It was teammate against teammate as the West Coast Eagles squad faced up for their 2026 intraclub on Friday morning at Mineral Resources Park.

Players’ families were invited to watch as the more experienced blue team took on a youthful white side which was topped up with WAFL Eagles players.

Over a no-holds barred four quarters, this is what we saw in the final tune-up before the Eagles get to face an opposition for the first time next Saturday against Fremantle in Cockburn.

First quarter

The opening term was spirited as the whites took it up to their more fancied opposition, with WAFL player Jack Walsh answering Jobe Shanahan’s early goal for the blues.

The blue midfield of Harley Reid, Tom McCarthy and – in a sight for sore eyes – Elliot Yeo soon got on top, feeding a potent forward line, led by prodigious draft talent Cooper Duff-Tytler who bagged three majors.

The No.4 pick showed outstanding forward craft to find space, and his third major came from a bullet-like pass from fellow draftee Josh Lindsay bursting through the middle from half-back.

Malakai Champion capitalised on a classy left-foot kick inboard from Harvey Johnston to reduce the margin for the whites, who trailed 5.6 (36) to 2.1 (13) at the first break.

A collision involving Liam Duggan and Tom Gross on the stroke of quarter-time ended the co-captain’s day earlier than hoped.

Second quarter

From the opening ball up, Clay Hall and Tom Gross combined after excellent ground level follow-up from ruckman Harry Barnett to give Jack Williams an opportunity on the lead.

One of the better set shots in the Eagles’ squad, Williams made no mistake from just inside 50, before Matt Owies reduced the margin back to 11 points with a swinging effort from long range.

But the blues quickly got back on top, with McCarthy displaying dancing feet to evade a would-be tackler and spear a pass to Yeo for his second.

Several new faces impressed, with Deven Roberton, Harry Schoenberg and Fin Macrae all showing why the Eagles were keen to add their talent and experience over the off-season.

Schoenberg hit a purple patch mid-term for the blues, while Robertson was in the thick of the action.

The ex-Lion’s searching ball inside 50 saw Harley Reid burst through traffic and feed Duff-Tytler for his fourth major from the goalsquare.

Reid provided another top shelf highlight with a left-foot snap hard up against the boundary line and the floodgates were open. Archer Reid and Jamie Cripps both hit the scoreboard, with the latter set up by a clever Duff-Tytler handball.

With Reuben Ginbey and Harry Edwards impassable down back, the blues blew the game out to lead 10.13 (73) to 4.2 (26) at half-time.

Third quarter

The scoreboard was reset but the blue domination continued in a seven-goal-to-nil term.

Led by a masterful Tim Kelly in tight, the blue midfield kept the footy heading their way.

One of the highlights of the day featured Kelly’s sensational centre clearance and three handball passage of play as he found No.1 draft pick Willem Duursma streaming into kick a brilliant 50m bomb.

Following a strong pre-season, Kelly looked in tremendous touch, as did Schoenberg as he kicked two nice goals in as many minutes, and Yeo as he hit the footy at pace and snapped truly on his left for his third.

While the whites struggled for avenues forward, exciting small forward Tylah Williams never stopped trying and showed some glimpses of electric pace, with Tyrell Dewar racking up touches rebounding across half-back.

Defensive stalwart Tom Cole switched into the blues and competed well after replacing Brandon Starcevich, who was rock-solid before hitting his nominated minutes and finishing up for the day.

Fourth quarter

Pushing through the fatigue barrier, the players kept cracking in and the white team didn’t give up.

Clay Hall’s expert front and centre inside 50 and emphatic finish on the left got the quarter off to a quality start and Bo Allan got better and better to put his imprint on the contest following an off-season of hard work.

Jamie Cripps, swapped into the white team, showed all his nous to set up teammates for shots at goal.

Harvey Johnston was the happy beneficiary of a sizzling Cripps ball and converted, before Noah Long bounced through his second with a brilliant quick-thinking snap in response for the blue side.

Archer Reid marked strongly between coaches Harry Taylor and Kyal Horsley to set up his third goal before latching onto McCarthy’s tumbling punt in the goalsquare for another moments later.

In an exciting sign, Harley Reid found another gear late to put an exclamation mark on his preparation for 2026, while left-footer Lindsay was in everything and Duff-Tytler’s fifth major from a tough angle was an outstanding way to finish the encounter.

Among the absentees were AFL Origin stars Jake Waterman and Liam Baker, along with Brady Hough, Bailey Williams (groin) and Elijah Hewett who completed some on-ground training before the intraclub got underway.

Hewett is nearing a return to action from a calf niggle and Hough has resumed running as he builds to full training again following an ankle injury. Key defensive recruit Tylar Young was also missing after a recent knock to the shin.