IMPROVING the young Eagles' skills has been the major focus of pre-season training so far, with plenty of early attention also given to the game plan. New coaches David Teague (backline) and Justin Longmuir (development) have fitted in well, with development coach Simon Eastaugh promoted to full-time, allowing for increased one-on-one tutoring.
Medical room: The Eagles have slowly regained the majority of their list to full training, with Josh Kennedy, Nic Naitanui and Mark Nicoski all joining the main group after shoulder surgery. Daniel Kerr continued an individualised program right up to the Christmas break, while draftee Blayne Wilson has been carefully managed after a series of groin and hip injuries in 2010.
Who's burning: Gerrick Weedon started 2010 with hip surgery and never got out of first gear, but the young forward has made the biggest leap of any Eagle this pre-season. He has stripped off excess weight and is now running up to 16km per training session. A better understanding of the work rate required has been credited for his turnaround.
Draftee watch: The Eagles recruited South Australian ruckman Scott Lycett with conservative expectations for next season, but he has made a big impression on the track and the club is reassessing its short-term plans for him. Forward line coach Peter Sumich has worked closely with the 202cm 18-year-old, and is bullish about his potential as a key forward.
Membership: West Coast entered the Christmas break with 97 per cent of its members committed for the 2011 season. After distributing renewal notices in November, 44,592 members have rejoined, including 39,028 seat holders at Patersons Stadium.
After the break: The Eagles will vote on their leadership group in the new year, but there will be no training camps, with the program to continue from Claremont Oval from January 3. Two players the club hopes to see continue progressing ahead of the new season are full-forward Callum Wilson and future full-back Eric Mackenzie. The Eagles have big plans for both in 2011.
Telstra Community Camp: The Eagles are still planning a trip to north-west WA from February 3-4, with the majority of the squad visiting Carnarvon and a smaller deployment heading to Exmouth. Flooding late in December has devastated the region, so it is possible the club's itinerary may change.
NAB Cup opener: February 13 v Fremantle and Hawthorn at Patersons Stadium.
What they say: "The first month of pre-season we kept a lot of the senior players in a remote program. We had a number of players coming back from post-season surgery and by December we got them all back together. In January and February we'll continue to work on our skill level and our ability to execute the game plan." - general manager of football operations Neale Daniher.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
