As the West Coast Eagles move towards a younger list profile the club has ramped up its development emphasis with several key appointments.
Joining the club as Development Manager is former West Perth premiership player Steve Trewhella, while Tom Morrison - who has extensive coaching experience in WA and NSW - and highly-regarded sports psychologist Matt Burgin (pictured above) will all join the club’s football department.
Trewhella, a three-time Falcons premiership player, was instrumental in their flag triumph last month where he was heavily involved as the General Manager – Football Operations. He had been in that role for five seasons and was a key figure in the club’s rise to the point where its three teams played in the WAFL Grand Finals.
A 174-game veteran with West Perth who was captain of the 2003 team that defeated Subiaco, Trewhella also enjoyed success away from football in a business career that included executive HR roles and as a finance broker. He was also a member of the Claremont coaching staff when former teammate Darren Harris was at the helm.
Morrison is a former Claremont development coach and a part of the WA State Academy before moving to Sydney in 2013 as a development coach with the Sydney University team in the NEAFL.
In 2017 he was Sydney University’s senior coach, leading the club to its first premier league premiership in 32 years. Last year he was an assistant coach with the Sydney Swans’ VFL team.
Burgin has extensive experience across a broad range of Olympic sports and with State and National cricket programs.
He was the WA Institute of Sport lead psychologist from February 2001 to 2017 where he also worked closely with the 2012 Australian Olympic team as well as Rowing Australia, Hockey Australia and Gymnastics Australia.
For 18 months across 2016 and 2017 he was the WAIS high performance co-ordinator before continuing to immerse himself in the field of team and player development with the WACA while maintaining his involvement as a psychologist.
From August 2020 until being appointed to the Eagles, he has been senior mental health and performance manager at Cricket Australia.
“We are thrilled to have three such highly-regarded people joining our football program,” said Football Manager Gavin Bell. “They have all excelled in their specific fields for long periods and we believe they have much to offer our club.
“We are excited with what they bring to the club and anticipate they will have a strong impact on the development of our squad as we look to bounce back quickly from a tough period.”
