WA was successful across the board in the state matches which took place over the weekend, the men securing a back-to-back victory over South Australia by six goals and the women prevailing by 92 points.

It was a second quarter shootout for the men which set them up to control the remainder of the match, kicking five goals to one in the second term.

West Perth small forward Joseph Hinder booted three majors in the yellow and black – Swan Districts’ William Reidy and Claremont’s Jaiden Hunter the only other multiple goal kickers for WA with two each.

Claremont were represented well on the state-level stage – co-captain Callan England walking away with the Simpson medal after he put up 32 disposals, seven marks, five tackles and five entries.

Zac Mainwaring was lucky enough to hit the scoreboard with a goal among his 17 touches, also recording eight marks, three tackles and five entries.

Jayme Harken was best on ground in the women’s game, putting up 31 disposals, two marks, two entries and 10 tackles to add to Claremont’s big performances over the weekend.

Callan England joined Sports Breakfast this morning.

“I think he [Adam Read] did a great job of portraying what it really means to play state footy and if you’re not desperate to represent the state in a good way, then you probably shouldn’t be putting the jersey on,” he said. 

“He kind of said in 100 years time, the team that’s representing WA then might be looking at our photo on the wall. So it’s a bit of that, you know, wanting to leave a lasting legacy on state footy and the WAFL competition in general.

“I’m pretty passionate about the WAFL competition and I want the WAFL to be the number one state league competition in the country, which I definitely think it is – and the weekend was a good example of it.”

WA were in control for the duration of the match on Saturday, with centre bounce clearances proving the difference between the sides despite a close ruck contest.

“First half I thought it was a pretty solid contest. I thought out of the centre we were dominant and in today’s game, the centre bounce is probably the most attacking position on the ground.”

“Having Jones in there, I think we were 10 centre bounce clearances to two in the first half, so it was really hard for South Australia to get territory when you’re just getting belted out of the centre like that.

“I think we were leading all the key statistics like contested possessions – I think we were plus 12 – and clearances, and if you win those two stats, most of the time you are going to win the game.”

Kane Bevan (24 disposals, 7 marks, 5 tackles, 5 i50s) is someone who has been garnering the attention of AFL recruiters throughout the WAFL season so far, and his performance in the state game might edge him closer to getting a shot at the top level.

“I said to Mitch [Woodcock] after the game… absolutely, he’s ready for AFL football.”

“This is a topic I’m actually quite passionate about because there’s so many WAFL players currently running around in the competition that, five years ago at the end of the day, just should be on an AFL list.

“You look at the bottom teams in the AFL and, you know, players in the WAFL could make more of an impact than some of the players running around in the AFL currently, so I think there has to be a bit more respect put on the WAFL and the mature age recruits… and Milan [Murdock] is a great example.”

It’s back to the WAFL this weekend with Claremont seeking to extend their undefeated streak after a bye, set to celebrate 100 years of footy in the WAFL competition on Saturday.

IMAGE: Salt Diaries / WA Football