Yarran pushes for AFL future, Halligan makes up for heartbreakMonday, October 5, 2015 - 10:25 PM - by Chris Pike

SHANE Yarran took another step towards a potential AFL future with a starring performance in Subiaco's second consecutive WAFL premiership while for Kyle Halligan, he was just glad to be part of it after missing out 12 months prior.

Yarran has now played two seasons of WAFL football with the Lions and has two premiership medallions to show for it along with having represented Western Australia and winning this year's Bernie Naylor Medal as the league's leading goal kicker.

Following an exciting first season in the WAFL in 2014 where he kicked 39 goals in 20 matches to help Subiaco to the premiership, Yarran took it to another level in 2015 and it all began by playing for the Indigenous All Stars in an AFL pre-season hit out against the West Coast Eagles.

He then began the season for Subiaco on fire kicking 29 goals in his first six matches before going on to kick 46 for the home and away campaign to claim the Bernie Naylor Medal while playing in the WAFL's win over South Australia along the way.

Yarran then turned it on in Subiaco's 66-point grand final win over West Perth at Domain Stadium with five goals up until the 12-minute mark of the third quarter.

The only downside was the 26-year-old hurting his knee late in the game, but assuming that pulls up OK then he is looking forward to what might lie ahead in terms of an AFL future. Straight after the grand final, though, he just wanted to share the experience with his daughter.

"It's an unbelievable feeling. The emotions now you can't explain and to go back-to-back, and for us all to play the roles and to the structures that Schoey (Jarrad Schofield) sets, these are the results you achieve," Yarran told Channel 7 after the grand final.

"It's very special to share it with my daughter and all I wanted to do was hold her, but I was a bit limited in what I could do because of my knee.

"We'll just go and get some scans, and take it slowly on the knee. We just focused on winning first, then celebrating and then I'll worry about that."

While Yarran had experienced the premiership the year before as well, for his forward-line partner Halligan he was just excited to be part of it after missing out in 2014.

Halligan was called into the Lions team for last year's preliminary final against East Fremantle and played strongly with 18 possessions and two goals, but with captain Kyal Horsley, reigning fairest and best winner George Hampson and full-forward Matt Boland all returning for the decider, he was one of three that were unlucky to miss out.

The now 21-year-old used that to spur him on coming into 2015 and from Round 8 onwards, he became a permanent part in the Subiaco forward-line and a forward that opposition teams had to watch carefully, but had trouble curtailing.

Halligan kicked 22 goals in the last eight matches of the home and away season, including booting six in Round 21 against Perth, and then he kicked two goals in both Subiaco's 55-point second semi-final and 66-point grand final victory over West Perth.

He was one of nine Subiaco players to become a premiership player for the first time and he was delighted to be part of it after being desperately unlucky to not have been the year before.

"It means the world to me. I was pretty disappointed I got dropped last year and I just wanted to make sure this year I earned my spot. I had to work really hard for it but it's now an unbelievable feeling," Halligan told 720 ABC Perth after the game.

"It was a pretty tough game and we knew what we were coming up against. West Perth aren’t an easy side, but we knew if we stuck to our structures and played the footy, we knew we would get on top eventually and that's what happened. We are a pretty close bunch and we've got pretty good chemistry with each other, and that helps us keep performing every week."