Around The Leagues: Players on the move in the WAFL, our Sharks in SWFL, and big names at Borden X Cup

The Advertiser brings you Around The Leagues, taking a look at football stories from players and personalities from the Great Southern, Ongerup and Upper Great Southern regions. All the changes and shifting names for WAFL opening round Teams have dropped for the opening round of the WAFL season and there is a host of Great Southern, Ongerup and Upper Great Southern players named in their respective sides. There have been a number of Great Southern-raised players who have changed clubs in the off-season, evident in the team selections for round one. Key defender Jacob Blight, who hails from Railways, gets an immediate opportunity for his new club, Peel Thunder. Blight made seven league appearances for Claremont, four of those coming last season, but he struggled for opportunities in the second half of the year. The 21-year-old has been named in the back pocket for the Thunder, among a defensive unit that contains Fremantle-listed players Joel Hamling and Corey Wagner. The Thunder take on East Fremantle at Lane Group Stadium on Friday afternoon. Royals junior and rising forward Tom Edwards will start at centre-half-forward for Swan Districts in their Good Friday clash with East Perth. Edwards had a breakout season in 2022 with Swans, kicking 20 goals in 17 league games. The 22-year-old also won the WAFL Mark of the Year competition last season. Named in the forward half, alongside Edwards, will be the returning Jarrod Cameron. Cameron played 12 games with West Coast before injury cut his time short in the AFL system. He then spent last season in the Upper Great Southern Football League, playing a leading role in the Boddington Eagles winning a premiership. Cameron rediscovered his love for footy during the country stint, sparking his return to the WAFL. The Swans and Royals match will also feature Great Southern ball winner Alex Pearce. Pearce has made the move from Claremont to the Royals for the new WAFL season. The 21-year-old played seven league games for the Tigers last year but was dropped to the reserves for the finals. Pearce has been named on the wing for his club debut. Claremont and West Perth will kick off the Good Friday action with three Great Southern players named in the Tigers league side. Small forward Tyron Smallwood, who played with Royals and Albany, and Borden-raised defender Anthony Davis, have both been named in the starting 18. North Albany’s Talon Delacey will start on the interchange in the Tigers league side while Railways junior Bailey Bennett has been named as an emergency. The Tigers announced this week that former North Albany midfielder Declan Mountford will captain their league team again this season. However, Mountford will be missing from the round one side. Bennett is the sole Great Southern player in the Tigers reserves side while hard-running midfielder Ryley Valli will play in the Tigers colts season opener. Valli spent time at Royals before winning a league premiership with Railways last year and has been named in the centre for the season opener. Albany’s Luke Mowaljarlai Jr is now with Swan Districts and has been named in a forward pocket for their colts team, after spending last season with the Tigers. Ex-Railways and Albany forward Henrick Alforque has made the switch to Swans as well after managing only five reserves games with Claremont in 2022. Alforque will start in the forward line in his first official appearance for Swans. Royals junior Tyreice Brown has been listed as an emergency in the Swans reserves side. Brookton-Pingelly’s Tom Blechynden will line up for South Fremantle on the wing in their league clash with the West Coast Eagles at Fremantle Community Bank Oval. Upper Great Southern pair Jarrad Doney and Jarrod Salmeri are part of an extended bench for the Bulldogs. For the Eagles, ex-North Albany player Rhett Lloyd is in line to play for the Eagles WAFL side in round one after being named on the extended bench. On Saturday night, Ongerup’s Angus Dewar will be part of Subacio’s league side that tackles Perth. Corey Hitchcock, who has made the switch across from Perth, is set to play against his former teammates after being named on the extended interchange. Zach Jackson, Kleemann medallist in the GSFL last season and the older brother of Fremantle young gun Luke Jackson, will make his return to the WAFL. Jackson has been named on a wing for the Demons reserves team after his one-year country stint. Familiar faces part of new Sharks outfit Two familiar faces appeared in the historic first league side for the Dunsborough Sharks last Sunday. The Sharks are a new club in the South West Football League and, after the opening round bye, fielded their first-ever league team on April 2. Ex-Royals midfielder Darcy Reader, who has been playing with Curtin Uni Wesley in the Perth Football League, ran out in the inaugural Sharks side. Reader is good mates with Sharks big name signing and ex-Eagle Pat McGinnity. Former Denmark-Walpole star Shayne Zanetti was also part of the Sharks side and kicked a goal in the 100-point loss to Donnybrook. Zanetti was a star for several seasons in the Great Southern Football League before departing the Magpies at the end of 2021 and spent last year playing for the Mandurah Mustangs. Big names take part in Borden X Cup There was some great games of AFLX played in the popular Borden X Cup last Saturday. Ravensthorpe and Districts, Gibson, Royals, Railways, North Albany, Gnowangerup, Jerramungup and Boxwood Hill played in the competition. Gibson took home the $3000 prize back home to Esperance after a last-gasp win over reigning GSFL premiers Railways. Logan Stubber, winner of the Kleemann Medal in 2019, was named best on ground in the final. Jordan McAllister, who spent time with Claremont in the WAFL, pulled on the boots for Ravensthorpe and Districts. Another big name to grace the pre-season competition was powerful Claremont forward Timm House. House played for his home club Gnowangerup and was in terrific touch with strong marking and booming super goals on display throughout the day. Got a footy story from our region to share? Email cameron.newbold@albanyadvertiser.com