West Coast key defender Rhett Bazzo has put pen to paper to stay at the club for the next three years.
Bazzo has emerged as a breakout player for the Eagles in 2026, showing his capabilities as a strong lockdown defender in the absence of Harry Edwards (concussion) and Reuben Ginbey (quad).
Heading into the season, Bazzo was stuck outside of the senior side. However, once he got in, Bazzo hasn't let the opportunity slip, playing 13 consecutive games in the last season of his contract.
Bazzo said he was happy to extend his time at the Eagles as the club looks to bound back up the ladder.
“It feels good. Obviously my fifth year now so great to repay my faith back to the club. Obviously, they stood by me through some pretty difficult times,” Bazzo said.
“It's awesome just to play some good footy finally and repay them back and it's good to sign on for another few years.”
Having faced personal heartbreak and injury troubles in the early stages of his career, Bazzo has battled on bravely and was rewarded for his efforts when the contract was announced on Thursday.
Interstate clubs had been circling the 22-year-old had he decided to look elsewhere, but Bazzo said he is in a good space football-wise at the moment.
“Continuity has been massive for me. Obviously, the last few years have been a few injury-interrupted pre-seasons,” he said.
“It's good just to have an injury-free year, train hard and get good reps out there.
“Hopefully, I've played a few good games of footy for this club.”
Bazzo played 28 games in his first four years in the system and had failed to lock down a role in a struggling Eagles' back six.
After Bazzo returned to the side earlier in the year, his coach Andrew McQualter conceded in pre-season he didn't know how the 195cm defender was going to feature at AFL level at all this year.
"To be fair, I wasn't sure how much Rhett would play this year at the start of the year," McQualter said in July.
"And that's with Reuben and Harry; he might have been third or fourth in line, but through circumstance, he has proved himself to be a really capable AFL defender, key back. He's made enormous growth, I've got a lot of trust in the way he plays."
Bazzo has become a crucial part of West Coast's side and is in the perfect age demographic to help move the club forward.
He is averaging 11.8 disposals, six spoils and 2.4 intercept marks per game in 2026.
