AFL Trades: Brandon Starcevich eager to ‘restore respect’ at West Coast Eagles after finalising move to WA

New West Coast star Brandon Starcevich says the chance to bring respect back to the once powerhouse club was a big factor in his decision to walk away from a potential dynasty at Brisbane. In a wide-ranging interview, Starcevich also reassured Eagles fans he was medically fine despite concerns around concussions in the past 18 months. Starcevich officially joined the Eagles on Wednesday morning after the AFL ticked off a three-club trade between the Lions and Fremantle that had several picks thrown around. The 26-year-old joins the Eagles after 132 games in eight seasons at the Lions after being drafted out of East Perth with pick No.18 in 2017. He has signed a four-year deal at West Coast which is believed to have triggers to extend up to six years. It comes after Starcevich was part of the Lions’ consecutive premiership victories, with the club on the verge of seemingly more success as they load up again with free agents Oscar Allen and Sam Draper. Starcevich said while it was hard to walk away from the Lions, personal reasons to return to Perth as well as the chance to be part of the build at the Eagles who are coming off a one-win season excited him. “First and foremost, the decision to move back to Perth with family and friends was the biggest draw,” he said. “But I am really excited about the challenge of climbing back up the ladder with the Eagles and growing that young list and helping those young players get better. And restoring respect to the footy club will be fulfilling when things start to get going. “You have to weigh up all your options and it is tough to leave that situation but over this experience I’ve matured and sometimes you’ve got to do what’s best for you personally and I think I am at that stage in my career where I’ve earned the right to do that.” While Starcevich is a known commodity on the field there has been concerns around his history of concussions. He was sidelined for three months earlier this year after he was concussed for the third time in eight months, and concerns deepened when he was benched for most of the last half of last month’s grand final after another head knock. Starcevich said he’d been cleared of any concussions, had recovered well and was confident he had a lot of football in front of him. “I got a little bit rattled, but I pulled up fine. I recovered easily, quickly so I am feeling good,” he said. “All the feedback I’ve got from professionals has been that there is nothing really wrong. I’m confident in myself. “I’m as good as gold to go. Anytime you take the field there’s a risk of something happening so I understand that but I think a bit of bad luck along the way probably hasn’t gone my way, but I am very optimistic about my future.” Starcevich said the Eagles reached out earlier this year, but he made the official decision to join the club in the middle of the finals series. “Late last year I started to explore the idea of free agency, so once all those wheels got in motion at the start of the year my manager had some early conversations with West Coast who gauged some interest,” he said. “It was about a month ago, in the middle of September, when I officially made my decision… it was a big year of weighing things up. “It’s tough to have that bubbling away in the background but the support I received from family, friends and Brisbane – they were very understanding of the whole situation. “My manager Jason Dover did a power of work in the background to help my focus on my footy and I think I did a good job of juggling it and investing the energy where I needed to at the right time.” Starcevich heads to the Eagles as one of the best medium-sized lockdown defenders in the game and was lauded for his grand final role on Geelong skipper Patrick Dangerfield. But a potential move back to the midfield floated in conversations with new coach Andrew McQualter has him excited. “There was a little conversation about where I see myself playing and what I want to do and the chat about the opportunity at least of moving up the ground and playing in the midfield was talked about,” he said. “We will see how that plays out in the pre-season once things get going but the proof is in the pudding a little bit. I’ve played a lot of football down back and earnt my stripes. “I was drafted as a midfielder. I played a lot of junior footy there so I feel like I can do well in a midfield role if given the chance to explore it at least.” And he’s also optimistic about the Eagles’ future despite the club struggling with only 11 wins in the past four seasons. “You look at the talent that’s already there and there will be a few more to come in, in a month or so,” Starcevich said. “The building blocks are all there. ‘Mini’ is a great leader of men, he seems like the right guys for the job so I am keen to work with him. “There’s a good mix from what I can see. A lot of young, talented players but then you’ve also got those older-ish guys like Liam Baker, Jack Graham, Liam Duggan – a lot of good leaders to nurture those young guys so I am optimistic about the future of the Eagles.” As part of the deal the Eagles also received picks 12, 33 and 52 in this year’s draft while parting with selections 16, 22 and 23. It leaves West Coast with picks 1, 12, 33, 37, 52 and 57 in this year’s draft, while they are expected to also receive pick 2 as compensation for losing co-captain Oscar Allen to Brisbane as a free agent in the coming days.