West Coast's Brandon Starcevich has heaped praise on the work rate of the young Eagles after a month where the club has started to establish a clear brand.
The Eagles have won two of their last five games and the cumulative margin of the losses has been just 17 points.
Starcevich has played in the past two games and has been unsurprised by the uptick after signing a four-year deal in the off-season.
“When I arrived, the amount of young talent at the club was really impressive after their good draft hands in the last few years and seeing those guys come in and impact has been positive,” Starcevich told Zero Hanger at the launch for his family's recruiting platform, ClubScout.
“The other noticeable thing has been that the work ethic is there. We want to try and get better and improve and that's a good foundation to build from so I'm impressed about that. It's about creating good habits.
The Eagles' ball security when moving the ball from defence, and ability to lock the ball in the forward half through pressure and intercepting have been key features of a significant list.
While the losses have been frustrating, the back-to-back premiership recruit from Brisbane has seen clear growth after a start to the year which contained 100-plus point defeats to St Kilda and Sydney.
“Those sort of (close) games give you invaluable experience. The positive is we're giving ourselves chances to win," Starcevich added.
"In those moments, you've still got to be composed and calm in the chaos and you don't have to go above and beyond to be the hero, it's all about playing you're role and being reliable so I think a lot of those lessons have been learned in the last month playing in some close games."
Rhett Bazzo and Tylar Young have big roles to play in the absence of the injured Reuben Ginbey, with Starcevich's role also altering.
After a fortnight where he has “blown the cobwebs out” Starcevich is confident he will be able to take on tough assignments late in the season.
“It changes things a little bit without Reuben: I have to pinch hit and play a little bit taller at times,” Starcevich noted.
“Although I might play on someone I maybe would not have, we back in our system to get the job done and it might take some time to get that chemistry and gel between the group now that Reuben's out.
“He's obviously a big loss. Covering his loss isn't easy but we'll give it a go.”
Leadership-group member Ginbey's absence puts incumbency on Starcevich, who was added to the leadership group in his first year at the club.
Starcevich has sought to bring the high standards Brisbane has adhered to during its golden run to the Eagles, with the off-field role providing him with a way of remaining engaged while sidelined.
“I've tried to be as involved in those conversations as I can, try and help out and say what I'm seeing, giving a different perspective on things and around the club, try to set a good standard and teach some of our guys what it takes to be a professional and prepare properly,” Starcevich said.
“They're all good at it already, they're very mature and dedicated so I'm trying to bring them along with me.”
The experienced former Lion also expressed complete faith in Jake Waterman, whose set shot goal kicking has been heavily scrutinised in recent weeks.
After 51.23 in 2024, his last full season, he has had the most shots of any player in the competition, but kicked 31.37 this year, missing some important majors late in games.
“I have complete trust in Jake. He's had some big moments recently where he's come up a bit short but it's great we're in those sort of games and have those opportunities,” Starcevich added.
“He'll be better in the long run for that and I have complete trust and faith for Jake. His passion for the club runs deep and he's still playing great games for us.
“What people aren't talking about is he's kicking three to four goals per game, he's just missing some late ones but it's not all on Jake because there's moments before that we could have cashed in. He's working away at trying better himself.”
Starcevich, with cousin, Jackson, and Uncle, Craig, launched local footy recruiting platform ClubScout on June 1, with more than 3000 players already signed up and widespread interest from club-land.
It aims to act as a conduit between players and clubs, providing all parties with a means of ensuring fair price is paid for talent.
"In the free agency space and trade period last year, I was lucky enough to have a manager who knows about negotiating and my worth," Starcevich said..
"Local footy players don't have that, so this platform provides that conduit for clubs to do their recruiting and players to get a figure they're actually worth."
