West Coast Eagles youngster Tom Cole says he and his fellow draftees are still adapting to their new AFL life.

Since joining the Eagles’ nest in late November, the newest crop of Eagles have spent countless hours in education sessions in order to bring them up to speed on the West Coast way.

It is a huge step up from underage football, but a transition all draftees have to make in order to develop into AFL-ready players as quickly as possible.

“The education is a really big thing, we’ve got to learn how the Eagles play as quick as we can,” Cole told eagle Eye TV.

“So we’ve got to do twice as much education as what all the more experienced players do.

“That was a bit of a shock having to train, come off and then review it all the next day, but it’s something that we’re getting used to.”

Cole, a utility who can play a variety of positions across the ground, says he’s found a home in the Eagles backline group and is steadily working on fitting into their defensive system.

“At the moment it’s down back, trying to learn how the backs play,” he said.

“I think I’ll start there, whether it changes or not I’m not sure, at the moment I’m down back and just trying to learn as much as I can off some of the senior players.

“Right now you don’t really think about playing in the AFL, you’re just trying to get better each session and earn more respect from the players.

“It would be nice to get a shot at playing at least one AFL game this year, that’s the goal, but whether or not that happens we’ll have to wait and see.

“It’s just trying to get better, taking it day by day at the moment.”