{"id":444201,"date":"2026-01-29T02:27:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T02:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/444201\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T02:27:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T02:27:11","slug":"west-coast-reveal-new-captain-for-2026-afl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/444201\/","title":{"rendered":"West Coast reveal new captain for 2026 – AFL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

West Coast has announced co-captains for 2026, with Liam Baker<\/a> joining Liam Duggan<\/a> in leading the Eagles this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Duggan has captained the club since 2024, partnering Oscar Allen<\/a> in shared captaincy roles for the royal blue and gold over the past two years.<\/p>\n

With Allen leaving for Brisbane over the off-season, Baker has been appointed in his place. Eagles football boss John Worsfold<\/a> spoke glowingly of Baker and Duggan’s leadership capabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Leading the largest and youngest squad in the AFL<\/a>, co-captaincy will allow both players to mentor their teammates in the most effective way and to also fulfill the off-field duties that captaincy demands, whilst still focusing on their individual preparation and performance,\u201d Worsfold said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“They will complement each other’s leadership styles to guide the team’s commitment to achieving its shared ambition of doing what it takes to win our next premiership.”<\/p>\n

The 2026 campaign will be Baker’s second with the Eagles since crossing from Richmond, where he was a vice-captain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

West Coast will continue with Jack Graham<\/a> and Jake Waterman<\/a> as leadership group members, while Reuben Ginbey<\/a>, Matthew Flynn<\/a> and recruit Brandon Starcevich<\/a> have been added to the group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cReuben’s teammates consistently recognise his work ethic and commitment shown both on and off the field,\u201d Worsfold said.<\/p>\n

\"EveryWest Coast Eagle Reuben Ginbey (Photo by Daniel Pockett\/Getty Images via AFL Photos)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is often held up as the example for all young players to learn from his training standards and, after spending some time in 2025 attending leadership meetings, he is rewarded with this role.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatt Flynn is a natural connector who is widely respected for the time he devotes to ensuring there is a strong sense of belonging within the playing group and Football Department.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis work ethic to get the best out of himself is obvious. He is also a strong presence within our young midfield, and he’s been rewarded for his leadership shown over several years at the Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrandon’s leadership qualities have impacted our young squad immediately. Coming from Brisbane’s leadership group, he adds valuable nous and experience from within a two-time premiership squad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"West Coast has announced co-captains for 2026, with Liam Baker joining Liam Duggan in leading the Eagles this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125580,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-444201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}