THE TWO weeks leading into round one were supposed to be full of excitement and anticipation for West Coast defender Tom Cole.

Instead, it was a time filled with incredible sadness and grief during the sudden final stages of his father's battle with liver and bowel cancer.

Cole had just wrapped up the best pre-season of his short career in the Eagles' final JLT Community Series game against Fremantle, and was on target to play in the season-opener when his sisters called with shattering news.

Only four months after his diagnosis, Russell Cole had taken a turn for the worse, and Tom rushed back to Bendigo – about 90 minutes north of Melbourne – to be with his family.

"After playing Freo in JLT3, my sisters called me and said 'you should probably come home soon'," Cole recalled to AFL.com.au.

"I didn't know how bad it was really, because I was here and focused on my footy a lot.

"Dad was always in my mind but sometimes in the back of my mind, and it slipped up on me a little bit.

"I flew straight home and that next weekend he passed away, the week before round one.

"It was a tough week, sleeping at the hospital with Mum for four or five nights, and that Saturday he lost his battle."

After being diagnosed last November, 58-year-old Russell had responded relatively well to chemotherapy in the first three months.

No new tumours appeared and cancerous cells subsided, but the side effects were severe.

"It was working, but he had lost 20 or 30kg over such a short period of time and it was just rocking him too much," Cole said.

Doctors advised Russell to take a month off treatment, regain some weight and then attack the cancer with a lower chemotherapy dose.

"But when he was off the chemo he still had cancer inside of him and it was still eating away at him," Cole said.

"It was around that time he was slowly getting worse and worse because he wasn't on chemo anymore, which we thought was going to be a good thing to back off for him.

"He still had hope when I got there that Monday. He went into a hospice and was in a lot of pain.

"The plan was to get him on some good painkillers and then hopefully he'd feel better, start eating again and we could get him back onto chemo.

"It just didn't work out.

"It was just a matter of time at that stage."

Despite the overwhelming grief, spending a final week with his Dad, having the chance to say goodbye and sharing those last memories, including a surprise visit from coach Adam Simpson, are things Cole will always treasure.

In Melbourne for AFL commitments, Simpson took the time out of his busy schedule to drive the three-hour round trip to Bendigo for a 20-minute visit with the Cole family.

"It was probably the last day Dad could comprehend what people were saying. He couldn't talk," Cole said.

"'Simmo' told him that I'd play round one, and it was almost the last time Dad smiled before he passed away.

"He was trying to talk footy with 'Simmo' in the hospice, it was pretty funny, but that's a memory I will always hold onto."

After Russell's passing, Simpson, football boss Craig Vozzo, player services manager Ian Miller, close mate Matt Allen and injured Eagles backman Eric Mackenzie travelled to Bendigo for the funeral, only two days before the round one clash with Sydney.

While Cole was immensely grateful for the support, he briefly doubted whether he could return to Perth to continue playing football.

However, he knew it was what his father would have wanted.

His mother, Donna, encouraged him to resume his career, which he did, at first via the WAFL before breaking into the Eagles' line-up in round five.

The determined backman has since found the consistency he's been searching for and held his spot for 10 straight games, after playing six in his first two seasons.

"It was pretty tough at the start, but I found my feet and I'm going alright now," Cole said.

As you would expect, Cole has his good and bad days, but the memory of his Dad, who took great pride in his son's football career, is driving him.

"You get a lot of advice but I really listened to what he had to say," Cole said.

"It's hard not having him here this year because I've finally started playing some AFL games.

"It's hard that he's not getting to see it, but I know he's up there watching.

"Every game is pretty much playing for him for the rest of my career."

Now, every time he steps on the field, Cole has a constant reminder of his Dad etched on his right wrist.

Before he returned to Perth, Cole and older sisters Brittany, Gabrielle and Darcey all went to get matching tattoos of their father's football number inked beside a crown. 

"He started in the twos wearing No.66 and when he got into the ones he kept it all the way through. Even when he changed clubs he made them make a No.66 for him," Cole said with a smile.

"So this is just a little tribute to him, because he's the King and I love him."