An unselfish approach to this year's U18s National Championships was a catalyst in the Croweaters' undefeated carnival that saw a handful of the state's prospects emerge in first-round contention.
SA cruised to wins over the Allies, Western Australia and both Victorian squads to flex their standing as the country's best, with their threatening front third often causing headaches for the opposition.
West Adelaide talent Mitch Marsh led the goalkicking for the championships off the back of a strong start to the year in the SANFL U18s, booting 12 goals from his four games. Teammates Aidan Schubert (10 goals) and Cameron Nairn (nine) also made up the top three goalkickers, the latter tying with Vic Metro livewire Lachy Dovaston in third.
Marsh would be one of seven South Australians to be named in the U18s All-Australian side, with the selection further strengthening his status as a potential top 10 pick.
Marsh, speaking to Craft of the Draft, credited the 'you plus me equals we' theme of coach Tony Bamford, thinking the unity within the squad made each individual better.
"All the boys wanted to get out there, all wanted to put ourselves on show to show the AFL clubs what we can do," Marsh said.
"But I think what got South Australia across the line was that we just wanted to win, rather than the chance to individually get drafted.
| 19 RANK |  | Mitch Marsh West Adelaide Forward HEIGHT: 191cm | โถ+ |
"I think that almost made us a better team, which also made us better players. It has helped us, I guess, get more attention individually. So I think on the back of that unselfishness, it's what helped us win.
"Me, Schuey and Nairny, for example, were running our patterns almost for the other person rather than ourselves, wanting them to kick the goal more than what we did."
Marsh proved to be an awkward matchup for most defenders given his 191cm frame makes him both an aerial target and ground-level option.
Creating that dual-threat standing was a focus for Marsh heading into the year, knowing he'd have the better of his direct matchup if he could master both.
"There were probably two things: My aerial and my ground-ball," he said of his goals.
"I was working on my aerial so I can move my body around at the contest, or fly high for a mark in a pack, going to work on that was good for me over the pre-season.
"With my ground-ball, taking the ball out of traffic and being able to drive out of the contest and have a good disposal after that was something I worked on.
"I consider myself a pretty versatile player. I definitely try and use that to my advantage on my opposition. I can usually do something against opposition that they can't. So I think that's an advantage for me."
Marsh had hoped to play just one game at the U18s National Championships to consider his year a success, with the Kangarilla product 'exceeding my expectations' by some distance.
But a strong outing to open his carnival - a four-goal game against the Allies - wasn't enough to satisfy the agile forward, who constantly sought feedback from his coaches to ensure he gave each game his all.
"My goal was to play one game in the champs. I was able to play all four, so I exceeded my expectations," he said.
"When playing the games, I just wanted to have an impact and know that if I stuck to the process that I couldn't have done much more than what I did.
"I look for feedback at the end of the game. Obviously there's some things you could have done better, but I also want to know I put as much effort into the game as I could.
"You don't really want to have too many regrets at the end of the game."
After touching back down in SA for the remainder of his U18s campaign for West Adelaide, Marsh helped steer the Bloods to a grand final finish, booting three goals in an upset win over minor premiers Sturt in the opening week of finals.
The strong outing to start his side's finals campaign came against fellow SA U18s squad member Blake Thredgold, who ranks as one of the premier key defenders in this year's draft crop.
The pair went head-to-head at the end of the home and away season, with Marsh managing three goals in what would be the first three successive clashes with Thredgold.
The finale came in the season decider, which Thredgold got the upper hand in, keeping Marsh goalless for just the second time in 2025 to claim best-afield honours.
While the end of the year wasn't what was desired for Marsh, he saw the battles with Thredgold as something to learn from, believing they both improved the rivalry.
"They were extremely beneficial for both of us," he said of the three-game stretch.
"We had three games in a row against each other. We both probably had our moments in all of those games.
"So I learned a lot from it, and I'm sure he did as well."
