WEST Coast defender Alex Witherden has learned in his six AFL seasons that the career trajectory of a footballer is rarely linear, but working hard through the peaks and troughs is what earns respect.

Having made a bright start to his career in Brisbane as a prolific half-back, playing 53 of a possible 56 games in his first three years after marking his debut in 2017, the 24-year-old knows what it's like when your stocks are rising. 

But after just 28 of a possible 63 games in the past three seasons, including the last two at West Coast, he has equal experience grinding away without getting the same level of reward.

It's through that more recent period that Witherden, who has been the West Coast players' pick as their pre-season standout, has learned about the footballer he wants to be.

"Early in my career I was lucky enough to start from a higher base than a lot of people do in their first couple of years, then form and injury kicked in," Witherden told AFL.com.au. 

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"I've learned that not everyone's career is going to be linear, and it's not always going to keep going on an upward trajectory. There's going to be peaks and troughs.

"I'm striving to be one of those players who the coach can put your magnet up on the whiteboard and just back you to get the job done every week with no fuss.

"That's the aim. It's not about any individual awards or anything for me. It's just getting to that point and turning up every week."

Like everyone at West Coast, 2022 ended with Witherden asking himself some honest questions and considering if he was doing absolutely everything to get the most out of his career.

He looked at the example being set by premiership captain Shannon Hurn and the premium the 35-year-old puts on doing all the little things right consistently.

"Are you living that 365-day athlete lifestyle? Are you dotting all the Is and crossing all the Ts? Is your prep the best it can be every week?" he said.  

"It's not a huge change for a lot of people, but a little detail can make a big difference."

In that spirit, Witherden took the idea of joining an off-season running club to coach Adam Simpson and fitness boss Warren Kofoed, who gave it the green light.

Running up to 12km every Saturday morning of the off-season at Kings Park, on top of the program given to the Eagles' players, helped shape the platform for what has turned into the best pre-season of his career.

"It's called Front Runner, and they're semi-professional runners who run in competitions. They just love it," Witherden said.

"It was something I really wanted to improve, and I thought it could take my game to the next level.

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"Then during the week, I'd train with the boys for three days. So Jamie Cripps, Tom Cole, Dom Sheed, Luke Shuey … I'd just stay on them and run with them.

"That's helped my total football since I've come back, just the ability to repeat speed efforts and play the game at a higher intensity for longer."

The motivation to get better, both during those off-season running sessions and through the pre-season, has been strong for Witherden and his teammates after a 2022 campaign that was "embarrassing" at times. 

It is clear, however, from the collective improvement across the squad that the Eagles are giving themselves an opportunity to bounce back this year.

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Where Witherden fits into the Eagles' plans will become clearer through practice games against Port Adelaide and Adelaide, but he has spent significant time lining up for the strongest team in match simulation sessions. 

His major weapon remains his kicking, with the Eagles keen for the defender to play on instinct this season as they rebuild their transition game and add speed out of the backline.

"Last year when there's so many inside 50s and you're just gassed defending all the time, you can go into your shell a little bit and play more conservatively," Witherden said.

"As a team you can fall into that trap when you're losing, so I think it's just getting back to playing on instinct, seeing the option, and hitting it.

"That's something the coaches have emphasised over the pre-season, because that's when guys play their best footy."

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Witherden believes his best football is played as a high half-back, but he is keen to continue developing into a more well-rounded defender who can earn selection both for his attacking strengths and ability to lock down opponents. 

The Geelong product clearly thinks about his football a lot and can be intense with his focus, admitting he lost a bit of balance last season as the Eagles struggled more and more.  

That has been restored, however, with a commerce degree in international business and an internship with former West Coast chairman Russell Gibbs' property company Hawaiian keeping him focused outside football.  

"When it comes to footy I take it pretty seriously and most of my teammates know I'm more of a footy nerd than most, so can be a little bit intense around that at times," he said.  

"I've been able to balance it pretty well through my whole career, but last year was a challenge because I wasn't playing as well as I would have liked, and the team wasn't going as well as we would have liked. 

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"I was able to learn a lot from that and implement some structure around my life that has helped me.

Now that I've got a really good support network, really good mates in the footy club,

I think I've really settled and found my feet in Perth. Hopefully it sets me up to be here for a number of years to come."