powerful performance to prevail by 29 points – 8.15 (63) to 4.10 (34)– in wild weather at Southport’s Fankhauser Reserve.

East Fremantle midfield duo Troy Warner and Aiden Martignago continued their dominant carnival to the lead the way once again with 22 disposals apiece to go with seven clearances between them, while their Sharks teammate Jayke Taylor finally got his radar going to easily be the most impactful forward in the contest with three majors and a whopping 13 marks in a stunning display.

Warner, the younger brother of Sydney Swans pair Chad and Corey, was named the WA State 16s MVP as well as winning the Kevin Sheehan Medal best overall player in the carnival following a magnificent championships in the midfield.

Perth’s Ash Clayton worked hard on the outside and provided good run and carry and silky foot skills in tough conditions, East Fremantle pocket rocket Aiden Wilson set the tone early with two first-quarter goals and co-captain and Peel Thunder Jai Keene did his bit in multiple positions, while debutant and West Coast father-son prospect Eli Wirrpanda showed flashes of brilliance across half-back

Scoring was hard to come by in the wet and blustery conditions at Southport before Wilson, who was red-hot early with five disposals in as many minutes, booted a stunning long-range goal to kickstart WA’s day.

Taylor, who had an almost game earlier in the week against Vic Metro when he took 10 marks but could only manage 0.6, then broke his goal drought with a shot from point-blank range.

 

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After a slow start, Vic Country did some attacking of their own late in the opening term to cut the margin back to within a straight kick before Wilson’s brilliant goal on the run made it a 12-point buffer at quarter-time.

Wilson was up to a game-high eight disposals by the first change, with co-captain Warner and fellow in-form Shark Martignago also in the thick of it with six apiece.

The Vics had the assistance of the breeze in the second and slotted through an early goal to make it a single-digit game once again.

Subiaco key back Toby McLaren had some excellent moments in defence, reading the play well and showcasing his excellent set of hands.

At the other end, West Perth small forward Josh Oldroyd – who impressed against Vic Metro with two first-quarter goals – kicked a classy snap from the pocket against the run of play.

Warner was in absolutely everything, laying massive tackles and finding plenty of the footy all over the ground with his elite work rate and physicality standing out.

Labelled the team’s ‘Mr Fixit’ by coach Michael Glassborow during the week after having to play a variety of positions throughout the carnival, Keene kicked an important major late in the half before Taylor nailed his second and WA’s third in a row to stretch out the lead to 28 points at half-time.

WA’s defence was under siege early in the second half but held up well.

It was a low-scoring affair in the third term but WA still managed to increase their buffer to 35 by three-quarter time with Claremont tall Sam Gooch hitting the scoreboard and Taylor continuing his purple patch with a third major.

The gap was always going to be a difficult ask for Vic Country to bridge, with WA holding on comfortably for their first national title since 2017.

SCOREBOARD

West Aust 3.3 6.8 8.13 8.15 (63)

Vic Country 1.3 2.4 3.8 4.10 (34)

WA goals: J Taylor 3, A Wilson 2, J Oldroyd, J Keene, S Gooch

WA best: J Taylor, A Martignago, A Clayton, T Warner, A Wilson, J Keene, T McLaren