West Coast captain Liam Duggan says fresh faces have made the Eagles ‘feel like a new club’

West Coast captain Liam Duggan says it feels like “a new club” at the Eagles as they prepare to unveil four debutants in their season opener against Gold Coast. The Eagles have overhauled their list in recent years with 24 new players added since the end of the 2024 season. Duggan will lead a side which features nine players that have played 10 games or less against the Suns at People First Stadium on Sunday – the most since Champion Data began keeping records in 1999. This includes debutants Willem Duursma, Cooper Duff-Tytler, Josh Lindsay and Milan Murdock, while Deven Robertson and Tylar Young will turn out for the Eagles for the first time since crossing from Brisbane and Richmond respectively. Duggan said the fresh faces had reinvigorated the club after only 11 wins over the past four seasons. “It’s a different place that’s for sure. It’s refreshing especially for us that have been here a little while,” Duggan said. “It does feel like a new club in a sense. It’s exciting with the debutants this weekend and it’s those boys but (also) the boys in those second, third, fourth years now that have got a little bit of a taste for it, and they feel a little bit more comfortable being an AFL player. “That’s been the most pleasing part for me is seeing those boys develop and come on a bit quicker than what we’ve probably had over the last four years.” Duggan has not let the past few tough years dent his positivity, saying he is “as optimistic as anyone” about the season ahead. “Over this pre-season it’s about building belief, and we haven’t won in a while so for the players who have been around it’s learning how to win again,” he said. “Learning how to be competitive in games for longer and the only way we can do that is to build the evidence around it. “We get our first opportunity on Sunday against Gold Coast which is a huge challenge but what a way to start off our season and have a crack at one of the best teams in the competition.” West Coast’s slim hopes of a win have been boosted by the fact the Suns have withdrawn star forward Bailey Humphrey because of hamstring tightness, replaced by Jake Rogers. Duggan has declared himself back to his best after he missed the Eagles’ two pre-season clashes because of a third concussion in as many years. The 29-year-old was laid out by teammate Tom Gross in the first quarter of an intra-club last month and the Eagles took a cautious approach given his history of concussions. Several of Duggan’s former teammates have been forced to retire because of concussion, including Daniel Venables, Brad Sheppard and, most recently, Jeremy McGovern, who was forced to give the game away last year. “For me it’s more like any other injury. If you do a few knees or a few hammies you’re always going to put a little bit more time and effort into making sure it’s all good come the next time you run out, so it’s probably no different in that sense for me,” Duggan said. “There are a few things that we’ve tried in coming back from this concussion that we’ll continue to do throughout the season. It’s hard to prevent concussion but just things that will help me along with that sort of stuff. “There’s not a real concern from my end to be honest. And probably some of that is my own self talk and making sure that I’m not over-worrying about it because I think when you are thinking about it a bit too much it’s probably when they pop up.”