DAISY Pearce didn't pick up her family and move to the other side of the country just to mess around. She means business.

She takes over a West Coast AFLW program that is yet to win more than two games in a season since joining the League in 2020.

It has been unsettled, with Pearce now the fourth head coach of the program and carrying a heavy burden of expectation in her first head coaching position.

But realistically, there are few people as well equipped as Pearce to bring a young group together.

"I didn't come over here just for fun," Pearce told AFL.com.au.

"Whilst footy should always be fun, I came over here because I wanted to be part of a successful team."

Success has eluded the Eagles, and last year felt further away than ever. The club bid goodbye to coach Michael Prior in the midst of the 2023 NAB AFLW season, and over the off-season it turned over a third of its playing list.

For Pearce, this presented a fresh start. Something she could dig her teeth into.

"A big part of the reason why I really wanted the job and went after it was that I saw that there was a lot of young talent here that I had an opportunity to grow with and help to mould," Pearce said.

Young is right. West Coast averages the youngest list across the competition this year, but importantly, still boasts some experience.

The balance that has been struck across the playing list is a stronger one than in years past, having recruited the likes of Alison Drennan, Jess Hosking, and Roxy Roux over the summer to complement existing players like Charlie Thomas, Bella Lewis, Ella Roberts, and Lauren Wakfer.

With 60 games under her belt – the most at the Eagles – Belinda Smith is also enjoying the change of pace around the club. Drawing on the youthful energy of many teammates, but also thriving under Pearce's leadership.

"I can't believe how much I've learned about footy … She's a little cheat code, I wish I played with her because having that on the field would have been unreal," Smith said of Pearce's arrival at the club.

The environment, according to Smith, is challenging in the best way possible. Those challenges are welcomed thanks to the supportive nature in which they are raised.

"The love and care for each other is just through the roof," Smith said.

"We're really trying to rub away any fear of making mistakes. Everyone can have a go, everyone can ask questions, everyone's voice is really important."

Walking around the club's facilities, this philosophy appears to be a top-down approach. CEO Don Pyke opts to sit in the club kitchen instead of his office so as to remain available and approachable.

On the advent of the Eagles parting ways with AFL head coach Adam Simpson, Pyke is sure to address the AFLW program and make space for any questions the players might have. The time and space offered does not go unnoticed.

And it bleeds out as a reminder that everyone earned their place within the program, and they should be walking into the club each day with that confidence.

A session focused on belonging headlines the day's training, with Hockeyroos head coach Katrina (Trinny) Powell on deck to speak.

A discussion around fear and low self-confidence permeates teammates, and how the group as a whole operates, is a fascinating one. It is followed by topics like individual accountability, and how things are different this year for the Eagles. There is a 'why not us?' mentality emerging.

Encouragement to try things without judgement is evident in how the group interacts. Some of the youngest voices speak up in team meetings, unafraid to ask even the most basic of questions. But importantly, the same goes for senior players.

"'Swanny' is a great example," Pearce said of captain Emma Swanson.

"I'm sure she won't mind me saying this. You can assume as a veteran of the competition that you can say something to her and that she's going to understand and move on. But she's been really vulnerable and honest, which is powerful.

"Saying that 'I don't know what you're talking about, you're going to have to show me or we're going to have to go and do it'. Conversations like that are great reminders that they will learn in different ways."

Ensuring she communicates concepts in a variety of ways is clearly a cornerstone of Pearce's coaching philosophy.

Getting players up in front of the group to physically demonstrate positioning is one strategy of educating, as defender Sasha Goranova is called to faux-compete with Pearce in a hypothetical situation.

Another method the new coach enlists is a willingness to leave silence hanging in the air. That one requires vulnerability on Pearce's part.

"Often in a group meeting setting like that, it's the sharpest minds and the most confident speakers that will speak up and answer straight away. In the back half of my career as a leader, I was really mindful of the long pause to encourage someone else to speak up and sitting on answers here and there, even if you had one, encouraging someone else to find their voice," Pearce explained.

"As coaches you've got to be so careful about how you ask questions and how you seek their understanding. Because, as the coach you're standing up the front and you want them to know (the answer) because it's a reflection on your coaching.

"So, if you ask a question and they don't know, it's a bit of a scary, vulnerable spot as a coach, so you can have a bit of a tendency to give them the answer in your question because you want them to get it right, because that feels like the meeting is going well."

And errors, or wrong answers are welcomed because "if we get it wrong, we're one step closer to getting it right".

Importantly, it is a group not afraid of the road ahead.

There is a connection to reality about where they sit right now. It is a program that has won eight games from 45 starts, onto its fourth head coach, and in which just five inaugural players remain.

It is not going to be an easy journey, but there is an overarching feeling that the right track is now being trod.

"There's a big gap to close, but they're not scared of the gap. They're just like, 'well tell us where to start and we'll do it'," Pearce said of her charges.

"Through last season as well, whilst it didn't translate to results, there were some good patches of games and halves here and there where they're best looked really competitive, and it was just a matter of maintaining it."

At the root of it all, is the love for footy, and the importance of enjoying the process.

"What Daisy's brought is just a lot of passion for footy and it's really rubbing off on the whole group," Smith said.

"It's really fun, really exciting … and it's coming together nicely."