Lake King’s Joshua Grahame helps Claremont wallop Subiaco as round 15 of the WAFL colts comp lands in Albany

It was a big night for the Great Southern colts who contributed to Claremont’s 72-point walloping of Subiaco at Albany’s Retravision Stadium on July 19. Playing in front of friends and family, the Great Southern super six helped their side win the WAFL colts game, 17.8 (110) to 5.8 (38). The six were Robbie Farmer Railways), Kaleb Germain (Albany), Joshua Grahame (Lake King) and Blake Panizza, Mitch Paine and Elijah Williams (Royals). Graham, 18, had what Claremont talent manager Lachy Davis said was his best game of the year with the highlight being a superbly converted finish for the Tigers’ ninth major on a high-scoring night. It was his first goal in a season in which he has played 11 matches for Claremont, cementing his place in a side which looks finals bound. Grahame, however, is unlikely to be lured by the bright lights of a career in football. He’s at university studying agriculture and business and doing such a good job of managing his time that he feels committed to both. With Lake King around 340km from Albany it was less of a homecoming for him than for several of his teammates, but the win was still something to savour. “My parents weren’t here as dad actually went up to Perth to get a new ute for the farm, but my grandparents live in Albany so hopefully there were at the game,” he said. “It was great to see the young guys cheering on the sidelines, it was super enjoyable.” He’s not sure what the future holds but he suspects the family farm will tempt him back to Lake King. “I’m having a great time in Perth, studying agriculture, living with one of my teammates,” he said. “I love the farm so it’s unlikely footy will be a long-term thing, but I intend to stick around for as long as I can.”