Nelson and Black shine on grand final stageSaturday, September 28, 2013 - 11:52 AM - by Chris Pike

WEST Perth youngsters Shane Nelson and Aaron Black have answered every challenge the last two years leading up to starring in the 2013 grand final and their teammates and coach hope it can now lead them onto the next level.

Twenty-year-old midfielder Nelson had a breakout 2012 season and consolidated and built on that with an outstanding and consistent 2013, and then put together one of the very best grand finals from a youngster in the win over East Perth.

He was perhaps unlucky to be just edged out for the Simpson Medal by fellow midfielder Mark Hutchings after being simply brilliant with the conditions allowing him to showcase his ability to win the ball in close and feed it out to his running midfielders, and to dominate at the stoppages.

He finished the grand final with a team-high 36 possessions and an incredible 13 clearances of which seven came from centre bounces.

He also drove the ball inside-50 on six occasions and kicked a terrific goal from outside 50 with the advantage of the wind at the 31-minute mark of the final quarter with the Falcons in full celebration mode.

West Perth coach Bill Monaghan has no doubt that with Nelson's ball winning ability, hard work and dedication to improve, that he will receive an opportunity from an AFL before too long.

"He is an outstanding player. Whilst there are always people who think there are areas that he can improve in, for him to do that in the big stage of a grand final against mature bodies in conditions that probably don't necessarily suit his physique, he is an absolute ripper," Monaghan said.

"We think that his weight of numbers will eventually get an AFL club to say they have to pick him up whether that's this year, next year or in five years time. You can't underestimate 36 touches in a grand final.

"People find fault in some of the touches he has, but some of his work inside and the cleanness of his hands, and his ability to get himself out of traffic is outstanding.

"All he can do is keep doing what he does well and hopefully Shane will be keen to keep improving on the areas he needs to brush up on, and that's our job to help him through that. He's a kid who will continue to improve."

Black is also just 20 years of age having already now played 63 league games already for West Perth and now can call himself a premiership player before his 21st birthday on Christmas Day later this year.

Black had an outstanding 2013 season which saw him also represent Western Australia in the state game win over Victoria in Northam, and he had another outstanding game in the grand final.

He finished the grand final with 23 possessions and four clearances as he continues to build his reputation as one of the very best emerging talents in the WAFL.

Jason Salecic is now a dual premiership player with West Perth and a premiership captain, and he was especially happy to see Black perform well on the big stage, and has no doubt that he and Nelson both deserve an opportunity in the AFL.

"These young blokes have come up through our colts and I've had a lot to do with Blacky, and I'm happy for him and hopefully he can go on further," Salecic said.

"The same with Nelly and whenever they've been challenged they stand up and they showed again in the grand final how good they are. I hope they get an opportunity at a higher level because they are high quality players to start with, and high quality people to go with that."

West Perth midfielder Matt Guadagnin became one of the most heart-warming stories of grand final day winning a premiership in his 162nd game for the Falcons, and he was delighted to share it with youngsters like not only Nelson and Black, but also Kody Manning and Nick Rodda.

"He (Nelson) was unbelievable and he's been great the whole year as have our other young players like Blacky, Kody and Rodds," Guadagnin said.

"That's why we've been such a good team because everyone has played their role no matter if they are in their first or 12th year. Everyone has done what they have needed to do and that's why we are a premiership side."

Luke Tedesco also played his 105th match in the grand final with the tough defender getting himself right to go after overcoming a calf injury, and he can't help but admire the work of Black and Nelson and the results of that dedication are of no surprise to him.

"Those two guys have got an amazing amount of talent, but they are also such hard workers," Tedesco said.

"It really is a reward for effort for those two boys as well and I hope there is bigger things to come for them as well."

Jordan Jones has been another crucial addition to West Perth over the past 18 months helping the Falcons become a premiership team.

He spent three years on an AFL list with West Coast and played two matches with the Eagles so he knows what it takes to get to the next level, and with the year he's had in 2013 he might still get drafted again, but he can't help but marvel at the efforts of Nelson as well.

"He is a great young kid and he's only going to keep getting better and better, so that's pretty scary," Jones said.