Bolton Predicts A Brighter Future

By Ken Casellas

Dynamic midfielder Jye Bolton is quietly confident that he and his champion teammate Kane Mitchell will bring the winning feeling out of Western Australia’s superb victory over South Australia in Adelaide last Saturday to the Claremont side which is languishing in eighth position on the WAFL league ladder.

Bolton was awarded the Simpson Medal as WA’s outstanding performer in the 26-point triumph and Mitchell produced a typical powerful four-quarter effort.

“Kane and I waxed a little bit out there --- and you can always hear his voice,” Bolton said. “He was an integral part of the victory.

“We took the opportunity to view the ways that other good players around the league prepare for a match and how they bring their leadership and how they get their teammates involved. Hopefully, we can take some pieces out of that and bring the winning feeling back to Claremont.”

Bolton and Mitchell have recovered well from the tough encounter with South Australia and are looking forward keenly to help the Tigers beat Perth at Claremont Oval on Saturday. Claremont have won only one match (by four points against East Fremantle) from their first five matches this season.

“I’ll be trying my best in a bid to overcome Perth,” Bolton said. “Our start this season is not the brightest in terms of a win-loss record. But I think we have come a long way from where we were last year, even though we won our first three games last year before losing the next six matches.

“This year we have been close in most matches and we’ve come a long way in areas we have focused on. As soon as we can bring it all together and concentrate for a full game we should start seeing results going the other way.

“Making the finals is the goal we’re all working towards. We’re process driven, not outcome driven and so we know the steps we’ve got to take and work on.”

Bolton was a driving force in WA’s win in Adelaide when he took six marks, had 15 kicks and made 19 handpasses. He also kicked a goal, laid three tackles and sent the ball inside his side’s 50m attacking zone four times. Mitchell weighed in with three marks, 15 kicks, ten handpasses, three tackles and three inside 50s.

Bolton now has represented WA in three interstate matches for wins over Tasmania in 2016 and Victoria last year. He also won the Simpson Medal for his brilliant display in the victory over Tasmania.

“It’s awesome playing State footy with a lot of people you respect,” he said. “All you want to do is to try to contribute as well as you can and to show that we’re the best league outside the AFL.

“In terms of history, I relished the victory over Victoria last year, beating them for the first time in Melbourne. However, in terms of the quality of the opposition, this win over South Australia was better than the wins over Tasmania and Victoria.”