Country Championship: South West colts coach Brett Maguire hails carnival as success despite final loss

South West Country Championships colts coach Brett Maguire has hailed his side’s carnival as a success, despite another loss to Peel in the division 1 final. The Cavaliers ran out 26-point winners in the decider at The Good Grocer Park in East Fremantle on Friday night to seal their fourth victory across the last five editions of the carnival, three of which they have ended by beating South West in the grand final. In what was the first time the junior championships were split into two divisions, South West were on the back foot early after opening the pool stage on Thursday with a 13-point loss to Peel at Scotch College but bounced back with victories over Great Northern and Great Southern to secure a spot in the decider. Maguire said the league had sent a “pretty good side” to the championships who were “not far off it”. “We would be a little bit disappointed if we were just driven by results,” he said. “Outside of that, I look at it a lot from a development point of view too. We took three or four younger guys compared to what Peel would do, so we look at it as continually developing players of all age groups. “I think out of the three or four games (Peel) have beaten us, this year’s was the biggest margin, all the others have been within a goal or two.” Maguire said he had no issue with Peel competing in the competition but the development opportunities offered to some of their players through regular contact with WAFL club Peel Thunder did present advantages. “They had a little bit more structure and a lot more players knew that structure,” he said. “We’re bringing a group together where you can preach structure but (we don’t) practise it on a regular basis.” Maguire said he had no doubts the experience from the championships would prove beneficial for his players and they would return to their local clubs as better players. “I think sometimes the young guys get a little bit disappointed or frustrated at clubland, but you’ve just got to put it into perspective a little bit — in their own age group, they’re good players, and eventually they will get there,” he said. “I think the main thing they’ve got to understand is just being patient and waiting for their time, because eventually they’ll be able to lead their own local clubs at a good level as well.”