John Worsfold Biography

John Worsfold returns to the Eagles as West Coast's new head of football.

"We are excited to see John rejoin the club in a role which we believe will be significant across our football programs," Eagles chief executive Don Pyke said.

"His coaching and football experience will provide vital assistance, leadership and support for our AFL, AFLW and WAFL teams."

West Coast premiership heroes John Worsfold and Andrew Embley will present historic medals on Grand Final day at Optus Stadium, 15 years after their integral roles in the Eagles' 2006 flag.

Embley, who was best afield in the Eagles' triumph against Sydney, will present the Norm Smith Medal, while Worsfold will present the Jock McHale Medal to the 2021 premiership coach.

Former West Coast premiership coach John Worsfold maintains he did everything he could for Ben Cousins right up until the relationship between the Eagles and the Brownlow Medal winner reached a breaking point.

Worsfold met with the fallen AFL star for the first time in years as part of a Channel Seven documentary.

"I did my absolute best to hold him accountable to the values that we wanted to live at West Coast," Worsfold said.

"In the end we couldn't align on those and there had to be a break. Ben decided that, outside his professional time, in his personal time he needed to live a certain way."

Cousins' life spun out of control in retirement, his issues with drug dependency resulting in him spending time in jail, where he watched West Coast's 2018 grand final win over Collingwood.

"Oh, I am sorry, I am remorseful," Cousins said of his negative influence on the Western Australian powerhouse.

"And the fallout from that has been pretty significant on the club. So, it has taken a while since that time for the club to find itself back in a position like it is today."

Despite a lack of finals success, John Worsfold says he is proud of his time at Essendon, beginning from when he inherited a club reeling from the infamous drugs saga, and one that will end when he hands the reins over to Ben Rutten in 2020.

"I'm proud of the fact within a really short period of time, from coming through a fairly tumultuous time, we got the club back pretty focused and the playing group back pretty united, and that took a lot of work," Worsfold said.

"You don't just rock up and say, 'That's all done, let's play footy and everything is going to be good again'.

"We lost draft picks, and obviously went through the emotions of the suspensions and reintegrating those players.

"We've attracted talent to the footy club, which potentially could have taken five or 10 years before anyone considered coming back to Essendon, and we've retained the list we've been really keen to retain.

"So those key things, I think, have shored the club up for the opportunity to have success going forward."

Essendon is set to embark on an historic succession plan, with Ben Rutten to take over from John Worsfold at end of 2020.

"The time is now right for me to transition from the role of senior coach at Essendon and I go into the next 12 months really looking forward to helping the club move into its next phase," Worsfold said.

Rutten will start his senior coaching role on a three-year contract with the Bombers.

"While I am excited by the opportunity ahead, going into next season having 'Woosh' here to steer the ship will be incredibly important and I'll certainly be utilising all opportunities to be exposed to various aspects of the role," Rutten said.

"I want to thank the board and the club for the opportunity to lead this football club down the track, but right now our immediate focus will be on ensuring we build on the strong foundations in this pre-season for a successful 2020 campaign."

Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell backs John Worsfold as the club's coach in 2020 to put speculation about his future to rest.

"There's a whole range of initiatives we want to put in place to best support John and the coaching group," Campbell said.

"I've never felt that there's ever been anything bar alignment with John and the club. I feel like there's a good opportunity moving forward for our football club."

John Worsfold slams critics of his coaching style after he was questioned for his lack of outward emotion while sitting on the interchange bench in Essendon's 104-point loss to the Bulldogs.

"Has anyone looked back on the whole 110 minutes of what I was doing? I was in constant communication with the coaches box, constantly supporting the players, challenging them," Worsfold explained.

"There were parts in the game where I sat quietly, I can't talk non-stop, and they've been highlighted. It's a cheap shot, but that's fine. [Just] a glancing blow."

Essendon coach John Worsfold has had to defend his position at the club after denying Mark Neeld has been made a scapegoat for the Bombers' poor start to the season.

Worsfold's tenure has come under scrutiny after his side's 2-6 beginning to the year.

Further heat has come on his role after the sudden departure of game performance manager Mark Neeld, with the Bombers making that position redundant.

"I'm really confident with my communication with the board and [chief executive] Xavier (Campbell) at this footy club that we're not happy with where we're at, but we're on a clear pathway to where we want to get to," Worsfold said.

"We've all got clear roles to play in achieving that, so I see a club that's pretty strongly aligned and focused on doing the hard work to get to where we want to get to."

Zach Merrett says Bombers coach John Worsfold's message is getting through to the players despite Essendon's dismal start to 2018.

Essendon have won just two games, lost their past four and six of their past seven and sit 15th on the ladder after eight rounds.

"He's a very consistent guy and as a coach he's very level-headed. He hasn't wavered in terms of his professionalism over the last four weeks, he's as disappointed as we are to have dropped the games we have, but I've got full support in 'Woosha'," Merrett said.

Former Bomber Adam Cooney is critical of Essendon coach John Worsfold whose side has slid to 15th on the ladder after losing its past three games by an average margin of 36 points.

"He's not getting anything out of this group at the moment. They look spiritless, they look lifeless," Cooney said on SEN radio.

"John Worsfold, clearly, needs to invest more time into that relationship-building side with his players because he’s not getting anything from them at the moment."

Essendon coach John Worsfold signs a new deal with Essendon to remain coach of the club until the end of 2020.

"I have absolute confidence in the things the club is putting in place. I’m rapt to be part of it. It’s all hard work, but that’s what we’re here for," Worsfold said.

"We have a playing group which has established a really clear vision, a strong culture and elite standards. We believe this group of players is going to play a lot of football together, and hopefully win a lot of finals moving forward."

Essendon coach John Worsfold has backed calls to free up player movement, saying he would support a mid-season trade period being introduced to the AFL.

"I don't mind the idea. For clubs there can be a massive benefit, and for players there can be a massive benefit as well," Worsfold said.

"For a player who's not getting a game at one club … they ultimately want to play, they love their clubs and want to play for the clubs they're at, but ultimately they want to play AFL footy.

"So if there's a window of opportunity for players, I agree with that. Then it's up to clubs to use it to benefit their immediate position."

Essendon coach John Worsfold hopes to begin talks with the club about his contract in February, 2018.

"My aim here is to be part of Essendon’s next premiership, so hopefully that means we only need a one-year deal but if it takes longer we'll put the work in and do that," Worsfold said.

Essendon coach John Worsfold says he is unconcerned if he hasn't extended his contract by the start of next season as he enters the third and final year of his deal with the club.

"It's not a priority for me. I'm more than comfortable where everything sits. There's no timeline on it, other than we will see how things are tracking early in the new year, maybe February or March and see where we're sitting," Worsfold said.

Former West Coast coach John Worsfold has defended his handling of the Eagles' illicit drug-taking culture in the mid-2000s after a confidential AFL report into the troubled era was published.

"I still struggle with that, about what action you do take when someone implies something but with absolutely no evidence other than they think something," Worsfold told Sportsday Radio.

"I really still battle to say 'how do you act on that?'

"All the stuff that we hear about and read about didn't just happen in a week, it happened over a period of time.

"And I still think I dealt with the things as they were presented to me and in a way that I felt I was able to with a lot of limitations obviously legally."

Bombers coach John Worsfold will coach his 300th game against Geelong at Etihad Stadium.

Essendon coach John Worsfold remains stoic after 12 active players from the club were hit with season-long bans following a verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"We sign up to a code, we sign up to play the sport and we are governed by the people who make the rules. So we have to live by that decision," Worsfold said.

"We've got to now move on and deal with what we've been handed.

"You don't sit around and sulk. We've got a lot of stuff that we've got to do now, we're preparing for a footy season and we're focusing on that."

Essendon officially confirms John Worsfold as its new senior coach.

"It's a great opportunity to step in and help build the next premiership team of the Essendon footy club," Worsfold said.

"Pre-season training will start fairly quickly and I'm really looking forward to that, getting the guys together, motivated and ready to do the hard work that we know it takes to be a premiership side in this competition.

"It will be tough and it will be a hard slog. There will be a lot of footy work.

"I'm really excited about it and looking forward to it."

John Worsfold says he was surprised by Daniel Chick's revelations about West Coast's culture of drug use during the time he was coach of the club.

"It wasn't the truth for me but it might have been the truth for Daniel," he said.

"I know it has rocked him, the publicity from it.

"It's a challenging time and I feel for him. I hope he comes out of it OK."

John Worsfold has confirmed he wants to return to AFL senior coaching at Essendon.

Worsfold says serving as coaching director at Adelaide for several months has re-ignited his passion to coach.

"It took getting back into footy to realise I'm kidding myself - I think I know what I really love doing," Worsfold said.

"It feels like it's what I should be doing.

"For that to be a coaching role at Essendon, obviously I have to show them that I have the energy, the hunger and the ability to fulfil what they're looking for."

Essendon has denied reports the club has offered John Worsfold a five-year coaching contract.

Ex-St Kilda player Nathan Burke told Fox Sports on Wednesday he believed the Bombers had presented the West Coast premiership coach with a long-term contract, worth "very good money".

Burke also said there was a belief the recruitment process was already compromised, with the club's selection committee unaware of the in-person approach chairman Paul Little and key Bombers made to Worsfold last week.

"There has been no offer tabled, informally or formally, to any candidate for the senior coaching position at the club," Essendon CEO Xavier Campbell said.

John Worsfold admits he is coming around to the idea of a return to AFL coaching after helping interim Crows coach Scott Camporeale following the death of Phil Walsh.

"There's no doubt that having been back involved and then seeing how great an environment footy clubs are, that there is some thought there it's a good place to be," Worsfold said.

"I will give it more thought than I was at the start of the season.

"It's nice that people think you might have the skill set."

After being appointed as coaching director of the Crows, John Worsfold says his role at the club will primarily involve providing guidance to Adelaide's coaching group.

"I'm not here to bring any ideas around game plan, they've been working on that all summer, all season – I'll be just listening to hear if their messaging is consistent," Worsfold said.

"Adelaide have a pretty young and inexperienced coaching group who had a very strong person in charge…they don't have that now and I think I can offer some insight.

"I know what Phil would have been trying to achieve and how he would have gone about doing that.

"Adelaide Footy Club are on a pretty strong pathway that Phil put in place and it's a strong focus to maintain that pathway."

Following the tragic death of Phil Walsh, Scott Camporeale will coach Adelaide for the rest of the 2015 season while John Worsfold has been appointed as the club's director of coaching.

"We had a bit of a discussion this morning and tried to just reflect on Phil's values that he left at this footy club," Camporeale said.

"The vision that Phil had nine months ago when I sat down with him in November was one of really clear messaging as to where we wanted to get to.

"That won't change, the players are really behind that, they want to live and breathe what Phil's put in place."

In a note to AFLCA members, Worsfold said taking on the role was his contribution to help out, and it seemed like the right thing to do under the circumstances.

"He has accepted this request to assist because the Crows' coaching team is relatively inexperienced," AFLCA CEO Mark Brayshaw said.

"In light of his connection to Phil and recent time spent reviewing their program pre-season, he feels well placed to add value.

"John is not interested in the Adelaide senior coaching role or any other for that matter."

John Worsfold has vowed to relinquish his duties as chairman of the AFL Coaches Association (AFLCA) if he decides to challenge for a senior coaching role.

"May I assure you all, I am not seeking a senior coaching position and I don't know if I ever will be in a position to consider taking on this breathtaking and challenging role at any stage in the future," Worsfold said in a letter penned to all League coaches last week to clarify his position.

"But who knows? Maybe I will reach that point, one day, of believing I again have the energy for the opportunity. I bet 'Rocket' (Eade) never thought he would.

"I have discussed the issue with 'Sticks' (AFLCA CEO Mark Brayshaw) over two weeks ago and categorically explained to him that I would resign immediately from my position as chairman of the AFLCA if I considered seeking a senior coaching position or any club position."

John Worsfold rules himself out of the running for the Crows' coaching position vacated by sacked Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson.

"I've got a massive interest in coaching, I've taken a role with the AFL Coaches Association…but in terms of me stepping back into the main job, that's not on the cards, definitely not for the next 12 months," Worsfold said.

"By the time we get to this point next year I'll be starting to wonder whether I've finished with coaching all together or whether I'll be keen to get back in."

John Worsfold is one of four additions to a revamped AFL Laws of the Game committee.

Collingwood premiership player Michael Christian, umpiring director Wayne Campbell and umpire's coach Hayden Kennedy are the other new members of the committee.

Midfielder Matt Priddis wins the newly-minted John Worsfold Medal as West Coast's best and fairest for season 2013.

Priddis led all votes ahead of runner up Eric Mackenzie followed by Josh Kennedy and paid tribute to former coach John Worsfold for being one of the most influential people in his life.

"I've idolised (Worsfold) since I was a kid, since I've started following footy," Priddis said.

"He's had a massive impact on my life on and off the field.

"He's always encouraged me to play to your strengths. Don't be anyone else other than yourself and I can't thank him enough.

"So for this medal to be named after him it's a massive honour."

John Worsfold says Eagles assistant coaches Peter Sumich and Scott Burns are ready to succeed him as head coach of the Eagles.

"Peter Sumich has now followed a very good pathway into giving himself the background to be a senior coach, having coached reserve level in the WAFL and in the seniors, and then as an assistant coach at two difference clubs over 12 years," Worsfold said.

"And Scott Burns … [his coaching career is a] bit shorter but as a player for such a long period and playing under Leigh Matthews and then Mick Malthouse, and then working with myself for five years, I think he's got a good grasp of what coaching takes and how you can attack different issues."

John Worsfold informs the Lions that he will not be applying for their vacant head coaching position after being approached by Brisbane to gauge his interest.

John Worsfold resigns as coach of West Coast after 12 years at the helm.

"I think that it's important that John recognised that he didn't have the energy and the passion and the enthusiasm and the emotion to keep going," Eagles chairman Alan Cransberg said.

"He very clearly said that from him point of view, now was the right time for him to move on and he also thought that the club was in a good position to put a new coach in place."

Following his resignation, John Worsfold admits he has struggled to find the motivation to continue as head coach of West Coast.

"I have come to that decision around the fact I shouldn't do the job if I don't have the energy to give it absolutely everything; that wouldn't be the right thing for the club and basically that's where it got to," Worsfold said.

"It's not the right thing for me or for the club. The players will feel it, the staff will feel it, if the senior coach is not warts and all in. And that means emotionally you have to be right in, you have to be all over everything."

A poor performance by the Eagles against Collingwood has John Worsfold questioning his own future as coach of the club.

The Eagles recorded their lowest-ever score at the MCG in the 62-point loss to the Magpies, 5.9 (39).

"It challenges your self-belief as a coach and your desire, all those sorts of things," Worsfold said after the match.

"I'll definitely reflect on it and have some really good dialogue with people I respect at the footy club.

"I understand if their confidence wavers and in the end we have to make a decision."

Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett says the club isn't completely certain on re-signing John Worsfold as coach of West Coast next year.

"We need to make the right decision and we want John to coach us next year, but we want to make sure we're correct," Nisbett told 3AW radio.

"Although there's every chance that's going to happen, we need to be sure."

Eagles coach John Worsfold says he would like another two years at the helm.

"I would like to talk to the club about that, but my last two or three contracts have been two years in length," Worsfold said.

"So I've got a bit of a liking for two-year contracts."

John Worsfold says he will make a presentation to the club, giving the strongest hint so far that he intends to continue coaching the Eagles beyond this year.

"I'm putting a plan in action to present to the footy club," Worsfold said.

"So in a nutshell, I will be very clear on where it's all at inside a month, and we'll go from there."

John Worsfold says he remains unperturbed by media speculation over his contract situation.

"All I can say is that I'll either be coaching next year here or I won't be. People can create talk and they can take punts. It doesn't faze me," Worsfold said.

"Come October I'll sit down with 'Nizzy' (Trevor Nisbett) and Alan (Cransberg) and talk about where the club wants to go."

Eagles coach John Worsfold says he won't make a call on his future until the end of the season despite believing he still has room to grow as a coach.

"I'm miles away from my peak. All things considering, I'd love to still be here coaching if everything fit," Worsfold said.

"But just talking to Alan Cransberg, we felt there was no urgency to make any decision around it. I'm really comfortable with that."

West Coast coach John Worsfold has accepted a two-year extension on his contract.

"It was always just a case of finding the time to discuss some of the detail and during the season our entire focus was around ensuring our team capitalised on the opportunity we had created by finishing in the top four," Worsfold said.

"There was great excitement around the team's performance this year, which was a reward for all the hard work we put in over two or three years."

Premiership coaches Mick Malthouse and John Worsfold are among those inducted into West Coast's Hall of Fame.

Others inducted include Glen Jakovich, Dean Kemp, Chris Lewis, Peter Matera, Guy McKenna and former head trainer Bill Sutherland.

West Coast coach John Worsfold says it will be unlikely that he continues as coach of the side if the Eagles do not show some improvement next year.

"Improvement has to be here," Worsfold said.

"If we don't improve next year, I'll definitely be handing over the reins and saying someone needs to come in and start fresh with the group."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says he is confident his position is safe based on private conversations with Eagles board members despite the Eagles' poor form this season.

"Privately I'm very comfortable with the relationship I have with [the board] and my understanding of where I'm at," Worsfold said

Eagles coach John Worsfold says Chad Fletcher will be moved on and that a farewell game for the midfielder is unlikely.

"I've given that far bit of thought, because Chad's been such a great player for the footy club and achieved so much," Worsfold said.

"The fact that Chad hasn't played for quite a while, my gut feeling is that farewell games are generally for guys that are in the side and playing and you know it's their last game.

"But to bring a player who hasn't been in the side for a number of weeks in just to play a farewell game, I think it's fairly rare - I don't know that there's a lot of value in that."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says his assistant Peter Sumich still has what it takes to be a senior coach after he missed out on the Richmond job.

"Clubs obviously have processes they go through and Suma is pretty clear on where he sits and what he's aiming to do," Worsfold said.

"He won't apply for all jobs, but there's times where he will apply knowing he may not expect to get on the shortlist, but he'll go through the process for the experience of it and learn.

"He's got all of the capabilities to be a senior coach."

West Coast premiership ruckman Mark Seaby will be considered for Saturday's clash with the Western Bulldogs even though he will probably leave the club at season's end.

"Seabs is still a very valuable member of our team," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"We'll consider playing him this week looking at what we're going up against."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says stars Daniel Kerr and Dean Cox will probably not play again this season due to injury.

"When the season finishes we can't stop them from doing anything and think we've fixed the problem," Worsfold said.

"We need to make sure we have. So that means getting them up to a point where they could play. That's a gradual build-up.

"And from there we hope we know we've fixed the problem and then they can have their break and prepare for the pre-season."

West Coast's misfiring forwards have been put on notice, with in-form rookie Callum Wilson on the verge of elevation.

"He's in the best form, well and truly. When you're in that good form, he's really forcing us to say, 'Let's look at giving him the opportunity'," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"Callum is pushing up and every forward in our team would know that Callum's in the best form in the WAFL - he's kicking goals every week and therefore he could come in."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says Adam Hunter will need to weigh up his options at the end of the season as he battles a shoulder injury.

"It's going to be a matter of him weighing up, with the advice he gets from the surgeons and doctors that he's spoken to, what that means for his long-term life, how much damage he's doing to his shoulder," Worsfold said.

"It's a bit like when players end their careers with no cartilage left in their knee - they can play and they have touch-up surgery every year, but they play in pain and they're wrecking their knees as they go.

"It sounds as though his shoulder's heading that way. If he can't play at 100 per cent, it's going to be hard for him to be a good AFL player."

Eagles ruckman and regular All-Australian Dean Cox could miss the rest of 2009 due to a debilitating groin injury.

"That's a medical decision really so we'll get their advice on all that," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"His groin got sore so we really limited his ruck work and ground time, specifically in the second half.

"We now have to reassess where it's at.

"The fact it got sore so quickly is disappointing and we have to work out what the best program is for him."

Eagles coach John Worsfold says ruckman Dean Cox is expected to be fit for this week, but needs to prove himself at training.

"We're confident that he'll get up," Worsfold said.

"It was a very minor strain and one that we would expect would have healed by now, (but) you're always just making sure that there's nothing else other than that as well.

"There's no caution taken into account. If he's fit he'll play."

John Worsfold will remain at the helm of the Eagles until the end of 2011 after agreeing to a two-year contract extension.

Worsfold was offered the new contract last week after meeting with chief executive Trevor Nisbett.

But the 2006 premiership coach wasn't happy with the finer details of the initial deal and only put pen to paper once some changes were made.

"With Worsfold continuing for at least another two years it allows him to continue to develop an exciting young list and to further evolve a coaching infra-structure which came together this season with a plan to see the club begin its ascent up the ladder," a statement released on the club website said.

"The re-appointment of Worsfold will allow him to continue his work in revamping a young squad which has undergone enormous change in the last couple of years to be among the youngest of AFL playing lists."

Eagles coach John Worsfold claims he will step away from the Eagles at the end of his next contract if he doesn't feel he is the right man to lead the club to a premiership.

Despite losing more games than he would have liked Eagles coach John Worsfold says the team is achieving some of its goals.

Worsfold said putting an end to the heavy defeats was high up on his board's agenda for 2009.

"It was certainly one of the key focuses for what the board expected," Worsfold said.

"Obviously we don't focus on not having big losses, we want to win every game, but one of the areas the board wanted to see improvement in was that we weren't going to get blown off the park with massive margins.

"So we have improved in that area."

Eagles coach John Worsfold has welcomed the possibility of Dean Laidley joining his star-studded football department, suggesting a spot could be manufactured to accommodate him.

"You always look at personnel that could potentially make your place better," Worsfold said.

"If I said there was a vacant spot right there now, no, there's not. But that can be manufactured at times.

"I know Dean pretty well - I've played with him and obviously coached against him.

"He's a ripper bloke, he's hard as nails and he's committed. He's done a very good job with all the things he's done."

West Coast will continue to present draftee Nic Naitanui with games if his form and fitness warrant it after the gifted ruckman made his debut against the Tigers.

"He's very exciting - really pleased with the way he went but, again, you can see how nervous and young they look in their first hit-outs," Eagles coach John Worsfold said after the match.

"But he obviously shows a lot of promise.

"Depending on how he's travelling, if he's bringing something to the team then we'll certainly try to keep him going. That's how he's going to learn the best."

West Coast will finally blood Nick Naitanui, with the teenage ruckman to make his much anticipated debut against Richmond tomorrow night.

"We're not expecting him to come in and dominate the competition," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"We're expecting him to come in like you'd expect from any first-year player and just do his best and learn and start his career and build on it week to week."

Prized draft pick Nick Naitanui has shown enough to play at the elite level, but West Coast isn't setting a date for his debut.

"His form has improved week-to-week. So he's now ready to play at the highest level if that opportunity is there for him," Eagles coach John Worsfold said.

"We're not expecting him to come in and dominate the competition. We're expecting him to come in like you'd expect [from] any first-year player and just do his best and learn and start his career and build on it week-to-week.

"Our expectations are really long-term what he'll bring the footy club."

It is the game West Coast and Richmond fans have been waiting all year to see - Tiger Ben Cousins up against his former club.

While most of the AFL world is buzzing in anticipation ahead of Saturday's mouthwatering duel at Etihad Stadium, Eagles coach John Worsfold insists he's not one of them.

"I would expect that there's interest in it for a lot of people,'' Worsfold said.

"A lot of West Coast people will watch the game with an interest in how Ben goes and depending on their personal stance on it they'll either hope he goes well or won't be fussed.

"It's out of my control.

"It doesn't affect our preparation.''

West Coast coach John Worsfold could be re-signed by the Eagles as early as next week.

"I'm hoping that when I open my office door on Monday morning there may be something waiting, but who knows," Worsfold said.

"We haven't got to that point yet. I'll just go with the flow, deal with it as it's there. I'm pretty comfortable with where I sit at the moment."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says he is doing his homework on new Richmond coach Jade Rawlings.

"We've got Warren Kofoed (former Richmond rehab and conditioning coach) at the club who's worked closely with Jade, so we have an idea what he's all about.

"But we don't really know if he's going to bring his own ideas or stick with what the players have been working on this year."

John Worsfold has backed star pair Dean Cox and Daniel Kerr as they struggle with form and discipline.

"Some of the goals he set up from stoppages, winning the ball and getting it out while under a full tackle were outstanding," Worsfold said of Kerr.

"As our side improves, he'll then win some of the easy possessions as well. But at the moment he is having to knuckle down and get in for the team and do the real hard grunt work."

Cox on the other hand has been criticised for not working hard enough.

"I'm not really sure where all of this is coming from," Worsfold said of the criticism.

"Because some of the people that are criticising him were also comparing him to Polly Farmer eight months ago, so something drastic has happened - I'm not sure what, but it's just a bit of a whim from some people to talk about that."

Nic Naitanui is in the mix to make his highly-anticipated AFL debut in Sunday's clash with Geelong at Subiaco Oval.

"Fitness wise he's getting close to being ready to being capable of playing AFL footy," Eagles coach John Worsfold said today.

"Form wise and requirement wise for our team - that will now be assessed weekly in terms of when he's ready."

West Coast coach John Worsfold says young ruckman Nick Naitanui could make his AFL debut against Geelong in round 11.

"He would be a chance to be in the mix," Worsfold said.

"We just really want to test him out in terms of overall workload."

Eagles coach John Worsfold is confident Daniel Kerr's demons have not returned despite frustration appearing to get the better of the star Eagle last week.

"Yes we've spoken to him and he's feeling well and truly in control and feels as though his best form is not far away," Worsfold said.

"He found a fair bit of the football but he was disappointed with his use of it the other night. But he's working pretty hard.

"It's no excuse but with his groin injury he hadn't really been able to kick the ball at training for a few weeks so he was certainly rusty going into the game, but he'll be better this week."

John Worsfold has thrown his support behind Terry Wallace and Mick Malthouse, saying he knows just how they feel.

"I'm in pretty much the same boat and we are all coming out of contract," Worsfold said on Tuesday.

""I understand what Terry Wallace is going through, what Mark Harvey went through in the first few rounds and what Mick is going through.

"I also know that those guys are the types of characters that deal with it quite comfortably."

West coast defender Eric Mackenzie is ready to face the challenge of playing on Lance Franklin according to coach John Worsfold.

West Coast coach John Worsfold says he won't move Daniel Kerr away from the action to beat tags believing that Kerr has the ability to beat tags.

"He's good enough to beat these blokes and he still had a good impact on the game for us on the weekend," Worsfold said.

"We'd rather him take them on and be in the game than hiding him somewhere else where he's not in the game."

West Coast Eagles coach John Worsfold says the players that were part of last weekend's thumping loss will get one more chance to prove themselves.

West Coast coach John Worsfold has slammed his team's effort against St Kilda, calling his players "mentally weak" after the Eagles lost by 97 points.

"Those sorts of losses are unacceptable to that degree. There is no doubt we were outplayed by a far superior side, but to the extent is where it was disappointing," Worsfold said.

The West Coast Eagles have a strong record against St Kilda and coach John Worsfold says they want it to continue.

West Coast coach John Worsfold says he still has faith in Mark Seaby's ability as a part-time forward, despite the ruckman's humble round one performance against the Brisbane Lions.

Seaby provided good back up for ruckman Dean Cox but failed to have an impact when pushed forward, taking two marks and failing to trouble the scorers with his nine touches.

Worsfold said Seaby's spot in the side for this week's clash with Port Adelaide had not been discussed yet, adding that the expectations on his back-up big man were "a little bit over the top at times".

"We're pretty happy with his ruck work. In terms of the time he spent up forward he didn't deliver what we believe he can deliver," Worsfold said.

John Worsfold is one of seven coaches out of contract at season's end but the Eagles coach says being re-signed is a matter of achieving his goals this season.

WEST COAST coach John Worsfold has backed the new deliberate rushed behind rule despite it costing his side victory against Fremantle.

John Worsfold says he's happy at the Eagles and wants to extend his tenure at the AFL club as head coach.