How co-captain will unleash the ‘attacking bulls’ of the Eagles
Liam Duggan, a co-captain of the NEW WEST Coast, is eager to provide the Eagles’ midfield a defensive edge in 2024. He has had a great preseason, splitting time between on-ball and backline duties alongside highly valued draft pick Harley Reid.
Originally drafted as a midfielder, Duggan has established himself as a premiership defender. Coach Adam Simpson has long used the 27-year-old as an onball option, as evidenced by his 29-pass effort against Essendon late in the 2017 season.
The Eagles now seem willing to divide up Duggan’s responsibilities in 2024 and bring in another experienced player to an engine room that will likely regularly feature Reid, Elijah Hewett, and Reuben Ginbey, both of whom are in their second year.
Duggan’s role will also include assisting Tim Kelly, the 2023 club champion, and a healthy Elliot Yeo in using their attacking weapons in the middle.
“I’ll probably bring that defensive flavour a little bit with my background as a defender, and we’ve got some really attacking bulls in the midfield that we want to let play their natural game and show their stuff and express themselves,” Duggan stated on Tuesday.
“I’ll be helping those boys out defensively and letting guys like ‘TK, Harley, and Yeoy’ work and do what they do best—something we all love to watch—as part of my job description.
Luke Edwards, who has been incredibly impressive this preseason, has also been used in addition to Harley and me switching between the backline and midfield positions.
“It’s exciting to see where that will all land, but I’m enjoying the midfield time and I think Harley is enjoying some backline time as well.”
Duggan was the victim of a competitive session on Monday while rotating through the midfield in an AFLX-style match simulation. This highlighted the fact that games were getting closer as the number of bumps and bruises increased.
Despite being sore, the left-footer expressed satisfaction with the way the team was heading into the summer after starting the match simulation phase earlier than in previous years.
“It’s been big sessions for a few weeks now, so the group is in a really good space and we’re handling the workload really well,” Duggan stated.
“The boys are getting quite competitive out there, so it actually does feel like a game at times when we’re out training.”There will be some bumps and bruises, and in our match simulation last week, there were some significant collisions. They will arrive, but that’s what prepares us for this year’s rounds 10 and 20 and gets you ready for a major season.
Since (high performance manager) Mathew Inness joined the team, the preseason has taken on a somewhat different appearance. However, the boys have kept up and adjusted really well.”
Duggan said that in addition to the intensity of training, the club was experiencing a fresh energy as a result of the large influx of young players, who gathered on Tuesday at Mineral Resources Park for team photo day.
According to the pre-season evidence, the premiership backman has a lot to look forward to from that group as he counts down the days until he can lead the Eagles as co-captain against Port Adelaide on March 17.
In addition to their enthusiasm in the locker room, a number of these young men appear to be ready for action based on what they’re doing on the field. That really excites us,” Duggan remarked.
