Carlton father-son draft prospect Ben Camporeale has been rewarded for his stellar National Championships run with MVP honours for South Australia.
The Croweaters could only conjure one win from their four outings at this year's carnival, with their sole victory coming in their opening game against the Allies with a two-goal win at Thebarton Oval.
Camporeale was a consistent piece in Tony Bamford's side, flexing his inside-outside ball-winning craft through the midfield to average a team-high 26.8 disposals, 4.5 clearances, 5.3 marks, 6.0 inside 50s and 3.8 tackles across his four appearances.
The Glenelg star's arguable best performance came in the victory over the Allies, with Camporeale leading a midfield unit comprised of reigning SA MVP Sid Draper, bottom-ager Dyson Sharp and Camporeale's brother Lucas.
Lucas too did his draft stocks no harm, with a 29-disposal outing that earned a return of 672 metres gained against Western Australia a highlight.
Congratulations to Ben Camporeale, who has been named the 2024 SA U18 Most Valuable Player ๐
The Glenelg midfielder was a consistent contributor throughout all four of the Croweaters' games at the Marsh AFL U18 National Championships ๐ฅ pic.twitter.com/1nNPSu16kL
— SANFL (@SANFL) July 11, 2024
Draper showed little sign of being hindered by the stress fracture in his leg that delayed his draft campaign, with the top five draft fancy using his speed and evasiveness to catch the eye.
The aforementioned Sharp was electrifying and often played at a level most in contention for this year's draft would desire, with the Central District talent often working well with the Camporeale twins, Draper and the explosive Phoenix Hargrave.
Ben Camporeale's MVP nod comes after Western Australia's Jaxon Artemis and the Allies' Leonardo Lombard earned the same honours for their respective states at the conclusion of their National Championships.
Artemis was among the few highlights for WA in their one-win campaign, averaging 15.5 disposals and 367.5 metres gained per game at half-back for the Sandrgropers.
The South Fremantle teenager saved his best game for last, collecting 19 disposals and four intercept possessions in a narrow loss to Vic Country.
Even though his carnival started with a defeat, Lombard was a workhorse for the Allies in their title defence, opening his National Championships with 27 disposals, six clearances, nine inside 50s, 531 metres gained, 10 contested possessions and a goal against South Australia.
The Gold Coast Academy product averaged 26.3 disposals and a goal per game for the Allies in his four matches, offering grunt and run through the engine room alongside fellow Queenslander Sam Marshall.
MVP titles for Vic Metro and Vic Country will be handed out on Sunday in the tournament-deciding conclusion to the round-robin series when the two sides meet at Marvel Stadium.
Sandringham Dragons pair Levi Ashcroft and Murphy Reid are joined by fellow onballers Jagga Smith and Josh Smillie in being the front-runners for the Metro title, while Dandenong Stingrays duo Harvey Langford and Cooper Hynes, as well as defender Tobie Travaglia, are sure to be in consideration for Vic Country.
The traditional final game of the 2024 National Championships will be held at Docklands at 10:35am (AEST), with both Victorian sides entering the affair undefeated.
