East Perth Black edged out a spirited Swan Districts outfit to claim the inaugural Naitanui Cup at Leederville Oval last Friday night.

The experienced side reigned supreme in the round robin tournament, which was contested by seven teams made up of Naitanui Academy in-school and after-school program participants.

West Coast Eagles game development manager Adam Selwood said it was fantastic to see a crowd of 150 eager footballers do battle at one of Western Australia’s most iconic WAFL stadiums.

“It was the culmination of our in-school and after-school programs, which is delivered in partnership with the West Australian Football Commission,” Selwood said.

“We had three teams from East Perth, one from the Perth district, one from Swan Districts and two from Subiaco.

“They were all decked out in West Coast colours, with their district logo featured on the back of their jumpers. It made them feel really special

“Some kids have obviously played footy for a long period of time, whereas for others it was their first opportunity to play. Most of the games were competitive throughout, but more importantly the kids were just having fun.”

West Coast game development staff Drew Petrie and Kim Hannah offered coaching support to the teams, while star Eagles Nic Naitanui, Willie Rioli and Tarir Bayok posed for photos on the sidelines.

Selwood said the event was the perfect conclusion to 2017.

“It was a great night and it wrapped up our Naitanui Academy activities for the year,” he said.

“We’ve hit 13,000 engagements with kids throughout the state, which is a huge achievement.

“We hope the best kids will work themselves into our talent squad and hopefully develop into AFL players, but ultimately we want to make sure that footy is a vehicle for the kids to have fun and learn life skills along the way.”