WAFL clubs rule the roost in the recruiting stakesThursday, November 21, 2013 - 10:14 AM - by Miles Wilks

WAFL clubs Claremont and East Fremantle are the top clubs in the country for the recruitment of players to the AFL since the draft began in 1986.

In total, 80 players from Claremont and 79 players from East Fremantle have made the journey from their respective WAFL clubs to play in the AFL.

Although Victorian clubs such as the Calder Cannons and Murray Bushrangers would like to be considered the top clubs in the country, at this stage Western Australian clubs rule the roost in recruiting with the highest number of draftees going on to play AFL.

The top 10 clubs for producing AFL players since drafting began in 1986 are:

Note: Claremont players have been drafted since the first draft of 1986. TAC Cup clubs in Victoria weren’t established for the most part until the early 1990s. These figures are based on players who have played AFL football, and excludes players who were drafted but didn’t play an AFL game.

Why Claremont is the number 1 club in the country:

The boom time in recruitment from Claremont occurred in the 1980s and early 1990s and it was partly fuelled by the introduction of the West Coast Eagles in 1987. Yet it was also largely due to the success of the Claremont football club in the WAFL during this period of time (Claremont won flags in 1987, 1989, 1991 & 1993 and was runner-up in 1988, 1990  & 1994).

The demand for Claremont players during this period of time was such that in the 1991 national draft selections 1, 3, 4, 5 were taken by Claremont players. Claremont remains the only club anywhere in Australia to have four players selected in the top five of any national draft.

Those players were John Hutton (18 games- Brisbane); Darren Kowal (105 games – Melbourne); Andrew McGovern (83 games- Sydney & Fremantle); James Norrish (148 games – Melbourne & Fremantle); Paul Burton (no games).

Although Claremont is number one in the country right now, their standing is under threat as Victorian clubs, the Calder Cannons and the Geelong Falcons in particular, are hot on their heels and recruiting numbers in recent years have been greater. Only eight players from Claremont have debuted in the AFL since 2010, yet as many as 16 from the Calder Cannons have debuted in that period of time.

Yet there is a lot to be proud of from a Claremont viewpoint in terms of the impact of their players on the AFL. This is best demonstrated by the fact that as many as 16 ex-Claremont players have obtained premiership success in the VFL/AFL.

If one includes the pre-draft period, then the first player from Claremont to obtain premiership succes in the VFL/AFL was Geelong’s George Moloney in 1931. The next Claremont player to taste premiership success was Carlton’s Ken Hunter, 50 years after Moloney. Hunter is arguably the best player ever recruited from Claremont if judgement is based on a player’s impact in finals.

Hunter was best on ground or at the very least close to best on ground in the 1982 grand final depending on the way one analyses football matches. He also obtained best on ground votes for the 1981 grand final and set Carlton on the way to victory with a strong first quarter performance in the 1987 decider. Another Carlton (and Claremont) player, Ross Ditchburn, saluted in the 1982 grand final.

After drafting began and the West Coast Eagles entered the competition there was a sharp increase in the amount of Western Australian players who featured in AFL premiership teams. Of course more Claremont players have featured in West Coast premiership teams than with any other club.

Don Pyke, Chris Lewis, Guy McKenna, Tony Evans, Paul Harding, Brett Jones, Ashley McIntosh, Ryan Turnbull, Rowan Jones have all represented the Eagles in premiership victories. Hawthorn’s Ben Allan, Collingwood’s Harry O’Brien & Allan Toovey & Sydney’s Mitch Morton in 2012 are the others to have saluted on grand final day.

Number one draft selections from Claremont:

1991 - John Hutton - Brisbane (36 games)

1996 - Michael Gardiner - West Coast/St Kilda (181 games)

Claremont players in line for selection in the 2013 draft:

Tom Barass

Barass is a key defender who captained Claremont’s colt’s and played at the national

championships. Key stat: Averaged a disposal efficiency of 78.4% in the WAFL Colts.

Darcy Cameron

Cameron is a  very agile ruckman. He played four games in the national championships and 16 at Colts level for Claremont.

Key stat: Cameron has kicked as many as 18 goals at Colts level in 2013.

- Miles Wilks