EMERGING STAR MEADOWS SOAKS UP STATE DEBUT

LUKE Meadows might only be 38 games into his WAFL career but he proved himself one of the best all-round talents in the competition again on Saturday as the 21-year-old starred in Western Australia's record state game victory over Tasmania.

Meadows got his first taste of league football at West Perth back in 2013 and played another seven matches in 2014, but it wasn’t until last year until he found a permanent place in the team.

That was in dual roles as a half-back and half-forward but he found himself out of the team for the Falcons' run to the grand final.

But Meadows has taken that on the chin and taken his game to another level now to a point where it's hard to imagine he won't be given a chance at the AFL level come the end of the year if his outstanding form continues.

Meadows has cemented his place at half-back for the Falcons as he continues to prove that he has the rare combination of being tough, an outstanding kick of the football and being able to be equally effectively when attacking and when needed to be defensive.

That saw him earn selection in the WA team to take on Tasmania in Saturday's state game at Steel Blue Oval and he was one of the best players on the ground with 25 possessions, seven marks, three inside-50 entries and four rebounds from the defensive 50.

At just 21, Meadows was surprised a little at his selection but once he knew he was in the team he made he made the most of the whole experience.

"It's a nice little achievement this early in my career," Meadows said.

"I wasn’t really expecting it or anything and I was a bit shocked as young as I am to get a gig, but it was a humbling experience and I tried to make the most of it.

"I probably didn’t play too good a footy early in the season but I had a few good games in-a-row to be lucky enough to get picked and it was a big achievement."

Understandably Meadows had some nerves leading into his first appearance for WA, but getting to play alongside West Perth teammates Andrew Strijk, Jay van Berlo, Aaron Black, Shane Nelson and Nick Rodda who had all played state football previously helped immensely.

"I was excited when I found out I was going to be playing and I was a bit nervous going into the game because I didn’t know what to expect, but everyone was pretty good especially the older boys from West Perth like Strijky and Jay," he said.

"They are all pretty entrenched in the state program and are elite players so it helped me massively having them there just to relax me, and help me settle in and meet some of the other guys.

"They just told me to chill out and enjoy it, and I tried to but I was still a bit nervous running out there. In the end, it was just another game of footy and it was good."

WA ended up winning by a record margin of 134 points over Tasmania on Saturday and that meant that Meadows was able to have a lot of fun out on the field with the best of the best WAFL players.

"It turned out to be a great day and we had plenty of fun out there, apart from the first couple of minutes," he said.

"I just enjoyed playing footy and it was great to play with such a quality team where everyone was kicking the ball well, and you knew whoever you were kicking to or getting it from was elite.

"It was pretty crazy but it was a lot of fun and everyone was pretty jovial, and it was great to win by so much in the end so we could relax and enjoy it a bit."

The state game also provided Meadows the chance to play under West Perth great, and premiership captain and coach Darren Harris for the first time and he helped make him feel like he belonged in the WA team to ease his nerves ahead of his state debut.

"Harro is a great coach and a good people person so he knew how to speak to each and every player individually," Meadows said.

"Especially myself he was always telling me what I need to work on and told me just to enjoy the experience and telling me that I belonged. He gave me a lot of reinforcing words. He is a pretty smart coach so he knew how to teach all the players so it was a good experience playing under him.