The Western Australia under-18s speedster who followed up on his side’s first goal of the national championships with a backflip has opened up on the spectacular celebration.

Early in WA’s clash with South Australia at Mineral Resources Park, Cameron Maynard used his pace to seize on a loose ball, evade a would-be tackler and dribble through their opening major.

But the best was yet to come from the South Fremantle prospect, who duly performed a cartwheel before somersaulting himself in mid-air in a move which captured the attention of the football world.

After the game, Maynard jokingly told The West Australian he had succumbed to peer pressure from his teammates.

“Throughout the week, all the boys were asking ‘are you going to do a backflip’, and I was just like ‘yeah’,” Maynard said.

“I was hoping to kick the first goal, just so I could get it over and done with.

“It was good. It felt good.”

WA coach Marc Webb said he had no interest in trying to quash the enthusiasm of his players and he was happy for them to show some flair.

“Everyone’s different, there’s an individual nature to it,” Webb said.

“As long as he’s playing his role and doing the right things for us, he can celebrate — in the right way. It doesn’t worry me one bit.

“That part of the game is exciting . . . it’s not the first time, we had Koby Evans do that a couple of years ago.”

In 2024, Evans — who was drafted by Brisbane last year — celebrated one of his two goals in a big win over South Australia with the move.

Remarkably, Maynard’s backflip was not the only one performed by a WA player on the day.

West Coast Next Generation Academy prospect Lachlan McGlade gave his side another big lift by following suit in the third term, which Maynard said he was delighted to see.

“I didn’t think he could do one, and then he just pulled it out,” he said.

Maynard and McGlade both kicked two goals on the day as WA survived the Croweaters’ attempts at a late comeback to hold on for an 11.12 (78) to 10.6 (66) win over last year’s championships winners, representing a marked turnaround from a 76-point loss in the same game last year.