West Coast recruit Jayden Hunt believes the healthy competition for backline spots will bring out his best as he zeroes in on a blue and gold debut in round one against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
Since joining the Eagles as an unrestricted free agent from Melbourne, the speedy half-back has not put a foot wrong on the track and shown exciting flashes of his rebounding and intercept marking during the pre-season practice matches.
Hunt has been building strong chemistry with the backline unit over summer, while witnessing the tight push for spots with Tom Cole returning from a year on the sidelines and skipper Luke Shuey among the midfielders set to rotate through defence.
“There’s a lot of competition for spots. I’m really looking forward to working with the likes of Tom Cole, Liam Duggan, Alex Witherden, Luke Shuey a little bit as well,” Hunt told 6PR.
“To have that good mix of guys moving through, each with their own attributes, I think will work well.
“(Shuey) just sees the game so well. He’s not going to lose that attack on the ball that he does in the midfield. He brings a calm head to the backline and sees it so early, so I think he can be a real weapon wherever he plays.
“I learned during my time at the Dees the best teams have that competition for spots. West Coast definitely have that at the moment, especially in the back half.
“It’s a really healthy thing and I know I perform best when there’s a bit of pressure as well.
“We all offer something different, so I like to think I can bring that speed to the team and add to the improvement of the list.”
The Eagles took some key learnings from a win over Port Adelaide and defeat to the Crows in their pre-season games, and will continue fine-tuning as March 18 and a date with the Kangaroos draws nearer.
“It’s such a good opportunity without points on the line to really take some things to improve on from the game (against Adelaide),” Hunt said.
“Credit to the Crows, their contest and their pressure around the ground was really good and we couldn’t quite handle with that aspect, so that’s definitely something we want to improve for next weekend.”
