West Coast Eagles training notes: Co-captain Oscar Allen back at training as Liam Ryan has some flying fun

As West Coast near their Christmas break, there were some positive signs for some of their star players at training on Monday morning. Here’s what caught our eye. Ozzie’s return After not being sighted last week due to illness, Eagles co-captain Oscar Allen was back out on the track. Sporting a strong beard, the star forward was all smiles as he finally got back to training ahead of what is a crucial 2025 season. There had been speculation around the fitness of Allen, but the big man showed no signs of any ailments as he moved freely across the Mineral Resources Park turf. Allen spent time working with backline coach Luke Webster, working on his one-on-one marking work, with the two spending time talking about positioning as others took a break. Increased intensity Several West Coast players upped their training loads as the rehab group at training looked smaller. Star midfielder Harley Reid, premiership hero Dom Sheed as well as ruckmen Bailey Williams and Harry Barnett all trained with the rest of their teammates at stages in a positive sign after interrupted pre-seasons to date. Sheed and Jack Petruccelle started the session with the main group before going to do solo running alongside defender Callum Jamieson and third-year defender Reuben Ginbey — who continues to have his loads managed. Reid looked particularly confident as he did a series of ball drills having been held out in recent weeks because of a lower leg injury. Williams (hamstring) and Barnett (calf) showed no signs of their injuries which have kept them sidelined since the start of this month, completing the first half of the session. They all didn’t complete the entire session though as they work towards full fitness. Defender Harry Edwards (foot), small forward Noah Long (knee) and midfielder Campbell Chesser (calf) continued to walk laps before going inside as they hope to return to training post-Christmas. Flying fun Once the cameras were asked to be put down the Eagles began to have some fun at training with the marking bag. Development coach Jacob Brennan was the unlucky man assigned to wear the bag, as Eagles took turns spreading their wings and taking some screamers. As expected Liam Ryan and Jack Hutchinson made it look easy as they leapt high on the back of Brennan with ease. There was plenty of laughs as several others tried to take some spectacular marks only to fall backwards or let the ball slip out of their hands. Ryan was having that much fun that even after the whistle to stop the drill was blown he kept asking for “one more”.