WAFL players impress at National Draft CombineWednesday, October 9, 2013 - 11:32 AM

WAFL players set new records at the NAB AFL National Draft Combine in Melbourne last week, with a group of 22 setting the benchmark for Western Australia during testing at Edithad Stadium.

WA young gun Jonathan Marsh (East Fremantle, Tall Forward) set the pace in the 20m sprint with a record breaking 2.78 seconds – the second fastest time ever in the 20 years of the National Combine behind the 2.75 second time set by Gold Coast player Joel Wilkinson in 2010.

Nick Robertson (West Perth, Medium Midfielder) finished the 3km time trial in an impressive 9 minutes 46 seconds, which was the third fastest run ever, beating the time of former team mate Bradley Hill (Hawthorn / West Perth) who completed it in 9 minutes 52 seconds in 2011.

The Agility test saw four of the top 10 times come from West Australians – Richard Bourne 8.15sec (East Fremantle, Forward / Wingman ), Dylan Main 8.25sec (South Fremantle, Medium Forward), Dayle Garlett 8.29 sec (Swans, Medium Forward) and Tom Barrass 8.32 (Claremont, Tall Defender). However no one came close to Stephen Hill’s (Fremantle / West Perth) record 7.77sec time from 2008.

WA was also well represented in the big man area, with the three tallest players at the National Combine all coming from the WAFL. Rory Lobb, 205cm (Swan Districts), Darcy Cameron, 204cm (Claremont) and Scott Jones, 204cm (East Perth) have all been listed in the top 10 tallest players ever to be tested at a National Combine.

Darcy Cameron also scored 28/30 to finish second overall in the Nathan Buckley Kicking Test in a unique result for a ruckman – a feat that has never been achieved before by a player of his stature at the National Combine.

WAFL Talent Manager Raff Guadagnino said that in addition to the outstanding performances by WA on the track, the mental toughness and maturity of Dom Sheed, Blake Acres and Cameron McCarthy in returning from injuries was outstanding.

“Dom, Blake and Cameron did their best in the physical testing and supported the rest of the group during the week. Their attitude and commitment was a true indication of outstanding character as each of them put their teammates before themselves,” he said.

“The WA football community should be proud of each player’s achievements over the past week as they have undergone many gruelling interviews, medical assessments and physical tests to prove to AFL clubs that they are ready to take their football to the next level.

Another 12 WA players have been invited to attend screening at the State Draft Combine on Sunday, October 13.

WA State Combine Invites

Brenden Abbott – Claremont

Josh Cuneo – East Fremantle

Brent Edmonds – Perth

Matthew Johnson – West Perth

Tim Kelly – South Fremantle

Ryan Lester-Smith – East Fremantle

Francis Watson – Claremont

Rowen Powell – Claremont

Ian Richardson – Claremont

Willy Rioli – South Fremantle

Thomas Shanahan – East Perth

Ben Sokol – South Fremantle