In what was his best WAFL game this year, the lightly-framed Walters had 28 possessions and kicked two goals as Swan Districts drew with ladder leader Claremont.
The 19-year-old, who was recruited by Fremantle with pick No.53 at the 2008 NAB AFL Draft, was named WAFL player of the round and will be discussed at selection ahead of Sunday’s western derby.
Byron Schammer, Clayton Hinkley and Ryan Murphy, who booted five match-winning goals for South Fremantle, were other solid performers in round 18 of the state competition.
Ahead of this week’s fixtures, senior development coach Simon Lloyd shared his WAFL notes with fremantlefc.com.au.
Subiaco 15.11 (101) lost to South Fremantle 18.12 (120)
Ryan Murphy
Ryan played full-forward with short stints at centre half-forward and he had a good game, kicking five goals. In the last quarter when the team was under a lot of pressure he put his hand up and kicked three goals to get Souths over the line. He took a good contested mark in the first quarter on the wing and he led really well. He stood up when he needed to stand up.
Swan Districts 14.8 (92) drew with Claremont 13.14 (92)
Michael Walters
Michael played the best all-round game we’ve seen him play, winning 28 possessions, kicking two goals and showing some real class. He worked hard both offensively and defensively, and his skills and intent were very good. He’s started to put those four-quarter efforts together and he isn’t drifting in and out of games.
Clayton Hinkley
Clayton went to Luke Blackwell early, and while he was accountable for his opponent he was very proactive in working off and he got on the end of play quite a bit. He used the ball well, showed some really good positioning through the corridor and won a lot of possessions as a result. He also got caught down back at one stage and won three from three contests down there.
Byron Schammer
Byron was really sharp and switched on, particularly early in the game, and he had a high work-rate all over the ground. He showed some good transition running and he was very clean in close by hand. He came back on after copping a knock and had a big last quarter.
Perth 5.3 (36) lost to East Perth 22.21 (153)
Joel Houghton
Joel played centre half-forward for the majority of the day and had Luke Sampey as his opponent. At one stage he had a 10-minute stint at full-back on Zac Clarke, when Casey Sibosado went off the ground, and he competed okay. He set the benchmark for himself last week, and he fell away from that this week, but we’ll get him back there.
Casey Sibosado
Casey started at full-back on Zac Clarke and played deep until he came off five minutes into the third quarter with a leg injury, which will need to be assessed through the week. He had a good duel with Zac and his skills were very good by foot, as usual. He did well in the one-on-one contests and was able to work his opponent under the ball.
Justin Bollenhagen
Justin played half-forward all day, which was really tough when his team was getting beaten convincingly. He had a really good third quarter and his use of the football was all class, always taking the more creative option. He led up at the ball carrier well and was really the only target Perth had, so he had to adjust his game.
Tim Ruffles
Tim played mainly half-forward but didn’t have a great deal of influence in the first half. He worked hard and timed his run well to get front and square, but the ball just didn’t fall his way. He copped a knock to his knee and didn’t come back on after half time. Similar to most players coming back from a serious knee injury, he’s feeling his way, but he’s a quality player.
Zac Clarke
Zac played mainly forward again and spent about five to seven minutes in the ruck each quarter. A bit like last week, he gave himself plenty of opportunities and led to the right spots but failed to capitalise. He had a really good third quarter, where he kicked 1.1 and had a hand in four other scores. He set up a good goal with a hit-out at a forward-50 stoppage.
West Perth 28.11 (179) d Peel Thunder 7.13 (55)
Brock O’Brien
Brock played across half-back, at half-forward and spent a short time on the wing. Compared to the last couple of weeks Brock had a quiet game in a side that was obviously well beaten. His game time was increased, and at times his attack on the ball was fantastic. He played on a dangerous small forward, who had very little influence on the result.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
