The Peel Cavaliers have returned from the Great Southern Colts Carnival in Lake Grace with big grins, winning two out of three of the weekend's games.
Now the team will prepare for the Nutrien Ag Solutions Country Football Championships which begins on July 7.
Coach Craig Otto said the team's performance at last week's carnival fared well for the next competition.
"Besides being bloody freezing cold, I thought we did pretty well," Otto laughed.
Otto told the Mail that after coming out strong in the first game against the Lower South West, they stumbled a little in game two.
"We won two out of three and came up against a pretty good Albany-based side the Southern Storm. Not taking anything away from the Storm but the conditions were really windy, blowy and there was quite a bit of rain.
"That probably didn't go well with our big forward line - we were moving the ball really well but couldn't take the big gaps we could in the other two games. But to lose to the eventual winners wasn't a bad effort."
The Cavaliers wrapped up the carnival with a 94-11 win against the Eastern Districts.
"It probably took us about half a game to gel - we have 25 guys who started getting to know each other and everyone's good and bad habits - we finished it off nicely."
In 2021, the Cavaliers took out the top spot at the Country Championships, and Otto said they would be training hard to bring that win back home for another year.
The 25 players from the Great Southern Colts Carnival will be invited back, alongside a few possible new additions.
"This is where some of the WAFL players and Peel Thunder guys playing more club football can get released to play for us, so we may get two or three players from there."
Otto said a number of young guns cemented themselves as players to watch, including Cavaliers captain Mitch Zadow.
"Mitchell was named in the Southern Carnival 20, which is like an all-stars, and he was named best player of the carnival, he put in such a great effort.
"Kobe Foster from Mundijong was also named on the all-star side - we're expecting great things from both of those boys again."
Otto said alongside the more seasoned colts, a few younger players impressed in the lineup.
"Bailey Jokic from Pinjarra, he's the youngest kid in the squad at just 16 - I thought he was phenomenal. He played halfback and half-forward so he's a very flexible player. "
He added that players Mitch Zadow, Kobe Foster and Eli Haynes would also find themselves in different WAFL clubs out of this carnival, with Haynes possibly making a Thunder debut soon.
With the team still running on Great Southern Carnival adrenaline, Otto said they were rearing to go for the Country Championships.
"It's a tough competition but we're looking forward to it - we've got a great bunch of kids. Hopefully we'll be competitive and put on a great show."
Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
