Gault, Notte, Palmer and Ugle named in WAFL State Squad

THE WAFL will attempt to win a sixth consecutive State match next Saturday against South Australia in Adelaide and Swan Districts' foursome Corey Gault, Tony Notte, Rhys Palmer and Kirk Ugle have been included in the 33-man West Australian squad.

The WAFL State team has been on a tremendous run in State matches in recent years with the winning streak beginning in 2013 against the VFL in Northam.

That was followed up by a win against the NEAFL in Sydney and home victories against the SANFL and Tasmania at Lathlain Park and Steel Blue Oval respectively over 2015 and 2016.

But it was last year when the WAFL really showed how far the competition has come with an emphatic 63-point victory against the VFL in Melbourne that created history for WA football on Victorian soil.

Now the next step for the WAFL State side is to knock off South Australia in Adelaide and that chance presents next Saturday against the SANFL at Adelaide Oval with the game played ahead of the AFL contest between Port Adelaide and Adelaide.

With Swan Districts coming off making the finals in the WAFL in 2017 and so far starting the season winning three of the opening five games of 2018, it's only fitting that the black-and-whites feature in the State squad announced last week as well.

So far the four players from Swan Districts in the 33-man squad are Corey Gault, Tony Notte, Rhys Palmer and Kirk Ugle.

But there is still time for others to be added and Matt Riggio, Alex Howard, David Ellard and even youngster Tobe Watson are among those who have a strong case to be included in the mix by coach Michael Broadbridge.

Gault is the reigning fairest and best winner at Swan Districts having returned from Collingwood in 2017 and locking down the No. 1 ruck position.

He delivered an outstanding season as the ruckman but the return of Nathan Blakely in 2018 has allowed new Swans coach Adam Pickering to use Gault in other roles.

That included him delivering a dominant performance last Saturday in the 90-point victory against East Fremantle with four goals to go with 23 possessions, 11 marks and 14 hit outs.

Even Pickering found himself in admiration of his performance against the Sharks.

"He had a great game, Corey, I was sitting there after the game and looked at his numbers with a number of clearances and score assists as well, and he just had a great day," Pickering said.

"He's very versatile and in fact we played him at centre half-back in the pre-season and he clunked everything that came his way. He can pinch-hit in the ruck to give 'Doc' Blakely a chop out and he's a very valuable asset to our footy club at the moment."