Mid-season draft 2022: West Coast Eagles get pick one as Jai Culley, Max Ramsden among the favourites

West Coast’s list rebuild starts on Wednesday, with the club eyeing an engine-room boost with the first pick in the mid-season draft. Dandenong Stingrays midfielder Jai Culley and Sandringham Dragons ruck-forward Max Ramsden are the favourites to go pick 1, while West Adelaide’s Josh Carmichael is also in contention. The Eagles have two selections after Oscar Allen (foot) and Luke Edwards (groin) were put on the inactive list, but should they bring Tom Cole back from an ankle injury they’ll be left with just one. West Coast have until 3pm Tuesday to either put another player on the inactive list through a long-term injury or retirement. Culley is considered the obvious choice for the first pick, with the big-bodied midfielder touted as worthy of a first-round selection in the national draft later this year. “The best talent there we’ll take,” Simpson said. “We’ve got needs across the board, we’ve embarked on this last year. “You don’t get access talent coming through, you get access to the previous talent and some of the guys have really excelled in this half of the season at junior level.” This could give the Eagles effectively two first round draft picks for the price of one, with the battling club undoubtedly set to have a pick inside the top 10 for the first time since 2010, when they recruited Andrew Gaff with pick four. South Fremantle mature midfielder Jake Florenca has been linked to the Eagles pick should they have one, with the 25-year-old averaging 33 disposals in the WAFL. Fremantle will also have at least one pick after the retirement of Luke Valente in the pre-season, but where it will lie will depend on if other clubs open up spots on their list.