Will Schofield Biography

Will Schofield announces that he will retire at the end of West Coast's 2020 final campaign.

Veteran Eagle Will Schofield says he accepts now being on the fringe of the Eagles' best 22.

"To be honest, I've released a little bit of that mental angst of selection. I've been on the border of selection for my whole career and to a point it's taken a bit of a toll mentally because you're always fighting for your spot," he said.

"Towards the backend of my career I just want to give my best chance of selection and I thought the best way would be to release angst and stop worrying about everything."

Will Schofield says he has adjusted to becoming a fringe player at West Coast.

"I think most years I'm on the periphery. Probably the last couple of years has put me in a better space mentally, as I've learnt to deal with that a little bit better and realised that one bad game for me possibly means I'm out of the team for quite a long time," he said.

"[It] helps with my consistency, living on the edge a little bit like that."

Will Schofield has overcome both personal and football adversity to be a driving force in West Coast's remarkable 2018 premiership triumph.

"I lost one of my best mates this year in a bike accident," Schofield said post-match.

"I lost my dad three or four years ago, pretty suddenly.

"I know they'll be up there, watching on, having a chat, pretty proud.

"Both were really big influences on my life."

Will Schofield has trimmed down in a bid to become more versatile in 2018.

"Going back a couple of years I had to put on a few kilos to play on those bigger guys, whereas this season I probably lost a few to be able to match up on smaller guys while being able to play on the big fellas as well," Schofield said.

"You've just got to be able to do it all."

Clayton Oliver and former Test cricketer Damien Martyn have engaged in a fiery Twitter exchange over the Demon's reaction to being struck by Eagle Will Schofield.

Schofield's elbow caught Oliver with a glancing blow to the chin at half-time at Domain Stadium and Oliver fell to the ground immediately afterwards.

Schofield was reported for the hit but reaction from fans on social media was critical of Oliver, suggesting the Demon had 'dived' to make the most of the incident.

In a post-game interview, Oliver said he had been stunned by the contact from Schofield but Martyn was sceptical, to say the least.

The 67-Test batsman responded to a Channel Seven tweet of Oliver's interview with "Am I watching soccer?", in a clear inference that Oliver had staged his reaction.

Oliver was quick to fire back, dredging up one of Martyn's own infamous moments on the sporting field.

"Hey Damien, you should just worry about that shot in 1994. #amiwatchingachoker," he wrote, in reference to Martyn's ill-judged shot against South Africa in the 1994 Sydney Test match that eventually led to Australia's narrow loss to South Africa.

Will Schofield signs a contract extension with West Coast that will keep him at the club until the end of 2019.

"This is my 10th year at the club and it's a really exciting time," Schofield said.

"I want to be a part of what we have started to build here."

Will Schofield says watching close friend Matt Spangher win a premiership last season with Hawthorn has driven him to try achieve the same success this season with the Eagles.

"It was the first time I had the feeling of … I wouldn't call it jealousy, but I was envious of what he was doing," Schofield said.

"It was definitely a driving factor this year.

"It's obviously a dream to get there, but that was a good moment for me to say, 'Well, this is what you're here for, that's what footy is for, to get to the pinnacle'."

A 25-year old man has been charged with the assault of West Coast defender Will Schofield.

The Bell Post Hill man was charged by Geelong police with intentionally and recklessly causing injury and was bailed to appear in the Geelong Magistrates' Court on October 1.

Will Schofield has sustained serious facial injuries after he was allegedly assaulted in Geelong in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Eagles said in a statement that Schofield was the victim of an unprovoked attack after he had been granted permission to stay in Victoria to visit friends and family following Friday night's loss to Collingwood.

After growing his beard out for a year, Will Schofield shaves it off for charity but says beards have nothing to do with form on the footy field.

"I'm not really sure how facial hair affects anyone," Schofield said.

"It's actually a joke that people think that having a beard means you are going to run less.

"It's actually ridiculous the amount of attention it got in terms of form or how teams are playing."

Victorian defender Will Schofield signs a new three-year deal with West Coast.

"I have been here for six years already, so Perth and the West Coast Eagles have been a big part of my life," Schofield said.

"Everyone is aware I had a tough year personally in 2012 and the easy decision would have been to go home to family and friends. The club was great to me at that time and I really appreciated the support.

"But I can't imagine playing anywhere else and everyone at the club is pretty excited about the future. I am keen to be a part of the next West Coast team that achieves the ultimate success and we all believe that is achievable in the near future."