XAVIER Ellis has called time on his AFL career after making an announcement on his Instagram account.

The West Coast utility and 2008 Hawthorn premiership player suffered another soft tissue injury playing in the WAFL on Saturday and announced in an Instagram post that he was calling time on his 120-game AFL career.

"I'm done!! Thank you all involved at (Hawthorn) and (West Coast) for the 11 tremendous years," Ellis posted.

"Amazing highs and a few (too) many lows, but was well worth the work. These legs need a rest now."

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Ellis played 86 games with Hawthorn after he was recruited with pick no.3 in the 2005 NAB AFL draft.

He played in the 2008 premiership win with the Hawks. He also played in the 2012 Grand Final but badly damaged his calf in the loss to the Sydney Swans and would play just two more games for the Hawks in 2013.

Ellis joined West Coast as an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2013 and played 34 matches with the Eagles including last year's Grand Final against Hawthorn.

But soft tissue injuries continued to plague him. He partially tore his Achilles in round one this season and played just one more game in round 12 before succumbing to yet another injury on Saturday.

He said it was clear his time was up after the latest setback and he was relieved to finish his career after 11 seasons. 

"I realised then and there, literally five minutes into the WAFL game, that my time was done and I started to reflect on how lucky I was," he told 6PR on Tuesday night.

"I didn't even bother scanning it. There's obviously the physically side but also the mental side of it.

"I've absolutely loved my time at West Coast but it got to the stage where I couldn't trust myself getting through a game. I hate letting people down.

"For me when you get injured early in a game you go one short you let down 21 of your best mates. For me it was a pretty easy one."

The 28-year-old said he hoped to move into coaching now that his playing career was over. 

"Footy is me. I absolutely love it. I've almost knocked over my sports management degree but even that I don't think is for me," he said.

"I've done all my courses with coaching and I'm really excited about the next chapter. I think coaching is probably the path I wish to go down."