Brandon Starcevich says he’s ‘getting there, slowly’, may need WAFL stint before West Coast Eagles’ AFL debut

Boom Eagles recruit Brandon Starcevich has acknowledged he may need to return to footy through the WAFL before making his much-anticipated West Coast debut at the top level amid a frustrating start at his new club. Starcevich was unable to join the six new Eagles faces for last weekend’s season-opening loss to Gold Coast, with the dual Brisbane premiership player remaining sidelined with a calf injury. The latest setback came off the back of a stop-start summer that has also included an ACL strain and a cautious approach from West Coast following a series of head knocks during his time at the Lions. Starcevich said he was “getting there, slowly” as he looked to regain full fitness. “I’m probably still a few weeks off, hopefully,” Starcevich said on 6PR. “I’m trying to recondition… that will be the biggest challenge, trying to get the lungs ready and the legs ready to run out a full game of footy. “I’ve had a few interruptions this pre-season, so that’s probably the biggest thing that’s missing.” When asked about the prospect of lining up at WAFL level to help his conditioning, Starcevich said: “I haven’t talked about that, but it might be a good idea.” “There’s obviously no pre-season scratch matches any more, or intra-club games, so it might be a case where I play some WAFL minutes,” he said. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Speaking on Monday night, Eagles coach Andrew McQualter said Starcevich remained several weeks away from being available. “He’s still got a little bit of prep to do before he gets himself right to play,” McQualter said on Seven. “He’s obviously missed a fair bit of football now, so we’ll have to work on his progression back in. We just can’t wait until he’s available. He’ll make a big difference to our team.” West Coast’s defence missing Starcevich and first-choice key defender Harry Edwards (concussion) conceded 13 goals in the opening half against the Suns - the highest such tally in a season opener in club history. Edwards is set to return for Sunday’s home clash against North Melbourne, with co-captain Liam Baker also back after serving a one-match suspension.