‘Slick’ plan pays off as International Round looms

Anthony has a Greek father and English mother, so soccer was the main sport in their household when ‘Slick’ was a kid.

So much so, that, for two years, he told his dad he was going to ‘football’ training, but did not want to break it to him that it was Australian football.

So while his father thought he was still playing soccer, Anthony had secretly begun playing for Ocean Ridge Junior Football Club. It was a sneaky plan that has worked out brilliantly for us because he is now a very important 150-game player at West Perth.

It’s the perfect example of how well it can work when Australian footy is introduced to kids who come from a migrant household.

International Round is a fantastic concept and we hope a huge crowd sees us in our one-off guernseys against East Fremantle at Arena Joondalup on Sunday.

With the international flavour of our zone, it’s really important for us to engage the community with our club.

We’ve had two great games against the Sharks this season, both of which we have won.

They have a lot of talent and they’ll be hungry to keep their finals hopes alive.

Luke Tedesco will be out this week after suffering a calf strain in our win over Perth, while Chris Keunen copped a knock to his shoulder, which we have to assess.

‘Keuns’ had a dominant day against Perth amassing 66 hit-outs after Demons ruckman Mitch Leyendekkers did not return for the second half.