Kolora-Noorat's Fred Beasley finishes second in Esam Medal, ready for WDFNL preliminary final

The 18-year-old finished second in the league's senior football best and fairest behind Nirranda's John Paulin, polling 28 votes including seven best-on-grounds and four on the trot.

Despite acknowledging he was proud to be recognised, the slick midfielder-forward, who kicked 18 goals through the home-and-away season, said he was team focused as the Power return to the preliminary final stage at Reid Oval on Saturday against Merrivale.

The Mercy Regional College year 12 student was also named in the WDFNL team of the year on the wing.

"I came here because the president said I was invited," he told The Standard with a chuckle on Wednesday night.

"You obviously don't play footy for these awards but it's good for my confidence and knowing if I can play at a high level I can help my team and be successful in the future so in a way it does mean a fair bit to be recognised."

He said his improvement in season 2023 came down to being backed in by his coach and teammates.

"I worked pretty hard in the pre-season but Nick (Bourke) has been saying to me to play with freedom and flair, he's said that pretty much my whole career under him. That's when I know I'm playing my best footy," he said.

"That's what he's told me and how I think I've improved my game overall."

While the emerging footballer - also an avid golfer with the Western District Golf Association - believes Merrivale will take some beating after coming off its first loss of the season in the qualifying final against Nirranda, he says the Power will leave nothing in the tank knowing they go in as "underdogs".

"As a team we probably do feel like we are going in as underdogs but we do go in with the confidence we can knock them off. At the same time we're not getting too far ahead of ourselves and playing our own game," he said.

"It should be interesting to see how we go against them. We've got a good mix of young and old heads, guys like Ben and Joel Moloney with the experience and then the younger legs that run all day and provide us with spark.

"On a big ground like the Reid, it does give us confidence against any team. If we can get on top at times, we know we can score really quickly if we want to.

"We're excited for it."

The Tigers and Power will do battle for a spot in the WDFNL grand final against Nirranda on Saturday, September 9 from 2.20pm at Reid Oval in Warrnambool.

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