There’s not much Hamish Brayshaw hasn’t done at West Coast, from playing in the Eagles’ engine room alongside the likes of Nic Naitanui, captaining the WAFL team to their inaugural 2021 victory alongside AFL skipper Luke Shuey and hosting the Coast to Coast podcast alongside utility forward Oscar Allen.
Now, he's taking on a different challenge as the AFLW midfield coach.
“I’ve had a really good reception from the girls, they’ve all been very excited, and I’ve done a lot of work with them anyway, so I’ve got a pretty good relationship with most of them," Brayshaw said.
“But everyone from what I’ve seen so far is ready to go, they’re really energetic and really looking forward to having a good season, we’re all fit, we’re all healthy, so that can hopefully transition into games and they can be ready to go.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what they can bring.”
Brayshaw has already provided a newfound energy on the training track, bringing trivia questions to skills sessions, as well as running alongside the players during time trials and umpiring in match simulation.
But he's also hoping to bring a more contested brand of football to the AFLW midfield as they enter their third year in the competition.
“I’m a pretty bubbly, energetic guy, and I think there’s a good mixture of youth and experience in our midfield group,” Brayshaw said.
“Obviously I was very invested in the team last year, watched all of their games, and saw how they went about it.
“I saw things that we could probably improve on, and the hardness and contested football was one of them, that’s something that I pride myself on when I’m playing and hopefully I can impart them with that same pride.
“That’s what I’ll hopefully be bringing, a more contested, hardnosed style of football, playing a bit more on the line, a bit more on the edge, with aggression and with control.
“So, I think we’ve got the midfield group to do it, I think we’ve got the talent, we’ve got the strength, we’ve got the side, so hopefully we can put it altogether and make it work.”
And despite having no prior coaching experience, Brayshaw is confident his relationship with the girls - as well as former WAFL captaincy - will give him an edge in the upcoming season.
“With my WAFL captaincy last year I feel like I was almost an on-field coach at times there as well, so I have had experiences there that probably outdo my age,” he said.
“I’m looking to pass that on and just little tips and tricks as a midfielder myself that I can hopefully pass onto these girls and impart them with a little bit of knowledge they otherwise wouldn’t have had.
“But they’re very, very willing and open to learning so that’s what I’ve been given the past month and I’m really, really grateful for that, and hopefully they continue that mindset going forward.
“I’m very excited, I think the pre-season so far has shown that everyone is raring and ready to go, we’ve got a lot of people that look as fit as they’ve ever been, so I think going into next year, they’re looking to prime themselves with their best season so far.
“I think they’re all pretty ready, so I’m hopefully just tailing that into some good training, some good energy, and as soon as we get ready to go, we’re like a hound, we’re ready to go.”
