Rhett Bazzo Biography

West Coast has been devastated by the loss of young defender Rhett Bazzo's mother in a tragic boating accident, with the club throwing its support around the second-year talent.

"The West Coast Eagles are devastated by the loss of Kylie Bazzo, mother of Rhett, in a boating accident on the weekend," the club said in a statement.

"The club's players, staff and board extend their deepest condolences to the Bazzo family and are offering every support to Rhett, his sister Kameron and their loved ones."

Rhett Bazzo makes his AFL debut for West Coast at Perth Stadium with 7 disposals (4 kicks and 3 handballs), 6 marks and 2 tackles in a 18-point loss to Geelong.

West Coast select Rhett Bazzo with pick No.37 in the 2021 National Draft.

Draft Report: The versatile, highly-rated tall made a name for himself at the under-16 national carnival ? and at WAFL Colts level last year ? as an intercept star in defence. That's where he played in the AFL Academy game against Geelong's VFL team in April, too, but Bazzo booted 4.6 and took 11 marks playing forward in Swan Districts' opening two games of 2021 to highlight that his flexibility isn't just limited to one end of the ground. Bazzo is renowned for his intercept marking and likes to take the game on in the air, just as he did against SA in the opening national under-19 championships game in August when he took five intercept marks.

Before every big game he plays, NAB AFL Draft hopeful Rhett Bazzo takes a moment to himself and thinks about the advice his late father, Steve, would have given him.

Sometimes he'll use the moment to tape his wrist and write the initials 'SB' as a reminder about the man who taught him so much before losing his battle with cancer in 2015 when Rhett was aged 11.

"I get myself pretty fired up before a game, so he's big for that. I just think about how he inspires me and go out there and try and play some good footy. He's the one who taught me how to play," Bazzo said.