{"id":501035,"date":"2026-02-24T13:27:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T13:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/501035\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T13:27:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T13:27:20","slug":"west-coast-top-draftees-cooper-duff-tytler-and-willem-duursma-on-adjusting-to-life-at-the-eagles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/501035\/","title":{"rendered":"West Coast top draftees Cooper Duff-Tytler and Willem Duursma on adjusting to life at the Eagles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newly minted Eagles Willem Duursma and Cooper Duff-Tytler have West Coast fans hoping they can end their club\u2019s life at the bottom after laying down early markers this preseason.<\/p>\n

The No.1 and No.4 picks from last year\u2019s draft wasted little time settling in at the Eagles, as they combined to kick the first two goals in Saturday\u2019s practice match derby against Fremantle.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Duff-Tytler also kicked five goals in the Eagles\u2019 intraclub match, and his ability to impact around the ground is already drawing comparisons, with Duursma believing he could play in the mould of a crosstown rival.<\/p>\n

\u201cI reckon he\u2019ll end up as Luke Jackson type eventually,\u201d Duursma told 7News.<\/p>\n

However, the new Eagles ruck had even higher praise for the No.1 pick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll pump him up here and say he\u2019s like the Bont (Marcus Bontempelli),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"WillemCamera IconWillem Duursma of the Eagles in action. Credit: Paul Kane\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWillem\u2019s versatility is his biggest strength, and he\u2019s just got such clean hands whether he\u2019s on the ground in space or in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

While still early in their AFL journey, the pair will receive plenty of attention as the Eagles look to build themselves back up after a bleak one-win season and second wooden spoon in three seasons.<\/p>\n

However, both have praised 2023 No.1 pick Harley Reid for providing guidance on how to handle life under the microscope.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe definitely takes up a lot of the spotlight here, and everyone loves him, and he handles it very well,\u201d Duff-Tytler said.<\/p>\n

Duursma, who was close friends with Reid before being drafted, and now living with the Eagles\u2019 superstar, said he\u2019s noticed a change in Reid that has him primed for his best season yet.<\/p>\n

\"CooperCamera IconCooper Duff-Tytler of the Eagles celebrates a goal during the AFL Match Simulation game between the Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles. Credit: Paul Kane\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s certainly stepped up in his professionalism being in that spotlight, and he\u2019s a lot more mature and stuff now in the way he goes,\u201d he said. about,<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a lot more responsible, and he just does everything so well now, and he\u2019s obviously in the best shape of his career so far, and he\u2019s just going to keep going, so it\u2019s going to be really good to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Reid they are also both native Victorians, and said they are enjoying life in the west ahead of their first season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for us it\u2019s a pretty big lifestyle change, but the weather and the beaches we\u2019re making the most of that,\u201d Duff-Tytler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly a lot more cruiser than country or metro vic lifestyle, which I think has really helped me and my focus,\u201d Duursma added.<\/p>\n

See part two of Seven\u2019s chat with top West Coast draftees Willem Duursma and Cooper Duff-Tytler in Wednesday night\u2019s 7News bulletin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Newly minted Eagles Willem Duursma and Cooper Duff-Tytler have West Coast fans hoping they can end their club\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501036,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,588,85,7067],"class_list":["post-501035","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-sport","tag-sports","tag-west-coast-eagles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501035","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=501035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}