From being babysat to teammate in 150th milestone for Schloithe

HAIDEN Schloithe always wanted to play WAFL football for South Fremantle alongside Ashton and Kyle Hams looking up to them as a youngster in Katanning, and now he’s looking forward to being there on Saturday for Ashton’s 150th game for the Bulldogs.

Schloithe and the Hams twins all have made the move from Katanning to come to Perth and play WAFL football with South Fremantle, but given the seven-year age gap Ashton and Kyle were always two players that Schloithe wanted to emulate one day, and play with at the Bulldogs.

Now in 2015 it’s the first chance for the trio to play together with Kyle returning to the Bulldogs for the first time since 2010 while both Ashton and Schloithe have remained committed to South Fremantle after spending time at West Coast and Fremantle in the AFL respectively.

Kyle has played 183 WAFL games now, but 61 of those were at Swan Districts, with Ashton now preparing for game No. 150 at South Fremantle this Saturday against Subiaco at Medibank Stadium.

The milestone sees him qualify for life membership at the Bulldogs to add to a career that already includes two premierships, two Simpson Medals, two appearances for Western Australia and 39 AFL matches with the Eagles.

Schloithe is now looking forward to being out there on Saturday as part of Ashton’s 150th game and he hopes the Bulldogs can respond following last Saturday’s 106-point loss to East Perth to take it right up to the rampant Subiaco.

“Being able to play with him for a few years now, I know he’s one of the better players in the WAFL. He’s a really smart ball user, he has great skills and I try to feed off that and it’s a privilege to be able to play with him,” Schloithe said.

“Obviously I’ve known Ashton for quite a long time now and it’s a great achievement by him to play 150 games for this great club.

“It was obviously a disappointing result for us on the weekend but we’ve put that behind us now and hopefully we train well this week, prepare well and get up to put in a good performance not only for him, but the club on Saturday.”

Growing up in Katanning with Ashton and Kyle both beginning their forays into playing football at a higher level up in Perth, they did in fact babysit a younger Schloithe on a few occasions back a bit more than a decade ago.

To now be able to all play in the same WAFL team at South Fremantle is something that Schloithe is enjoying, and is certainly proud of.

“We’re all from Katanning and they used to babysit me for a while there, so I have some good memories there with them,” he said.

“When I was a young fella and not playing footy up in Perth, I used to come up with my old boy and watch them play on a Friday night or the weekend for South Fremantle. I’ve always had that dream to come up and play for South Fremantle as well.

“When Kyle went away for a few years, I hoped that the three of us could still come together and play in the same team and we’re lucky enough this year to be able to do that and it’s been a good experience.”

While winning for Ashton’s 150th game on Saturday would be nice for South Fremantle and Schloithe, getting a victory over the league-leading reigning premiers Subiaco would keep the Bulldogs’ season alive as well so it’s a crucial game potentially with finals on the line.

“The really important thing for us now is the way we respond after being beaten really well by East Perth on the weekend. As a group it’s all about how we bounce back and it’s a big game for us on Saturday, and for Ashton to hopefully we put in a good performance for him and the club,” Schloithe said.

“We had a really strong meeting on Monday night, which was good, and we covered some things that we needed to address. We put that behind us now and we look forward to taking on Subiaco. It’s a big challenge and a must-win game, but we attack it full on.”