At the start of the WAFL season, Jake Soutar was not even an automatic selection in East Perth’s WAFL league side.

Only seven months later, the 20-year-old is one of the State’s hottest AFL draft prospects.

The 190cm defender produced an incredible campaign for the Royals, regularly showcasing an ability to both lock away his opponent and threaten as an intercept marker on his way to winning the FD Book Medal as their fairest and best player.

After starting his season with a dominant performance in their reserves, Soutar was called into the senior side in round two and went on to average 16.7 disposals and seven marks across 20 appearances to attract plenty of attention from top-level recruiters.

In May, The West Australian revealed North Melbourne had shown interest in Soutar ahead of the mid-season draft. And their need for a key defender has only grown since, with the Kangaroos unable to convince Adelaide to release contracted backman Nick Murray in the recently-completed trade period.

At last week’s State draft combine, Soutar revealed he had spoken to as many as 12 clubs throughout the year and had shared multiple chats with several.

“Mid-season, there was a little bit of chatter here and there, but it’s definitely picked up over the last four or five months,” Soutar said.

“I’m really hungry and desperate to get on a list.

“I know I’m a mature-ager, but I’m definitely prepared to put myself out there, and I definitely think I’ll be able to perform at the level. I’ve got no doubts in my ability.”

Soutar further bolstered his AFL hopes with a strong set of results at the combine, running a strong 6min. 32sec. in the 2km time trial and winning the counter-movement jump test by notching a height of 66cm.

Soutar made 16 appearances for East Perth’s colts when he was first eligible for the draft in 2024, and added another 18 in their reserves last year. He said completing a lengthier apprenticeship than some of the State’s other draft hopefuls had served him well.

“I don’t think I was as mature and professional as these 18-year-old boys are,” he said.

“Training with them in the last couple of weeks since the season ended, I’ve seen how well they treat their bodies and how well they prepare.

“It took me a while to mature and find my feet and get that push from some of the old guys, coming up into the senior program. They’ve really given me the lift to put me in the position where I am right now.”

Soutar shapes as one of WA’s two leading mature-age hopefuls for the national and rookie drafts, alongside 24-year-old Perth swingman Kane Johnston.

Johnston was also a strong performer at the State draft combine, with his testing results including a 6:12 2km time trial and a height of 82cm in the vertical jump.