WEST Coast wingman Andrew Gaff is running as well as he was when he was 18, according to coach Adam Simpson, after pushing through an ankle injury last season that broke him by the final round.
The full extent of Gaff's struggles last season was never revealed, with the 30-year-old needing 12 weeks to recover from off-season surgery going into 2022 but never getting his injured ankle right.
As an availability crisis took hold early in the season, Gaff continued to put his hand up most weeks and played 16 games under duress before he was finally put on ice for the final round of the season.
FANTASY LATEST Tips, strategy, draft, podcasts, more
Simpson said the dual Therabody AFL All-Australian had lost significant weight over a strong off-season and rediscovered his running power, in an encouraging sign for the Eagles' midfield.
"He's a tough bugger and he was limping around all year, and I think eventually we broke him down going into the last round," Simpson told AFL.com.au.
"He's gone away and his running is the same as it was when he was 18, so he is fit. His biggest asset as we all know is his ability to cover the ground, and that's back.
"Whether he's back to his best as a footballer or not, I hope so. But he's now had a really clean pre-season, which he hasn't had for three years.
"That's the challenge with the criticism you get for your fitness or your standards. You get it because it's from the outside, but until you know what the player has gone through, you don't really know."
LIST ANALYSIS Which club has the most All-Australians, top-10 picks?
Gaff was among a group of players that Simpson said probably shouldn't have been playing last year but continued to because of the club's dire injury situation, with Liam Duggan (knee) and Jake Waterman (knee) in the same situation.
The prospect of improved form from all three in 2023 adds to the upside already generated by the returning quartet of key forward Oscar Allen (foot), defender Tom Cole (ankle) and midfielders Elliot Yeo (calf) and Dom Sheed (ankle).
While there is excitement around the potential impact of West Coast's draftees, it is the availability of those established Eagles that Simpson says will have a bigger impact on the season.
"There's room for both, and I can see there's two groups there coming through that [make us] look completely different to last year," the coach said.
"I think we've all seen those guys at their best, so let's start there [with the impact they can have] and work our way back.
'NOT GOING TO BE LINEAR' How riding the bumps led Eagle to a new goal
"Elliot Yeo has won two best and fairests, is All-Australian, and has played bugger all the last three years. Dom Sheed should be in the prime of his career right now, but he played one game last year.
"Oscar Allen missed the whole season. Tom Cole is a premiership player and he's probably underrated in the bigger picture, but internally his reaction time to doing the right thing is just sensational.
"So I'm really bullish on those guys as much as giving the kids some exposure, because those guys aren't at the back end of their careers, they're right in the middle."
Simpson has been careful not to heap pressure on the club's draftees, who have impressed as a group in training and match simulation sessions.
Big-bodied midfielder Reuben Ginbey, midfielder/forward Elijah Hewett and small forward Noah Long have all shown enough to suggest they will play early.
Second-year wingman Campbell Chesser, who was managed carefully in his return from a serious ankle injury, should join them after making giant strides in recent weeks.
Asked if the talented Chesser was on track for a round one debut, Simpson said: "I'd love to give him some AFL exposure early.
"There's opportunities there, so trying to not put the weight of the world on their shoulders is important, because they're 18 and 19-year-old kids," the coach said.
"Same with Reuben Ginbey, Noah Long and Elijah Hewett and these guys. It's exciting that we’ve got some new young talent and they'll get opportunities, but without the expectations.”
