When Harry Edwards was drafted, the West Coast rookie wasn’t sure exactly what type of player he would become.

However, the fresh-faced and versatile Swan Districts product guaranteed he’d give any task thrown his way a “red-hot crack”.

It was a declaration the 19-year-old lived up to in his first season, taking to a key defensive post for the WAFL Eagles with single-minded determination.

Being stationed on the last line isn’t for everyone, but senior coach Adam Simpson recognised Edwards’ natural competitiveness suited one of the toughest jobs in football.

“It’s definitely nerve-wracking being one-out because you’re that last man, but that’s the job I’ve been given to do and I actually quite like it,” Edwards said.

“It’s awesome being in the ‘cage’ and knowing you’ve got to get the job done, because I’m a competitive player. I love doing my bit for the side.

“I’m always open to what the coaching staff want me to do.

“When I first came into the club ‘Simmo’ came up to me and said we’ll start you down back and I showed some signs down there I thought and played some good games.”

Edwards relished roles on some of the state league’s best tall forwards, such as Claremont’s “pretty crafty” goalkicker Tom Lee, while soaking up advice from premiership trio Jeremy McGovern, Tom Barrass and Will Schofield.

“TB, Gov and Schoey, I take bits from all of them and learn as much as I can from the three of them because they’re all brilliant players,” he said.

“You can ask them anything and they will give you their thoughts.

“They all have different views on things, which is handy, so I can take bits from each of their games and try to build my best skillset that suits me.”

Edwards’ insatiable appetite to get better is obvious, as is his upbeat attitude in the face of injury setbacks.

He was struck down by a stress-related foot problem mid-year, only a week after an “awesome experience” as travelling emergency against St Kilda in round eight, but made it back for the last six games – including both WAFL finals.

“I think I ended up playing more than half the season and I played some games I thought were pretty good for my first year in League footy, so you’ve got to look at the positives,” he said.

“Yeah, I missed a few but got a year in the system and learnt a lot about how we play and built a base of fitness.

“It puts me in good stead for the start of next season.”

Edwards is also gearing up for the return to pre-season training after working his way back from minor quad issues related to his remarkable growth spurt.

He shot up 10cm in the year before he was drafted, and has added another five centimetres plus 10kg to his 200cm and 93kg frame over the past 12 months.

“I’m growing into my body and I’m still moving pretty well for a big fella, so I’m pretty happy with that. So hopefully I can keep my skills as a smaller player and use that to my advantage as a big man,” he said.

“It does (take) a little bit (of adjusting) but once you get the running sessions in it feels quite normal.

“It’s pretty awesome, because you have a bit of an advantage in marking contests because I’ve got a long reach and I’m pretty tall.”

While McGovern (Achilles) and Barrass (foot) are expected to recover from off-season surgeries well before round one, Edwards hopes to have his hand up if an opportunity arises to play senior football in 2020.

“To debut next year at some point would be my goal at this stage, so hopefully I can achieve that,” he said.

“(The coaches) are all about you want to develop yourself over time to be the best player you can be, whether that’s going in straight away or biding your time in the WAFL working on your skillset.

“But definitely just training your guts out, putting the pressure on all the time and doing the best you can to push for the side.”