West Coast recruit Jayden Hunt knows what it is like to be a young player in the AFL trying to make your way in the face of doubters.

The defender had plenty early in his career when he joined a struggling Melbourne team, battled back injuries, and was deemed not good enough to play in the Demons' VFL side.

As he neared the end of his initial two-year contract in 2015, teammate and mentor Jack Grimes pulled him aside and told him just how close his career could be to finishing if he didn't start to believe in himself.

It was a frank conversation that set Hunt on the right path, sparking a six-week block of form that earned him a one-year contract extension and kickstarted what is now an 11-year career.

The experience is one that Hunt has shared with young Eagles teammates since arriving as a free agent at the end of last season, with the 28-year-old seeing a bit of his younger self in the Eagles' developing players.  

With ambitions to be a leader at his second club, he wants to help those young players reach that same moment where they feel like they belong at the top level.

"I love seeing people that have doubters and can then get to the other side and prove people wrong, because I think I had that early in my career," Hunt told AFL.com.au this week. 

"I definitely see myself in some of the younger guys here, and you can see when a player is holding back because it is such a step up. But I love seeing that moment where it clicks. 

"They might have to do one or two good things in a game or have a really good game in the WAFL, and then you see the confidence come and they become the player everyone thinks they can be.  

"I'm really looking forward to seeing all those younger guys do that here."

Hunt, who produced his best game for the Eagles in round 11 with a career-high 34 disposals, didn't debut in his first two seasons under Paul Roos, suffering a broken jaw as well as stress fractures in his back during both campaigns.

It is possible to draw parallels with the difficult introductions several young Eagles, most notably young wingman Campbell Chesser, have faced due to injury.

"Guys might be playing in the WAFL and questioning whether they belong, but it can change very quickly and I've definitely shared that," Hunt said.

"I always tell them, there's a reason you were drafted and there's a lot of people who think you can become a great player."

After speaking with Grimes and launched his next pre-season with belief, Hunt made his debut in round four 2016 and flourished quickly, going on to play 114 games for the Demons.

Unlucky to miss out on the 2021 premiership due to an ankle injury late in the year, he still reflects on that season as one of his favourites in the red and blue before making the decision to cross the country at the end of last season.

His addition has proved a big win for West Coast in a disappointing season, with Hunt playing every game so far and averaging a career-best 19.8 disposals and 3.6 rebound 50s.  

The laidback defender was at his very best against the Bombers, running relentlessly to accumulate 20 handball receives and a game-high 684m gained.

"I've been playing wing a bit lately, which I've enjoyed, but with Jamaine Jones going down the team needed that real line-breaker off half-back," Hunt said.

"The coaches gave me the confidence to take that on and get back to my strengths, which is using my speed with the ball, so I was pretty pleased with it.

"The No.1 thing is confidence, and the coaches said they want me to take it on as much as possible and if you get caught a couple of times or make a couple of mistakes, that's fine.

"Seven or eight times out of 10 it's going to work, and that's what the team needs from me."

Last Saturday's performance was an example of the form Hunt wanted to rediscover after moving into lockdown roles in his final seasons with the Dees.

The Eagles' pitch to the free agent in Perth last year centred on him bringing speed and aggression to the club's backline and using his risk-taking instincts.

"That's how I started my career with Melbourne, that line-breaking role and taking risks," Hunt said.  

"But the last couple of years there I was more in a lockdown defender role and lining up on the best small, which I can do as well, but it took away from being the aggressive line-breaking player that I was at the start of my career.

"I see some of the really good half-backs at the moment and they're so important to their teams, so I think at my best I can bring that as well. It's definitely something I want to keep improving from here."

The other side of West Coast's pitch to Hunt was the opportunity to be a senior player and potentially a leader in a team that is building from the ground up. It's a role he has delivered on so far.

"I want to be a leader here, and someone who is very dependable and playing solid football every week," he said.

"We're not trying to hide away from the fact we're at the bottom at the moment, but building up from that is so rewarding when hopefully in a couple of years' time we can get back to the top.

"I wouldn't have come over if I didn't think we could do that, so I want to be a player that can stand up and lead some of these younger players coming through."