Dean Cox’s retirement at the end of last season has opened up new opportunities for West Coast’s rising ruck stocks.

Assistant coach Justin Longmuir told SportFM on Tuesday morning that he has been impressed with Nic Naitanui, Scott Lycett and Callum Sinclair so far this pre-season, reporting that the three big men have developed a healthy rivalry over the summer.

“It’s getting really competitive between those three at the moment,” Longmuir said.

“They’ve all got some outstanding qualities that they bring. Scotty Lycett has probably put on three or four more kilos and looks really strong.

“Nic has actually done some pre-season which is a real bonus because it’s probably the first decent chunk of pre-season I’ve seen since he got drafted.

“All three of them are looking really good. The match-sim type stuff we’re doing at the moment, they’re getting really competitive against each other and driving each other to a new level, so it’s really pleasing.”

Longmuir has been impressed with the squad as a whole so far this pre-season, with many injured players returning from the sidelines after the Christmas break.

He said the past month has been a crucial part of the summer campaign and the players have made important progress in the lead up to the team's first pre-season match against the Indigenous All Stars.

“Since Christmas, it’s been a steady build,” Longmuir said.

“The first week after Christmas, you usually ease the players in, and by the fourth week, the end of January, you’re really pushing them to their limits and it’s a really high-risk period, we put them under a lot of fatigue.

“A lot of the match-sim stuff, 18 v 18 against each other, that game speed really kicks in and it’s the first time the players have been exposed to that sort of intensity since the end of last season, so it’s a really high-risk period.

“Fortunately, we’ve got through it unscathed and we’re starting to get a lot of numbers back on the track, so we’re really pleased with the way it’s progressing so far.”