Leo Steed continues his rise to future AFL star with second place national championships best and fairest

Bunbury’s next AFL star Leo Steed capped off a super under-18 national championships with a second-place finish in the prestigious Larke Medal for the carnival’s best and fairest. WA co-captain Steed was excellent throughout the carnival and claimed second place in the award with 13 votes, behind teammate Heath Mellody who polled 19 votes. The 18-year-old was also selected in the under-18 All Australian side as the rover, alongside Mellody at half-back with fellow WA stars Benji van Rooyen in the ruck and Steed’s co-captain George Gale on the wing. Steed was WA’s best player afield in their first two games of the championships, leading his side to a win over South Australia with a 30-disposal, one-goal effort and backing up to win another 24 disposals in a loss to eventual title-winners Victoria Metro. The Bunbury product stands only 177cm tall, but WA Football’s State talent manager Adam Jones said his strong performances at the championships had helped reassure recruiters he would be well and truly capable of holding his own in an AFL midfield. “You see guys like Caleb Serong, Lachie Neale who are similar heights become stars of the competition. I’ve got no doubt Leo, with this insatiable competitiveness he’s got, I think he’s going to really succeed throughout his career,” Jones said. “He’s been one of the best-performed midfielders across the carnival that I’ve seen.” Steed returned to WAFL side Swan Districts at the weekend and picked up where he left off before the championships with 15 disposals, five marks and four tackles in his side’s 11-point loss to reigning premiers South Fremantle. The young star has four chances left at WAFL league level to prove his status as one of the county’s top players ahead of November’s AFL national draft.