Denmark-Walpole giant Kalin Lane has his eyes set on making the State 18s team and believes it’s within reach

Despite the uncertainty around this year’s national 18s championship and the AFL draft, Denmark-Walpole giant Kalin Lane is remaining upbeat as he eyes selection in the WA State 18s program. A 204cm ruckman, Lane has been touted as one of WA’s top draft prospects this year and hopes to be part of any WA State 18s games, which could be his first step to finding an AFL home. This year’s AFL national draft and National 18s Championship remains undecided because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 18-year-old is already part of the initial State program but said pulling on the WA jumper was his next goal. “I’ve been in touch with the State program, we have weekly Skype calls to keep everyone up to date on what’s happening,” Lane said. “They also have designed workout programs for us all. “My goal is to make the State 18s team and I believe it’s within reach. “I spoke to few AFL teams in January during the second (AFL Academy) camp just for a general chat about myself.” Lane confirmed he had spoken to Richmond, West Coast, Melbourne, Hawthorn, Adelaide and St Kilda as part of the 2019-2020 NAB AFL Academy WA squad. Preparing for a season playing WAFL colts with Claremont, Lane said players were currently training in split groups of three at staggered times for an hour each. “It was definitely tough with the limited equipment I had in isolation, with gyms being closed down, but I managed to stay motivated,” he said. “Returning to training was much-needed and I’m stoked to be back at it. “The first 30 minutes (of training) consists of the warm-up and then we do some fitness and conditioning. “We get into some ball-work drills to get the skills sharp again to finish off.” Lane believes the WAFL colts format this year will involve each team playing each other once and then a finals series. Lane played 13 league games for Denmark-Walpole in the Great Southern Football League last year. Claremont acting talent manager Jordan Smith said a national carnival looked promising. “There’s a strong level of commitment throughout the industry towards getting a national championships and a draft completed this year,” Smith said. “From a recruiting perspective, being able to watch the best of the best go head-to-head is highly valuable. “So in that sense the confirmation of the draft going ahead makes the running of the national championships a high priority. “With a shorter season everything gets heightened, things like competition for spots, the fight for ladder positions, the stakes become higher in all areas. “For those with draft aspirations, every game of footy they play this year is going to hold even more weight than normal given the circumstances. “I still believe if you’re good enough, you’ll get a chance. “We have our last couple of Great Southern boys returning to Perth over the next week or two, while those who’ve already re-joined us are going well.”