West Coast pulled Cooper Duff-Tytler out of its WAFL side hours before the Eagles face Essendon at Optus Stadium, reshuffling both ends of the club’s selection plan on the eve of the match. The 18-year-old, who was due to line up for Peel Thunder, is now the carryover emergency for the AFL game.
The move matters because West Coast will lock in its final team at 4.20pm, just one hour before the first bounce, and Duff-Tytler’s late withdrawal has fueled talk of another change. For readers tracking Jake Waterman and the Eagles’ forward mix, the timing leaves the club with one selection decision still hanging over the Bombers clash.
Duff-Tytler had been named in West Coast’s reserves team to play Peel Thunder at Mineral Resources Park the previous day before being withdrawn and replaced by Sasha Kernutt. Tom Gross and Clay Hall were also named as AFL emergencies for the Bombers game and were locked in to play against Peel Thunder, underlining how tightly the two sides of West Coast’s program are being managed on the same night.
There is good reason for the attention around the young ruck-forward. Taken with the No. 4 pick in last year’s draft, Duff-Tytler played the first nine games of West Coast’s AFL season, kicked two goals in the round-two win over North Melbourne and was rested for the upset against Greater Western Sydney earlier this month. He then returned to the WAFL last weekend and produced 15 disposals, 19 hit-outs and two goals against East Fremantle.
Coach Andrew McQualter had already made clear Duff-Tytler was “really stiff” to miss the Collingwood match, saying he believed the teenager had probably played his best game before the rest and that the club’s improved performance made changes difficult. McQualter also said the situation was a good problem for the club and that Duff-Tytler would keep working on his craft at WAFL level.
What West Coast does next is now the only unanswered piece. The club will confirm its final team for Essendon at 4.20pm, and Duff-Tytler’s removal from Peel Thunder has left the door open to a late AFL change without yet making one certain.
