Nic Naitanui is confident West Coast can contend next year as their premiership window slowly closes.
The Eagles finished ninth with 10 wins in 2021, missing the finals for the first time since 2014 after six consecutive top eight finishes under coach Adam Simpson – including a premiership in 2018.
North Melbourne champion David King thinks West Coast has one flag tilt left in them before they look to regenerate their list.
Keeping key players like captain Luke Shuey fit and healthy will be crucial to the Eagles’ premiership hopes.
“We’re most definitely used to making the finals most years, that’s been the culture of the Eagles since inception,” Naitanui told SEN Afternoons.
“For us, we know we need to get better.
“I think what we tend to forget as well is we had a lot of guys miss fair chunks of the year and they’ve been some of our better players as well – including our captain Luke Shuey, Jeremy McGovern and these types of players.
“If we get everyone on the park and have a good pre-season, we’ll definitely be back in amongst it next year.”
Naitanui also weighed in on the AFL's new COVID-19 vaccination policy for 2022.
The league announced last week that all AFL and AFLW players and staff must be fully vaccinated by the start of their respective seasons.
“It’s a tough one, I’ve always been for everyone having a choice,” Naitanui said.
“But when it comes to the vaccination, I’ve got both of my needles. Like a lot of people have said, I’m not getting the vaccination for myself, I’m getting it for the others who are more vulnerable.
“It makes sense to get the vaccination, but it’s going to be interesting in the next few weeks and months to see who decided to and who decided not to get it and how that affects their playing careers.”