EGT Young Talent Time: Jack Clarke Medal thriller as Dogs, Tigers do battle in colts deciderWednesday, September 17, 2025 - 4:16 PM - by Denholm Melrose

Each week we are shining the spotlight on some of the young WA talent that has been in brilliant form at WAFL level in the lead up to November’s AFL draft.

Whether its WAFLW, Hart Sport Rogers Cup, Sullivan Logistics WAFL, EGT WAFL Colts top-agers, bottom-agers or Futures, there is talent bursting at the seams and in this week’s edition of Young Talent Time, we take a look at some of the under 18s talent who caught our eye and impressed during the third week of the WAFL Finals Series.

Jack Clarke Medal one of the closest counts imaginable

Just four votes separated first and 10th in the Jack Clarke Medal count on Monday night, leading to tied winners for the first time since the three-way tie in 1995.

In the end South Fremantle’s Toby Whan and East Fremantle’s Tom Grylls were victorious, unable to be split on 15 votes.

Neither winner polled in the final round, Whan picking up one vote in Round 18 and Round 19 to tie with Grylls

For Grylls, he joins Declan Pauline as back-to-back winners from East Fremantle in a heartwarming story after two ACL injuries in his last three seasons, whilst Whan’s accomplishment is commendable given he played just 11 games.

West Perth’s Sam Swadling finished in third, just one vote behind the leaders after picking up a best-on-ground, three-vote performance in the final game of the season. Swadling played just nine games in 2025 at Colts level but averaged a whopping 35.4 disposals per game.

One vote behind Swadling there was a four-way-tie for fourth place including West Perth’s Judd Marcello and South Fremantle’s Fred Rodriguez.

Jack Clarke Medal - leaderboard

15 votes: Toby Whan (South Fremantle),Tom Grylls (East Fremantle)

14: Sam Swadling (West Perth)

13: Judd Marcello (West Perth), Fred Rodriguez (South Fremantle), Nathan Cameron (Perth), Dylan Prance (Subiaco)

12: Max Hansen-Knarhoi (Claremont), Kaiden Summerell (East Fremantle)

11: Blake Kelly (Swan Districts)

Bottom-Age Tigers Show Out in Prelim

Claremont’s Colts side has advanced to its sixth Grand Final in seven years, and they look likely to feature heavily in proceedings again next year as they were led by a trio of bottom-age prospects. 17-year-old Heath Mellody (28 disposals, five marks, five tackles) and 16-year-olds Benji van Rooyen (17 disposals, 34 hitouts, seven tackles) and Harper Banfield (17 disposals, 11 tackles) were all outstanding in Sunday’s preliminary final win over East Fremantle, proving the Tigers’ Colts longevity once again reigns supreme.

Last season’s premiership win featured bottom-agers Oscar Willis, Charlie Banfield, Max-Hansen Knarhoi, Joshua Grahame and Cody Curtin, all of whom played a part in this year’s squad.

Star-studded midfields to do battle in Grand Final

South Fremantle contain one of the most talented midfields the Colts competition has ever seen, with State 18s captain Fred Rodriguez, Jack Clarke Medallist Toby Whan and WA Under-16s MVP Lucas Robinson.

The trio have each had superb individual seasons and are working brilliantly off each other in the Bulldogs’ engine room, combining for 82 disposals in their Second Semi-Final win over the Sharks from which they advanced to the big dance.

On the opposing side, Charlie Banfield is in elite form, averaging 24.6 disposals, 5.4 tackles and a goal per game in his last five appearances.

The same can be said for Max Hansen-Knarhoi, who was rewarded for his impressive season with a top ten finish in the Jack Clarke Medal on Monday night.

It’s going to be a sight to behold to watch these two midfields pit against each other in front of a big Optus Stadium crowd, just as it will be to see EGT WAFL Team of the Year members Cody Curtin and Lucas Cattalini do battle and Benji van Rooyen and Byron Foster tussle in the ruck. Jacob Donald and Joseph Hopkyns will be others to watch who could set the ground alight on Grand Final day.