The two Naitanui Academy teams made up of players born in 2009 and 2010 took huge steps forward in their development in a match at Cockburn ARC and a curtain raiser on Good Friday at Optus Stadium.

For the 14-year-olds (2010) it was their very first time donning the blue-and-gold in a match setting and officially cements their progression from the fundamental skill-building in the rookie squad, to now being part of the older juniors squad.

Naitanui Academy Manager Chris Brown was thrilled with how well the young players did in what was a neck-and-neck game in windy conditions at Cockburn.

“We saw our 2010 boys play their first ever game for the academy so it’s always an exciting time to be selected to play in the first match. These boys have yet to play WAFL development so this is their first experience of a high-level match,” he said.

“Quite a lot of these boys have been with us since they were around 11 or 12 as part of our rookie squads, so it was exciting for them to finally put on the blue and gold in an official match setting.

“They got off to a great start, linked the ball up well and used the ball really well too which allowed our forwards to be really dangerous.

“The Dockers worked their way back into the game which made it a really tight one in the end and a few missed opportunities in front of goal meant Freo were able to get over the line by a narrow margin.”

“It was great to build the next generation connection with the Club, as Eli Wirrapanda (son of past player David Wirrapanda) made his debut for the Naitanui Academy.”

The 15-year-olds (2009) played the following week in a curtain raiser before Fremantle’s round three match against Adelaide.

“This was the first time these boys had the chance to play out on Optus Stadium and you could see the excitement in the group before the game. It’s great that we can provide them with these opportunities to play on the big stage and further their development,” Brown said.

“The boys were fantastic and led for a majority of the game on what was quite a hot day, but the Fremantle team is fairly strong and managed to overrun us in the end.”

“The improvement of this group in particular from six months and a year ago to now is fantastic. We’re really wrapped with how much these boys have developed and they give themselves a really good opportunity to continue to grow as players going forward.”

The Naitanui Academy will continue to develop players of various ages in games throughout the year, with the next match being the 16-year-olds (2008) in May.