West Coast forward Liam Ryan has declared the only way is up for the battling AFL club, and he wants to play a key role in helping guide the team's fledgling youngsters.
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The Eagles sit 16th on the ladder with a 3-14 record, putting them just one win above North Melbourne and Richmond in the race to avoid the wooden spoon.
West Coast's third horror season in a row resulted in the parting of ways with long-time coach Adam Simpson last week, and it may be years before the Eagles are a serious finals contender again.
But the arrival in recent years of Harley Reid, Campbell Chesser, Reuben Ginbey, Jai Culley, Clay Hall, Elijah Hewett, Noah Long, Brady Hough, Callum Jamieson, Ryan Maric and Jack Williams has at least sparked hope that the largest part of West Coast's rebuild is now behind them.
Ryan arrived at West Coast at the end of 2017, and he tasted premiership success less than a year later in just his 13th game at the top level.
The 27-year-old is hopeful to get back to the grand stage one day, but his immediate focus is squarely on helping guide the club's next generation of stars.
"The only thing we can do is go upwards," Ryan said of West .
"I'm only 27, but the younger boys look up to me as a senior player. I've been in the system seven years.
"Hopefully I can be a part of that (build), just showing the young boys the road like what Mark LeCras and Jamie Cripps and Josh Kennedy showed me."
West Coast gave flag contenders Brisbane a huge scare last week before falling 13 points short on a day when the club's fans said goodbye to Simpson.
Interim coach Jarrad Schofield is keen for his team to produce another fighting effort when they take on St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
The Eagles will be without in-form forward Jake Waterman (knee) and star midfielder Elliot Yeo (soreness), while Tyler Brockman (ankle) and co-captain Liam Duggan (concussion) were also forced out.
Jack Petruccelle returns from a hamstring injury, while Culley, Chesser and Josh Rotham were recalled.
"The next six weeks is all about us getting better," Schofield said.
"We felt like our contest and pressure against Brisbane was at a level that it should be every week.
"We felt like our pressure across the ground was what we expected of our identity that we're chasing - to be a front-half footy team."
St Kilda (6-11) followed up their shock two-point win over Sydney with a 32-point loss to Adelaide last week.
The Saints have been bolstered by the return of Brad Hill for his 250-game milestone, but Mattaes Phillipou is out with a hip injury.
Australian Associated Press
