WEST COAST increased its midfield depth at Thursday night's NAB AFL Draft, selecting several players who can cover the wide expanses of Patersons Stadium.

 

The Eagles came away with three elite runners, despite entering the draft without a definitive ambition to focus on endurance.

 

Western Jets midfielder Liam Duggan was their first selection, who has proven his running power by finishing equal-seventh in the 3km time trial at the NAB AFL Combine.

 

Then, tall forward/midfielder Tom Lamb was snapped up at No.32 – somewhat surprisingly, said national recruiting manager Rohan O'Brien – to go with another elite runner in the Calder Cannons’ Damien Cavka.

 

"All of the guys we've picked can run so I guess in that regard it's another tick as well," O'Brien said.

 

"It's probably an attribute of this draft. It was a reflection of the type of kids that were in the draft; there weren't too many boys in there that you looked at thought they could struggle in the running department."

 

Medium midfielder/defender Jackson Nelson and father-son inside mid Alec Waterman rounded out the Eagles’ picks, which saw them continued to strengthen the depth of their ball winners.

 

Any disappointment the Eagles could have felt when Northern Territory midfielder Nakia Cockatoo was snapped up by Geelong ahead of their first pick was cancelled out when they secured Duggan.

 

Then, they relished the opportunity to grab Lamb, who was expected by many to be gone before selection No.32.

 

"The reality is, and I guess it's hard for some people to understand, that when you're sitting in the position that we were, you think it may be Liam Duggan, it may be Nakia Cockatoo, it may be Jayden Laverde or Lachie Weller," O'Brien said.

 

"You're thrilled with any of them.

 

"The fact [Nakia] got selected, that's terrific for Geelong and I don't think it would have changed anything we did.

 

"You can't get hung up on one player and we're rapt."

Rohan O'Brien says: "He's a player we've liked from afar for a long time. We think he's a terrifically skilled player, he's got a wonderful character, is a good leader and can play in a few roles. He may start more as a wingman type player and then move through the midfield. We're really thrilled to get him."

 

Rohan O'Brien says: "He's a guy that's been through the academy, has wonderful athletic attributes, works really hard and is a terrific trainer and we think he has a massive upside. He's a very versatile player, can play at either end of the ground and should be able to play around the wing and in the midfield so we're really pleased to get Tom as well."

 

Rohan O'Brien says: "He has a bit of versatility, half-back to midfield, is a really good user of the footy, reads the game well, kicks well both sides of his body and defends well so we thought it was a nice bonus for Jackson to be there."

 

Rohan O'Brien says: "We've got a really elite runner here. He's probably suited to a few different roles because of the amount of ground that he covers. He runs around a 16-beep [test]. He had a great finals series where he kicked goals and got a lot of the footy. Unfortunately he's had a few little niggles here and there but he's already at an elite level with his running so he won't have to improve much in that area."

 

Rohan O'Brien says: "Alec has been a bit of a bonus. We thought during the year that the price we would have to pay for Alec may be a little bit more than what it was, albeit understanding it's hard for clubs to commit in the middle rounds of the draft so to get him where we did was terrific. We think he's played well on a wing, he's been very good through the midfield and being a young club, to get father-sons is terrific for the tradition and future."