{"id":455436,"date":"2026-02-03T09:39:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T09:39:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/455436\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T09:39:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T09:39:26","slug":"afl-origin-west-coast-eagles-recruit-brandon-starcevich-withdrawn-from-wa-squad-as-final-team-gets-locked-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/455436\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL Origin: West Coast Eagles recruit Brandon Starcevich withdrawn from WA squad as final team gets locked in"},"content":{"rendered":"

West Coast will err on the side of caution with Brandon Starcevich, with the boom recruit withdrawn from Western Australia\u2019s squad for next weekend\u2019s AFL Origin blockbuster.<\/p>\n

It comes as WA finalised their 25-man squad for the clash against Victoria at Optus Stadium, with Eagles spearhead Jake Waterman and Fremantle veteran Jaeger O\u2019Meara among the last players added, as flagged by The West Australian.<\/p>\n

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE COMPLETE WA SQUAD AND PROJECTED LINE-UP<\/p>\n

Starcevich had been earmarked for an important defensive role in next Saturday\u2019s Origin fixture, but the dual premiership Brisbane backman turned Eagles free agency pick-up was unable to be ruled fully fit for the game.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old is battling a minor strain in his anterior cruciate ligament which he suffered last month, only returning to main training this week.<\/p>\n

In a team selection statement, the AFL said Starcevich had been ruled out of Origin because the Eagles wouldn\u2019t allow him to play the required game time.<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether the defender will be available for the Eagles\u2019 match simulation against Fremantle in Cockburn on February 21 or the pre-season clash against Port Adelaide the following weekend.<\/p>\n

Waterman and O\u2019Meara join Western Bulldogs ruck star Tim English, Richmond\u2019s three-time premiership backman Nathan Broad and GWS veteran Stephen Coniglio as the final call-ups for the squad.<\/p>\n

\"JaegerCamera IconJaeger O’Meara is one of four Fremantle players in WA\u2019s Origin side. Credit: James Worsfold\/AFL Photos\/via Getty Images<\/p>\n

O\u2019Meara\u2019s addition means Fremantle will have the greatest representation of any AFL club in the WA squad. O\u2019Meara, Luke Jackson, Shai Bolton and Jordan Clark will all line up for the Black Swans, while Dockers teammate Caleb Serong is in a Victorian squad that will be finalised this week.<\/p>\n

GWS and the Western Bulldogs have three players apiece in WA\u2019s side, with West Coast and Melbourne supplying two each.<\/p>\n

Former West Coast co-captain Oscar Allen is one of the biggest names to miss selection, with the Brisbane recruit missing out among a WA key-forward set-up that features Coleman medallist Jesse Hogan, Aaron Naughton, Mitch Georgiades and Waterman.<\/p>\n

Waterman said he was thrilled to have earned the honour and follow in the footsteps of father Chris, who represented WA on the Origin stage in the 1990s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an absolute honour to be picked to wear the Black Swan alongside a team of West Australians I admire immensely,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been fortunate enough to represent WA many times throughout my junior days, so to be able to put the iconic black and gold jumper on again means the world to my family and I.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fremantle football boss Joe Brierty has been added to WA\u2019s coaching panel, which will be headed by Sydney coach Dean Cox.<\/p>\n

Dockers\u2019 coach Justin Longmuir and Adelaide assistant Jay van Berlo are also part of the coaching unit, which will come together next week against of the blockbuster exhibition clash.<\/p>\n

\"WA'sCamera IconWA’s projected Origin line-up. Credit: The West AustralianWA\u2019s 25-PLAYER ORIGIN SQUAD<\/p>\n

By club representation<\/p>\n

FREMANTLE: Luke Jackson, Shai Bolton, Jordan Clark, Jaeger O\u2019MearaWESTERN BULLDOGS: Aaron Naughton, Tim English, Rory LobbGWS: Sam Taylor, Jesse Hogan, Stephen ConiglioWEST COAST: Liam Baker, Jake WatermanMELBOURNE: Kysaiah Pickett, Trent RiversCARLTON: Patrick Cripps (c)SYDNEY: Chad WarnerBRISBANE: Charlie CameronHAWTHORN: Tom BarrassCOLLINGWOOD: Darcy CameronADELAIDE: Callum Ah CheeST KILDA: Bradley HillGEELONG: Lawson HumphriesPORT ADELAIDE: Mitch GeorgiadesGOLD COAST: Wil PowellRICHMOND: Nathan Broad<\/p>\n

No representatives from North Melbourne or Essendon<\/p>\n

**<\/p>\n

Get a FREE WA AAMI AFL Origin Guernsey worth RRP $130 when you sign up for a 12-month subscription to thewest.com.au<\/p>\n

Subscribe now from just $6 per week. T&Cs apply, limited time only.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.thewest.com.au\/footypack<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"West Coast will err on the side of caution with Brandon Starcevich, with the boom recruit withdrawn from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,49082,64,63,55,639,10124,588,85,7067],"class_list":["post-455436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-afl-state-of-origin","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-fremantle-dockers","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-west-coast-eagles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455436","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=455436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}