Four new players, including three first-gamers, named to face North Melbourne in round one has added to the feeling it is the dawn of a new era at West Coast, according to coach Adam Simpson.

Coming off a challenging 2022, the Eagles are fit and healthy – albeit minus two A-graders in Nic Naitanui (Achilles) and Elliot Yeo (calf) – following a positive pre-season and, except for the final touches, the preparation has been done for a fresh campaign.

With debutants Reuben Ginbey, Campbell Chesser, Noah Long and ex-Demon speedster Jayden Hunt in the side, there is a buzz of excitement and anticipation as West Coast embarks on 2023.

“It’s probably the dawn of a new era really with these kids coming in and all (three) of them teenagers,” Simpson said on Thursday.

“Looking forward to see what they’ve got. Not putting too many expectations on them but they deserve to play as well.

“They’ve had really good looks pre-season and can’t wait to see them play.

“Obviously we’re transitioning our list and getting these guys in, not for the sake of it, but because they’ve earned it.

“I’ve said this before. If you look at our round one side last year, or round 23 side, there’s probably 12 to 13 changes, let alone three, so it’s going to look a bit different.

“And there’s going to be some players that we haven’t seen for a while that will come back.”

Those players include young leaders Dom Sheed, Oscar Allen and Tom Cole, who will be welcome additions, while Jeremy McGovern is fit-again following a tough year on the injury front.

Following the retirement of champion goalkicker Josh Kennedy, star forward Jack Darling has pleasingly returned just in time from a nasty ankle injury to partner Allen in attack.

Naitanui is a week-by-week proposition, while Yeo will hopefully be back in coming weeks.

“I think there was 40 on the track the other day, which we haven’t had for years, it’s just unfortunate in the last two minutes of training Yeoy had a bit of a niggle in that calf and he’s unavailable,” Simpson said.

“Hopefully that’s just a short-term thing.

“You actually just feel for the player – he’s done so much work. The good thing about Yeoy is he’s had a really good pre-season, so this is a minor setback, albeit on the eve of season.

“We’re going to miss him for a couple of weeks (but) it’s a long year.

“(Nic’s) Achilles, if it was mid-season we’d get him through, but it’s such a long year and we’ve got to build the Achilles and all the muscles around it.

“There’s no set time because it’s tick a box, get to the next level, tick a box, so he’s still building.”

The Eagles head to Marvel Stadium as underdogs against North, who will be helmed by four-time Hawthorn premiership coach Alastair Clarkson for the first time.

“Obviously Clarko coming in, they’ve hit the draft for a number of years and their young kids are coming through now – you can really see the nucleus of a good side,” Simpson said.

“We’re underdogs, no doubt about that, so we’re looking forward to going over and seeing what we’ve got.

“We’ve worked really hard over summer. We’re fit. We’re ready to go and it all starts.”