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Reverse Draw: How your club fared

East Perth, finishing at the bottom of the WAFL ladder in 2008 will be looking to climb up the well to regain some respect from the competition, and the inclusion of two young Victorians won’t do any harm.

Royals fans are likely to see a bit of the development from Luke Schuey and a lot from Zach Clarke. The former an in and under ball magnet who has pace to burn over the short distances, who will no doubt enjoy the contest of WAFL football, and the hard grounds to scoot across from stopage to stopage. The question may be for Royal fans, just how much they get to see of him.

Zac Clarke may be a little more likely to understand a few more of the nuances of the Royal’s. He comes to the Dockers a giant, 202cm tall with plenty of bulking up to do. His 85kg frame has some filling left, but he’ll remain a tough task to climb over while that side of his game is developing. Both Clarke and Schuey played for the Oakley Charges in Victoria, so they’ll have one familiar face when they park the car at Medibank Stadium.

Roger Kerr took a team that was halved, quartered, and pillaged over the pre season, he picked up the pieces, and one by one started to mould a side that resembled a competitive football club. The tigers were ‘o so close on numerous occasions in 2008, and the inclusion of a few young AFL listed players won’t do any harm.
Nicholas Suban will bring a great combination of skill and hardness. He’s a young man who was selected in the all Australian U18 side, and is likely to make the right decision at the right time. Given the amount of tight finishes the Tigers had last year, if the Eagles give him some time, might just be the sort of player to make a difference to the win/loss ratio at the end of the year for Claremont.

Ben Bucavaz will join Suban in the tigers lair when the Dockers aren’t calling, and if environment breeds success, Bucavaz is in a pretty handy position. He hails from Geelong, and is reputed to kick the footy really well, not only for field position, but in front of goal as well. Being young, and possessing genuine flexibility, likely to be tried at both ends of the ground.

The Demons were flying high in June, half a game clear in second spot, and Eftel Oval was hopping with excitement. A new coach, a new feel, and the excitement starts to bubble again…throw Ashley Smith and Tim Ruffles into the mix too.

Smith is a line breaker, one of those blokes who moves the footy a long way every time he gets it, a long kick and an impressive 20m sprint and 30m repeat sprints might see him play through defence and released onto the ball.

His new team mate Tim Ruffles is likely to be a slippery customer too. At 180cm tall, and just 66kg, he’s unlikely to do much physical damage, at the same time, he might just slip through a few gaps when you least expect him too. A midfielder who knows his way around the forward 50, expect Ruffle’s highlight package to excite.

Peel will be hoping to add to their record 8 wins from last year, and the inclusion of Jordan Jones will please Chris Waterman and his team. Jones has played both defence and a little through the midfield, he’s known for an honest attack on the footy who keeps his eye on the ball regardless of the oncoming traffic. Pretty competent above his head, and hailing from ocean grove on the coast of Victoria, it shouldn’t take him long to adjust to his new setting. These blokes that are strong underneath a high ball tend to gain respect from their team mates fairly quickly.

East Fremantle gained Chris Hall, who is the only non Victorian draftee to join the Western footy scene. He’s from South Australia, he’s useful in tight spaces, and has no issue putting his body in a position where other’s might not. Look for a releasing handball when everyone’s going the other way.

Ricky