Walyalup senior coach Justin Longmuir believes one of his side’s unsung heroes in defence is having a major impact in 2026, taking his game to a new level.

Speaking at his post-match media conference following the 43-point win over Essendon, Longmuir said that Worner is one of the many reliable players in his side.

“He (Worner) plays on different types of players. He’s a great runner, communicates really well with his teammates,” Longmuir said.

“He’s tough, puts his head in the hole when he needs to, stands under a high ball when he needs to.

“Yeah, he’s really developing nicely.”

Worner enjoyed a career-high 27 disposals (second-highest afield) in the win over the Bombers, including 11 intercept possessions (highest afield), at an impressive 88.9% disposal efficiency (fifth-highest afield).

The 23-year-old has played every game so far in 2026 and, with fewer than 50 career games to his name, still has plenty of upside in his development.

Longmuir also showed great respect for another of Walyalup’s fairly fresher faces in small forward Isaiah Dudley, who snapped a great goal early before battling through a crunching tackle in the second term to finish the game.

“He came off and looked like he was not 100%, but we don’t think it was structural, so we left him on,” Longmuir said.

“I thought he was a tough little bugger, worked his backside off in the second half and had some good moments, considering the pain he was in, being a bit winded in that contest as well.

“Really proud of the way he fought it out.”

Walyalup will now have a five-day break before taking on Euro-Yroke (St Kilda) at Optus Stadium in the Club’s home Sir Doug Nicholls Round match in Round 11.