The West Coast Eagles have been putting in the hard yards over the pre-season period, focusing on both their individual and team goals.

Midfielder Jaide Britton says everyone’s effort is really starting to pay off and it’s becoming evident on the track, particularly in Wednesday’s intraclub game.

“Last year I was coming off a bit of a back niggle, so I’ve just been trying find some consistency with my training and find some form and confidence again,” Britton said.

“Coming into these (intraclub) games, there’s no big expectations, just trying to get the little things right and go from there, not trying to set the world on fire or tick off a hundred tasks.

“The things I’ve really been focusing on and dialling in on have really been showing in my game at the moment.”

The team’s 2024 campaign under the reign of Daisy Pearce was their most successful to date, recording four wins, and the team will be looking to better that result this season.  

“The biggest thing for us to work on was our defence, our defensive system is something we’ve been really getting to work on,” Britton said.

“Each week we’ve been refining it and making changes to it, and I think we’ve really started to see that when it’s working well, its really good for us.

“As a team, improving our ball movement is always a big focus, and looking for ways to increase our scoring is another.

“We kicked lots of goals (in the intraclub) and had some really good movement from our forwards and backs to make that connection, so the things we’re working on are really starting to show.”

The Eagles officially started their pre-season period in mid-May, and the players have been itching for some competitive game time.

“Obviously we spend a lot of time training during the pre-season and all we really want to do is play footy,” Britton said.

“To have a full two hours of match sim (Wednesday), everyone was frothing and ready to get into it, it was good fun.”

West Coast picked up a number of exciting young draftees in the off-season, along with Liz McGrath in a trade with North Melbourne, and Britton said they have hit the ground running since arriving at the nest.

“From the day they walked in the door, our new recruits were ready-made footballers, which is so exciting for us,” Britton said.

“We have four 18-year-olds who arrived, and they’re bigger and stronger than half of us already!

“Lu Painter has been a weapon through the midfield, ‘Daggers’ (Kayla Dalgleish) down forward, she’s so nippy and quick, Liz (McGrath) in the ruck, and ‘Boydy’ (Lucy Boyd) and ‘Riggsy’ (Charlotte Riggs) down back, they’ve all slotted in really seamlessly.

“It’s been really exciting to watch them play, and they’re all such good girls, we love having them here.”

The Eagles take on Gold Coast in their season-opener at Leederville Oval on Thursday, August 14, bouncedown at 7:15pm, (tickets available here) and the team vibes are high in the lead up.

“Four weeks out now, you can just tell everyone is getting really excited to get into some actual games,” Britton said.

“We’re making sure we’re covering all bases at the moment so come round one, there’s no stone left unturned, and the girls are all in really good stead for a strong season.”