West Coast Eagles Naitanui Academy players from the metropolitan area took on a combined team of players from our regional academies in an entertaining hit-out prior the Eagles home match last Sunday.
Young footballers from the South West, Goldfields, Wheatbelt, Great Southern and Pilbara regions had the opportunity to play on Optus Stadium against their Perth based counterparts and the skill level impressed and excited the academy coaches.
The first half was neck-and-neck with less than a goal between the two teams at half-time, but the metro team pulled away in the second half to secure the victory.
Naitanui Academy Manager Chris Brown praised the success of the first ever regional showcase match and highlights the benefit games like it will have in the development of players in all regions.
“To integrate our regional players with our metro program and to see the incredible talent across our entire WA recruiting zones was fantastic. The regional staff have done a mountain of work to get our hub programs up and running, and it’s great to reward those players and coaches with opportunities like this,” Brown said.
“It was also a big buzz for the selected metro players. Many of those players also taking to Optus for the first time and relished the chance to go head-to-head against the boys from the regions. Most importantly to start building that connection piece and brotherhood within our entire playing group is critical.”
“Both teams displayed plenty of talent which continues to impress across the entire Naitanui Academy program. We are excited to see this event grow in the coming years.”
Regional Programs Manager James Grabski emphasised the importance of the Club being alongside these young players on their football journeys, no matter where they are in WA.
“One of the objectives of our regional program is to provide opportunities for regional participants and community members that are as equivalent as possible to their metropolitan counterparts,” said Grabski.
“For those young players to get the opportunity to play on a world class stadium, showcase their talent and have all of our game development staff watching and providing feedback on their game, offers tremendous support to their footy journey and is really special for those young men and their families.”
West Coast Eagles staff coordinated the players’ participation in the match alongside local stakeholders, with selection being guided by NGA eligibility, as well as commitment to and engagement with the local Naitanui Academy hub programs.
Grabski said the work being done by Eagles staff to grow the game and develop players in all regions was immense, with each facilitating activities alongside pre-existing participation and talent programs in regional WA.
“With our regionally-based community coordinators active and in place across all our NGA zones, we’ve got a great ability to work alongside existing talent pathways.”
“For the last 12-18 months we’ve been working to build those relationships and understanding of how we can best play a role to support what’s already happening and compliment that rather than compete.”
“To be able to have each of our regional staff work and be coordinated in a really collaborative way in itself was a great example of what our programs are about and acknowledge the work they’ve been doing from a grass roots level.”
