West Coast Eagles utility Brady Hough has put in the work in the gym over the off-season, adding a bit more size to his frame to give him more of a physical presence in 2023.

Travelling between Perth and his hometown Harvey, Hough’s major focus over the off-season was gaining some extra size and strength, all while maintaining his fitness and speed.

“I’ve been up and down from home a bit to see the boys a bit,” Hough said.

“I did a bit of training with them but mainly when I was down at home I’ve been working on the program and trying to get some kilometres in the legs.

“I’ve put on a bit of size, which was an emphasis of mine, so I’m really excited to get back and get stuck into pre-season.”

Hough was a standout during his debut season for the Eagles – claiming the Emerging Talent award after appearing in 15 matches and averaging 12.4 disposals and 4.9 marks playing in defence and on a wing.

The 19-year-old joined his fellow emerging teammates as they started their pre-season on Monday keen to put a tough season behind them and focus on getting as healthy and fit as possible.

One silver lining to come out of 2022 was the amount of experience gained by the younger members of the Eagles list, with the club fielding 16 debutants and getting games into the next generation.

“We are a pretty tight group, we had a pretty tough season last year and a fair few younger boys got exposed, like myself,” Hough said.

“We’re just really excited. We’re a young group and there should be a good draft crop coming through this year.

“We still have some pretty experienced players on the list, we’ll just come in and keep learning from them and keep developing.”