ONE OF the most encouraging aspects of West Coast's 2012 preparations has been the form of young midfielder Koby Stevens, with the 20-year-old finally enjoying what is effectively his first AFL pre-season.
Stripped of his power by osteitis pubis when he arrived at the club late in 2009, and struck down by a knee injury for much of his second pre-season, Stevens is relishing a clean bill of health this summer - and it shows.
Leaner but stronger than he was in 2011, the tough onballer has been one of the Eagles' standout performers on the track, finishing top five in the opening 2km time trial and continuing to sit just behind pacesetter Luke Shuey in running drills.
He didn’t miss a single session in the pre-Christmas block of training and now aims to convert that base into a breakout year after playing a total of seven games in his first two seasons.
" That's what I'm hoping for," Stevens told AFL.com.au. "I watched Luke (Shuey) do it last year and he's one of my best mates. That was great and really good for him.
"Coming back from my break, all I wanted to do was make sure my body was in the possible shape when I got back and hopefully have a massive 2012."
Watching Stevens train this pre-season, the return of his power and speed over short distances has been obvious.
He makes a point of bursting away aggressively every time he takes possession of the ball in drills, clearly savouring the return of his speed after two hampered years.
"I didn't feel like I'd recovered from my OP completely until halfway through last year, so it's good to finally get a lot of my speed back," he said.
"When I had OP I was really debilitated with my power, so that's improved out of sight.
"The body's feeling really good and powerful. It's great."
Shuey and Scott Selwood were the Eagles' standout young midfielders in 2011, both playing every game - including three finals - and finishing top 10 in best and fairest voting.
Stevens will share a house with the highly-rated duo next year, replacing Brad Ebert, whose move to Port Adelaide may also provide an on-field opening for the right-footer.
"He's putting himself in a really good position to challenge for a senior spot," midfield coach Scott Burns says.
"Out of our starting 22 we've lost Ebert, but he didn't play in the last two finals.
"If you look at our last two finals games, we haven't lost any midfielders or forwards, so he's still got to get past those guys. That's the challenge."
Stevens, who has grown two centimetres in the last 12 months and now stands 189cm, spent 2011 rotating between midfield and half-forward at East Fremantle, playing two AFL games mid-season.
It's the job he has been groomed for since arriving at West Coast as a No.23 draft pick, but he hasn't had the opportunity to build the fitness base required, until now.
"This year he had a full year playing WAFL and a couple of games for us in the seniors, which is a good match-day base," said Burns, who believes Stevens is capable of playing midfield, wing, half-forward and deep forward.
"There were no operations at the end, he's had a few weeks off and he's continued his running.
"He's basically gone 12 months now continually on his legs, getting that conditioning, which has really put him in good stead coming into this pre-season. He's going really well."
Nathan Schmook covers West Coast news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_NSchmook
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
