WAFL 2025: Perth forward Lochlan Paton on going from being dropped to four-goal haul against West Coast

When Lochlan Paton woke up on Saturday morning to a message from football boss Brad Dodd telling him he would be recalled to Perth’s WAFL side, he didn’t imagine it would end in a career-best day. Paton was dropped during the week after a quiet performance against West Perth the round before, but earned a late call-up after his replacement Tyrone Thorne fell ill. The 21-year-old took the opportunity with both hands, kicking four goals in only his fourth league appearance in the Demons’ 15.9 (99) to 9.9 (63) victory over the Eagles at Mineral Resources Park on Saturday. “I woke up straight away, checked my phone at about 7.30am and saw a message from Doddy saying there was a late out and I’d be playing league footy,” Paton told The West Australian. “I know my role in the team and a big thing today was playing on instinct. I’ve got the same job every week, to go out there and play to my strengths. “I was probably a bit quiet last week, in terms of my confidence. I’m a big confidence player so once I get up and about, I start to cruise a little bit.” Paton’s emergence as a forward threat complemented their star spearhead Aaron Clarke, who found form with a game-high seven goals against a stacked Eagles’ defence that featured AFL-listed players Rhett Bazzo and Sandy Brock. Clarke also finished the game with 15 disposals and 10 marks in a dominant performance, with Paton crediting the former 195cm forward with being a mentor to the younger teammates around him. “He backs what I can do for the team and tells me to play to my strengths,” Paton said. “Aaron is a big communicator for us forwards and it’s good to have him down there. “He backs us individually but as a forward collective as well so it’s good to have him down there.” The 36-point victory has given the Demons a 2-1 start to the season, but Paton said they could not get complacent as they prepared to take on the undefeated East Perth on Saturday night. “It’s electric, having the confidence after wins but we don’t become complacent,” he said. “We play with that chip on our shoulder every week now. It’s like Stony (coach Mark Stone) says - it’s us as a collective when we rock up to the game, even though we have a great supporter base it’s not them it’s us as a group. “If we bring our ruthless spirit, we play with vigour, are selfless and united as a team we’re really confident in what we can do.”