Ah Chee looks to back up debut to remember

SOUTH Fremantle teenager Callum Ah Chee made a dream league debut last Sunday kicking three goals and two crucial ones in the last quarter to help the Bulldogs beat East Fremantle as he now looks to back that up the rest of the season ahead of the AFL National Draft.

Having already proven himself capable of playing strong football at WAFL colts level and then at the AIS-AFL Academy and in the West Australian State 18s side the last two years, Ah Chee had nothing to prove and was already likely to be WA’s top pick at this year’s National Draft.

However, Ah Chee grabbed his opportunity with both hands on league debut on the big stage of a derby against East Fremantle at ATOM Stadium.

Ah Chee came into the game on the back of one reserves game on return from the State 18s campaign and in that first taste of playing against men, the 17-year-old showed tremendous signs in South Fremantle’s reserves win over Claremont with 23 possessions, six marks and two goals.

That was enough for him to receive his league debut in a must-win game for South Fremantle against East Fremantle, and he played a significant part in the Bulldogs ending up winning by eight points to return to the WAFL’s top five.

Ah Chee kicked a good goal from a set shot in the first quarter and then with the game on the line in the last term, he took two marks inside the forward 50 near the boundary kicking towards the Marmion Street end of East Fremantle Oval, and never looked like missing either of them.

He ended the afternoon with not only the three goals but also 14 possessions and nine marks as he showed he’s more than ready for league football, and indeed to be part of South Fremantle’s push to play finals now in 2015 for the first time since 2011.

South Fremantle coach Todd Curley couldn’t have been happier with how the debut of Ah Chee panned out.

“I think the pleasing thing was that he came in and had an impact from the start to the very end,” Curley said.

“For a young player sometimes it’s a challenge, but he was really clean and I think he’s a really good kid. You could see the impact he’s made on the group when he kicked his first goal and everyone made sure they got to him. It was a good start for him.”

Ah Chee’s State 18s and colts teammate Kade Stewart is another who could make his league debut before the end of the 2015 season while Matthew Ah Siu continued strong form in the reserves has him right in the hunt to break into the league side as well.