Great Southern Colts Carnival to feature some of WA’s hottest young footy talent in two-day Kulin showcase

The long-running Great Southern Colts Carnival will feature some of WA’s most talented teenage footballers in Kulin this weekend.

Eight teams from around the State will descend on the historic carnival which first started in 1922 as a senior competition before moving to colts-aged players in 2000.

Now a talent pool for the future stars of the game, the carnival will be played on Saturday and Sunday.

Peel, Upper Great Southern, Eastern Districts, Esperance, Goldfields, Great Southern, Ongerup and Lower South West will be the regions in action.

The carnival is run by the Great Southern Football Council, which celebrated its centenary in 2022, and shared between the venues of Kulin and Lake Grace.

A host of WAFL and AFL players have come through the tournament over the years, with last year’s carnival fairest and best winner Judd Kelman now playing for Subiaco.

Richmond’s recent mid-season draftee Jacob Blight played for Great Southern at the carnival and Lake Grace-Pingrup junior and dual Tigers premiership player Liam Baker is one of the big names to have featured before getting picked up in the AFL.

Peel Cavaliers enter the carnival as defending champions, downing Goldfields by 26 points in last year’s decider.

It was a third title in six years for the dominant Peel side, who are again expected to be one of the teams to beat this weekend.

The eight teams are split into two pools, where they will play three qualifying games on Saturday to determine Sunday’s finals.

The top teams from both pools will then meet in the grand final at 12.30pm on day two, with the other teams playing off for classification.

Two ovals will be in use at the Freebairn Recreation Centre for the carnival and games consist of four, 15-minute quarters with no time on.

Games start at 9am on Saturday, with the final matches bouncedown at 4.05pm.

The seventh and eighth playoff will start Sunday’s proceedings at 9.30am, before fifth and sixth and third and fourth play alongside each other at 10.55am, followed by the carnival decider.

Both days’ action will be livestreamed via Classic Clashes.