South West AFL watch: Dunsborough’s Reuben Ginbey still on learning curve, Harvey’s Brady Hough returns

Dunsborough young gun Reuben Ginbey is set to continue having massive learning curves thrown at him after facing a tough challenge in Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver during West Coast’s disappointing 63-point loss at Optus Stadium. Ginbey started within the midfield and found himself running with Oliver throughout the Easter Sunday match-up, which the Eagles lost 19.12 (126) to 9.9 (63) to the Demons. While Oliver was kept quiet, held to six disposals in the opening term, he lifted in the second to give a masterclass in midfielding with 12 possessions and three clearances. Ginbey, who now ranks fourth in the AFL for tackles with 31 for the season, managed 14 disposals, five tackles, two score involvements, 23 pressure acts, three clearances and an inside 50 for the match. Following the match, coach Adam Simpson said he hoped playing against the best players in the AFL would fast track Ginbey’s development, along with the other younger players on the Eagles’ list. “I hope so. What’s today worth? Four or five WAFL games. Reuben is learning a lot on the fly at the moment,” he said. “He’s had a pretty steep learning curve. The last couple of centre bounces we had kids in the middle — 18-year-olds — against some class. “We don’t want to break them. We’ve got to keep an eye on that. It’s great having someone like Tim Kelly around. When Dom’s (Sheed) around and Luke’s (Shuey) around it really complements what we’re trying to chase. “When they’re on their own, there’s going to be some challenges. “They’re not going to be linear growth. There are going to be ups and downs with the kids. They’ve had one pre-season. We’ve got to be a little bit patient.” Meanwhile, Harvey’s Brady Hough was kept relatively quiet in his AFL return after spending previous weeks playing WAFL practice matches. Hough, who was named to start in the midfield but spent most of his time in the back half, managed seven disposals, a mark, two score involvements, eight pressure acts and a clearance. Elsewhere, former Manjimup Tiger Marlion Pickett put in a stand-out midfield effort in Richmond’s 12.17 (89) to 12.12 (84) loss to Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Saturday, to be named among the best in the side. Pickett racked up 29 disposals, four marks, four tackles, five score involvements, 10 pressure acts, two clearances and seven inside 50s. Meanwhile, former Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault Lion Ethan Hughes and Busselton’s Jye Amiss put on solid performances in Fremantle’s losing effort to Adelaide Crows. Despite going down 17.9 (111) to 10.12 (72) to the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, Hughes made an impact after starting in the midfield. Hughes managed 19 disposals, a mark, two tackles, two score involvements, eight pressure acts, a clearance and three inside 50s, along with a goal during the dying minutes of the final term. Amiss made the most of his limited chances in front of goal and tried hard to present a target, kicking 1.2 for the match, along with managing eight disposals, two marks, a tackle, six score involvements and seven pressure acts.