Momentum is a wonderful tool in sport. Teams and individuals who discover it are difficult to stop.

It was apparent against Carlton last Saturday at Etihad Stadium. The game was slipping beyond reach, then suddenly, inexplicably it turned. The Blues kicked four quick goals, with belief and home-crowd support snowballing them to an unlikely victory.

West Coast was left to lament an opportunity lost. Carlton basked in victory.

Momentum. It can come in a quarter, it can extend into games and seasons.

Players who have a good pre-season lay the foundations for a solid year in the AFL. Listen to any player experiencing a rich vein of form and inevitably they will reference a summer and the extended training they were able to endure which had been pivotal to finding the “zone”.

Conversely, lose pace with momentum and it is difficult to catch again. Particularly if the days roll into weeks.

In pre-season, emerging West Coast utility player Simon Tunbridge had momentum. He had an outstanding pre-season, barely missed a session and carried that through to the eve of the practice matches.

He was selected in the first hit-out against Fremantle at Joondalup, suffered a mild hamstring strain at the start of the final training session leading into the game and was ruled out.

It has taken some time to reacquaint himself with that momentum, but he is ready to get back on the swing. A couple of solid games with East Perth and he’s back in the selection mix.

He must wait until Friday afternoon to see whether he makes the final cut, but the young hard nut was at least mentioned in selection despatches.

If he does not get the opportunity against Fremantle, he at least is aware that he is on the precipice and a sustained run of form in the WAFL will eventually see him break back into the team.

Tunbridge played two games last year, the first of them in round 14 when he came on as the sub against Essendon and barely touched the footy as the Eagles wilted in the final quarter. He returned in round 23 against Adelaide and earned the plaudits of Eagles fans as one bloke who had a crack and kicked a couple goals.

That’s the way Tunbridge plays; full tilt.

The powerful young man with the piercing left foot is another product of the fertile mid-west football zone. A part of the original Greater Western Sydney squad, he did not find a liking to the big city, returned to WA and spent a couple of years on the West Coast rookie list.

Elevated to the senior list at the end of last year, he is a strong-bodied midfielder in whom the club sees great hope. The fans will see that too, if not on Sunday against Fremantle, then at least in the near future.