WAFL 2025: Boorloo forward Daniel Hill says Demons are building something special after breaking Shark hoodoo

Boorloo (Perth) are on the cusp of playing finals for just the second time since 1997 and one of the club’s young guns has declared they have an exciting future ahead of them. The Demons may not be the finished product yet, but a thrilling three-point win over East Fremantle has them entrenched in the top five. Boorloo played finals in 2020, which snapped a drought that dated back more than two decades. That was just the second time they had played in September since 1986. The Demons jumped into fourth spot on the ladder after weathering a final quarter storm from the Sharks to hold on for an 8.8 (56) to 8.5 (53) win at Mineral Resources Park on Sunday. It was made all the more impressive given they were without their two leading goalkickers, with Lochlan Paton (hamstring) and Aaron Clarke (ankle) both missing, leaving Zack Derksen as the only key forward. But in their place, it was 21-year-old Daniel Hill who stepped up with the electric small forward, booting three goals, including what would be the final major of the match to tie the scores early in the fourth quarter. “I was pretty glad when that siren went there were plenty of nerves in that final quarter,” he told The West Australian. “That was unbelievable to experience that at home coming back from injury to take down one of the top sides in East Freo it’s unreal. “The whole team stood up we had a pretty young forward line this week but we all just played our role and did what’s best for our team.” The win is a huge boost for the Demons, having not defeated East Fremantle in their previous eight meetings, while it is just their second win over a fellow top-five side this season. “That’s all we’ve talked about in the lead up we can stand up to any top side in the league when we’re at our best and I think we showed that today,” he said. “It’s just a massive confidence boost for everyone at the club.” It wasn’t just the young forwards who impressed, with Baxter Philip taking a game-high 13 intercept possessions across defence, with 19-year-old Elijah Scoble also proving vital with eight. With an impressive midfield core of Blake Shlensog, Brandon Parfitt and Charlie Constable, Hill said the building block are there to pull together a deep finals run. “We won’t get ahead of ourselves we’ll take it week by week and just hit the track running come Monday,” Hill said. “But our confidence levels are pretty high right now, and there’s a feeling that we’re building towards something pretty special.”