West Coast Fan TV

West Coast Eagles’ mid-season draftee Marcus Herbert set to remain at club on two-year deal

Mitchell Woodcock The West Australian

Mon, 31 August 2026 7:04PM

West Coast mid-season draftee Marcus Herbert has agreed to a two-year contract extension with the club.

The West Australian understands Hebert has committed to remaining at the club despite interest from Carlton and a deal is set to be signed in coming days.

Herbert has been a sensation across half-back for the Eagles since arriving midway through this season from Geelong’s VFL program with the 13th pick in May.

He played 10 games for the rebuilding club, with his fast feet and daring ball use catching the eye.

It is further understood the Eagles initially offered Herbert a one-year deal.

The 24-year-old took a massive gamble by nominating for the draft on just a six-month contract.

He averaged 21.6 disposals per game and did not have less than 14 in any match after debuting against North Melbourne in round 14.

West Coast held exit interviews with players across two days last week in the wake of their final match against Hawthorn.

The Eagles have already made three changes to their squad this week with Tyler Brockman, Harvey Johnston and Harry Barnett all delisted, while 2018 premiership forward Jamie Cripps retired earlier this year.

Leadership group member Matt Flynn leads a list of players who are expected to have to wait to learn if they will secure another contract.

Defender-turned-forward Tom Cole, as well as injured goalsneaks Jacob Newton and Noah Long, all signed one-year contract extensions to remain at the Eagles until at least the end of 2027.

West Coast have locked in pick No.3 in this year’s draft after finishing 16th with four wins, while they also currently hold selections 21, 39, 53, 57 and 65.

The Eagles are also expected to get an extra pick at the end of the first round when Cody Walker (Carlton) and Dougie Cochrane (Port Adelaide) get an early bid in this year’s draft.

🕺🏿 DISCO DISCO! 💪🦅

Marcus “Disco Disco” Herbert is reportedly closing in on a new two-year deal with the West Coast Eagles, according to Sam Edmund.

From a mid-season opportunity to potentially securing another two years in the blue and gold.

He came in, took his chance and gave Eagles supporters plenty to get excited about.

Get it done!

Looks like DISCO might be staying in town! 🕺🏿🕺🏿💙💛

Who’s happy with this one, Eagles fans

Motormouth Mitch: The change in Liam Baker’s game the West Coast Eagles captain must make before 2027

Mitchell WoodcockThe We st Australian

Mon, 31 August 2026 2:00AM

Liam Baker’s aggression is one of the strengths of his game, but the West Coast co-captain must rein it in because on too many occasions he’s crossing the line and it’s costing his team.

Baker was brought back to WA from Richmond at the end of 2024 by the Eagles at great expense, and they cannot afford to have the important defender suspended for ill-discipline acts.

In only two seasons, Baker has served two separate suspensions; the first was a high bump on Sydney’s Chad Warner which cost him the first game of the 2026 season.

And then against Brisbane this year, Baker came in late with a bump on forward Cam Rayner as the Lion took the mark.

Baker was never going to have an impact on that contest, and all he did was ensure he spent another week on the sidelines despite being fit to play.

And if we’re honest, the 28-year-old is lucky he didn’t get banned for a late slide-in bump on Hawthorn’s Will Day in the final game of this year.

It did cost his team a goal, though, with Day awarded a 50m penalty which took him to an unmissable position from the top of the goalsquare.

Baker was recruited by the Eagles to be one of the leaders in their rebuild, to help guide the next generation both on and off the field.

He cannot do that to the best of his ability if he is serving suspensions for silly acts which have no positive outcome for his team.

The Eagles do not have enough quality players in the age bracket of 25 to 30 to cover Baker if he is suspended.

West Coast coach Andrew McQualter and the rest of his staff must have a tough conversation with their skipper about these incidents, highlighting that while his aggressive nature helps drive his game, it must be used in a more controlled manner.

If Harley Reid had been suspended for similar incidents, it would be magnified tenfold, with questions around his discipline and the way he plays.

Baker must be held to these similar, if not higher standards.

Play Me A Mellody, Matt

West Coast list boss Matt Clarke surely must be crossing his fingers and hoping that Essendon counterpart Matt Rosa hasn’t taken too much notice of Claremont young gun Heath Mellody.

If the Larke Medal for the best player at the Under-18 Championships hadn’t already made him among the best handful of draft prospects this year, then his past two league games at the Tigers certainly have.

Mellody looks every bit ready to walk into an AFL team and not only hold his own but have an impact.

The 18-year-old is a smooth-moving midfielder, but after watching his past two games it is his composure, maturity and tenacity against the bigger bodies in the WAFL which help make him stand out.

West Coast have a promising midfield for the future led by Reid, fellow No.1 draftee Willem Duursma and hopefully an improved Elijah Hewett over another pre-season.

But you can never have too many, especially when you have the pillars at either end of the ground locked in for the long term, which they do thanks to shrewd recruiting of Reuben Ginbey, Rhett Bazzo, Archer Reid and Jobe Shanahan.

Mellody looks like the kind of outside, goal-kicking midfielder who would complement the way Reid and Duurmsa play.

Should he put up another strong performance in the second semifinal against Peel Thunder this weekend, Mellody would have to be a contender for the best draft prospect of the year.

Unfortunately, he is almost certain not to be the No.1 pick because that is likely to go to either Dougie Cochrane or Cody Walker, who are tied to Port Adelaide and Carlton respectively.

By the time bids are placed on those exciting teenagers, West Coast’s first pick will slip from No.3 to No.5 and surely Clarke will be fingers and toes crossed Mellody slips through to that pick.

Essendon have the first pick in this year’s draft as it stands, and they would love a classy midfielder in the mould of a Mellody though to play alongside the inside bull of Dyson Sharp.

Richmond also have a pick before the Eagles, but that could likely be sent to Port Adelaide should Zak Butters agree to head to Punt Road.

Mellody could well be one of the best footballers to come out of Western Australia for some time. And West Coast fans would surely love him to stay in his home state.

Wildcard’s A Winner

You know what’s better than the footy — more footy.

And anyone who didn’t like the Wildcard concept needs to take a big deep breath and remember the AFL’s primary objective is to be an entertainment product.

This weekend they accomplished this in spades. On Friday night, the Western Bulldogs won an absolute thriller against Collingwood, who had the chance to win the game after the siren.

Then on Saturday night, more than 90,000 fans packed the MCG to watch Carlton’s incredible run under caretaker turned full-time coach Josh Fraser continue with a win against Melbourne.

To hear the fans singing the song at the end of the 19-point victory will go down as one of the moments of the season.

Had the Wildcard round not been there as a carrot dangled in front of Carlton for most of the season, we may never have got this great storyline.

To see Jagga Smith in his second season kick the match-sealing goal and Sam Walsh back to his best was just captivating.

The emotion was remarkable on the siren.

And you cannot tell me that AFL fans aren’t excited to watch the Blues take on Geelong next Friday night. It is going to be an absolute blockbuster.

The AFL have got a bit wrong this year, but the return of Origin football and the introduction of Wildcard round have been massive ticks.

How good is footy?

Am just going to put this here and say this imagine him

HR, Duursma, Cooper duff- Tytler in the midfield.

Shut up and take my money.

Someone somewhere f🫶🏽cked up big time

Instead whom did we get? 🤔🤔🤔

People love to dream

🦅 DOES MATT FLYNN GET ANOTHER CONTRACT?

Bailey Williams is injured, and suddenly our ruck depth becomes a very serious conversation.

This is where list management gets tricky.

Do we let Matt Flynn go because he hasn’t done enough?

OR…

Do we keep him because right now we simply can’t afford to lose experienced ruck depth?

You don’t want to hand out contracts just because someone is there — but you also don’t want to walk into 2027 one injury away from having a massive problem.

If YOU were running the Eagles list, what are you doing with Matt Flynn?

🟢 KEEP — give him another year.
🔴 LET GO — time to move forward.

What would you do, Eagles fans? 🦅💙💛

West Coast ruckman Matt Flynn’s future remains uncertain as one of seven uncontracted Eagles

Mitchell Woodcock The West Australian

Fri, 28 August 2026 6:32PM

West Coast leader Matt Flynn leads the list of seven Eagles who remain uncontracted as the football department officially went on leave on Friday.

Flynn’s initial three-year deal he signed as a free agent after crossing from Greater Western Sydney at the end of 2023 is expiring, and despite exit interviews being completed this week, there has been no official news around his future.

The 28-year-old was added to the leadership group last pre-season and played the first four games but was dropped after the 128-point thumping at the hands of Sydney and spent the rest of the season in the WAFL.

Meanwhile, Bailey Williams turned his back on free agency to sign a lucrative six-year deal to remain at the Eagles until the end of 2032 on the back of a career-best season at the club.

Flynn has played 26 games in three seasons at West Coast, but remains without a deal for 2027 and beyond alongside midfielders Clay Hall, Harry Schoenberg and rookie Fred Rodriguez as well as small forward Malakai Champion and utility Jack Williams.

Mid-season draftee Marcus Herbert’s six-month contract he signed in May is also expiring, but the club is in negotiations on a two-year deal, with Carlton also showing strong interest in the mature-age recruit.

West Coast have already made three changes to their squad this week with Tyler Brockman, Harvey Johnston and Harry Barnett all delisted, while 2018 premiership forward Jamie Cripps retired earlier this year.

Defender-turned-forward Tom Cole, as well as injured goalsneaks Jacob Newton and Noah Long, all signed one-year contract extensions to remain at the Eagles until at least the end of 2027.

While Flynn had been unable to break into the AFL side for much of 2026, he had been widely praised for his leadership in the Eagles’ reserves side, helping them to a club-record 10 WAFL wins in the home-and-away season.

Speaking to The West Australian after the defeat to Claremont at the weekend, Flynn said he believed he’d done enough to earn a new deal at Mineral Resources Park.

“Nothing yet. Still some positive conversations in that space with Clarky (list boss Matt Clarke) and the club. So hopefully we can work something out in that area, but nothing sold yet. Hopefully something gets sorted before too long,” he told The West Australian.

“I wouldn’t say I am 100 per cent confident; you’re never confident until there’s a piece of paper in front of you, but I am positive that there will be an opportunity there for me.”

Of all the other out-of-contract Eagles, Jack Williams featured the most at AFL level this year with 12 games, splitting his time as a forward and ruckman.

The 198cm key position player produced a career-best game against Collingwood at the MCG in round 11, racking up 21 disposals and six clearances as the back-up ruckman to Bailey Williams.

Champion kicked four goals from eight AFL games, but the last of them came in the round 13 defeat to Port Adelaide, with injury and form restricting him to the WAFL.

Schoenberg was one of three recycled footballers recruited by the Eagles alongside Deven Robertson and Finlay Macrae using the three extra rookie spots the club was granted as part of list concessions.

Robertson and Macrae both signed two-year deals to get a second chance on an AFL list, but Schoenberg only got a one-year contract and pulled on the jumper five times after debuting in the round three win against the Power.

Hall did not feature at the AFL level at all in 2026 after 13 appearances last season under coach Andrew McQualter, winning the club’s emerging talent award.

The Peel Thunder product had a strong season in the WAFL, averaging 20 touches and four tackles from 17 matches.

Rodriguez is yet to make his debut after being recruited by the Eagles with pick No.1 in last year’s rookie draft.

The 19-year-old was moved to half-back in the WAFL, averaging 15 touches from 15 games after battling a foot stress fracture in the pre-season.

West Coast have locked in pick No.3 in this year’s draft after finishing 16th with four wins, while they also currently hold selections 21, 39, 53, 57 and 65.

The Eagles are also expected to get an extra pick at the end of the first round when Cody Walker (Carlton) and Dougie Cochrane (Port Adelaide) get an early bid in this year’s draft.

As per the new AFL rules, clubs with a top-five selection that is pushed back by a matched father-son or academy bid receive the additional selection as compensation.

🦅 I HOPE OUR BOYS WATCHED THAT.

What a game.

That last quarter wasn’t about perfect structures, game plans or pretty football.

It was about HEART.

Hard running. Desperation. Guts. Determination. Refusing to give up when the game looked gone.

Anyone who follows this page knows I’m no Collingwood supporter 😂 — and yes, they lost.

But sometimes you have to take your hat off to a team that empties the tank until the final siren.

And that’s all we ask from our Eagles.

We don’t expect to win every week.

We don’t expect perfection.

But don’t give us one or two quarters and disappear.

Fight. Chase. Tackle. Run. Compete. Give the jumper everything until that final siren sounds.

If we lose doing THAT, supporters can walk out disappointed with the result but proud of the effort.

I hope our young Eagles watched that game tonight.

Because THAT is the standard.

Agree or disagree? 🦅💙💛

West Coast veteran Tim Kelly endured a tough time last year, but the veteran bounced back strongly this season to show he still has plenty more to offer.

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