WEST Coast midfielder Willem Duursma says the club’s mix of youth and experience has played a big role in back-to-back wins, with the Eagles’ senior players providing the physical support and belief for their younger teammates to thrive.
Duursma earned the round three Telstra AFL Rising Star nomination for his outstanding performance against Port Adelaide, giving the Eagles back-to-back nominations for the first time since 2004 after young tall Jobe Shanahan was recognised in round two.
While the club’s talented youngsters have been in the spotlight, the 18-year-old said senior players like Elliot Yeo, Jack Graham, and co-captain Liam Baker had played influential roles on-field to allow the youngsters to shine.
“They have that constant trust and belief in us to show our skills and play to our strengths, and we’ve got that belief back in them, so it’s two-way street where it works really well,” Duursma told AFL.com.au on Monday.
“They pump us up with confidence and we don’t think twice when we go for the ball because we’ve got that support, and if we mess something up then they’ll be there to help us.
“They’re doing a lot of grunt work on the inside and letting us show our skills on the outside, and watching them go in and crash bodies, it gives us confidence to go and do that as well.
“As a young team, you probably wouldn’t expect us to be doing all the stuff that we’re doing, but I think it’s just that constant belief in each other that [is helping].”
Duursma made particular mention of Yeo, who suffered a groin injury against the Power but has been influential in teaching his young midfield teammate stoppage craft, allowing the No.1 pick to rotate as an inside midfielder on Sunday.
The talented youngster, who can play across all lines but focused on the wing initially, finished with 20 disposals, six marks, four clearances and a goal, as well as seven score involvements as one of the Eagles’ best players.
Duursma said the Eagles’ youngsters were pushing each other to drive a culture of rapid improvement and doing the extras, with the midfielder focusing on his groundballs and stoppage craft.
“As young players, I think we’ve all got the same mindset that we just want to get better and be as good as we can be, as quickly as we can,” Duursma said.
“All of us young boys, Bo Allan, Josh Lindsay, Hamish Davis, we’ll go to the shed and we’ll just be throwing groundballs at each other for about 20 minutes before training and doing the extras.
“We just want to fast-track our development so much, so whether it’s just the one per cent things that we’re doing, it’s starting to pay off.”
Duursma shook off some nerves during his pre-season games, showing his clear talent and game sense but struggling with his kicking against Port Adelaide in the AAMI Community Series.
Those games were valuable, however, to give the young gun a taste of AFL opposition, with the Gippsland product now entering AFL matches feeling comfortable and confident in his ability just three games in.
The Eagles’ pair of early-season nomination marks the first time since 2004 the club has had back-to-back Rising Star nods, with Duursma confident there are more on the way, with Cooper Duff-Tytler, Lindsay, Allan and Davis all eligible.
Off the field, the young gun said he was enjoying Perth and finding a good balance of focusing on football at the club and then taking a break from the game at home with housemate Harley Reid.
“Oh, probably about close to zero, I reckon,” he said when asked how much football the pair talk at home.
“If you have your mind on footy 100 per cent of the time, then it can become a bit of a drag. I’ve seen that pretty much firsthand with a lot of people I’ve been close with.
“Knowing that I can just sit back and relax and take my mind off the game, it’s been really good.”
