The writing is on the wall at the West Coast Eagles with who their next captain could be, says club legend

The writing is on the wall at the West Coast Eagles with who their next captain could be, says club legend Chris Waterman. Dunsborough’s Reuben Ginbey was announced as a new face in the club’s leadership group last week after an outstanding 2025 season. Ginbey went on to finish runner-up in the John Worsfold Medal last year in just his third season at the club. “I’m not surprised at his young age he’s been elevated, its not a matter of if but when,” said Waterman speaking about Ginbey. “They wouldn’t rush him but there’s every chance he would become captain.” Liam Duggan and Liam Baker were named co-captains in 2026 with Jack Graham, Matt Flynn, Brandon Starcevich in the leadership group along with Chris’s son Jake. The two-time Eagles premiership player Chris Waterman spoke to the South Western Times about Ginbey’s leadership qualities and development into becoming a stand-out defender of the competition. “The way he goes about his game, he gets given a role and always holds his own, often playing out of his weight division.” Ginbey proved last year that he’s up to the fight, battling in a team that only managed one win with the tide going against him multiple times during the year as a defender. Waterman, who played 177-games for the Eagles between 1988 and 1998, see’s similarities with his dual premiership captain John Worsfold — high praise for a 21-year-old. “He’s very similar to Worsfold, fighting tooth and nail to beat their opponent and never backing down,” he said. “(Worsfold) always set an example to the team on how he played against his opponent and prove his point to the rest of the team that if I’m doing my role, you should be too.” “It’s about leading by example, young players look up to players like that and that’s the type of leader Ginbey is.” Ginbey’s breakout year was highlighted by is match-up with dual Coleman medallist Jeremy Cameron, where had one of the best key forwards in the competition well held, only kicking one goal up to three-quarter-time in their round 12 clash last year. Ginbey was left one out against Cameron late in the game and kicked four goals in the last 10 minutes. The future is bright for Ginbey, with Waterman saying the Eagles should give him time to fully develop before a potential handover. “Maybe there’s a handover date with Baker and Duggan, he might be elevated into vice or co-captain, but I’d say give him another couple of years and get to 80-100 games.” After a move from the midfield to defence last year, Waterman agreed with the shift, saying defence is Ginbey’s best position. “Absolutely he’s a half-back-flanker or that third tall or back pocket, he reads the play really well behind the ball.” The Eagles will be hoping to win more than one game in season 2026, with young draftees, new recruits and players returning from injuries the key to the side’s success, Waterman said. “They will be a lot harder to beat, we saw last year they had sides like Collingwood, Adelaide and Brisbane on the ropes, but weight of numbers eventually got them undone,” he said. “It’s not about wins and losses for them but more about how they perform and get a good run of injuries.” “Hopefully that takes the pressure off the older guys with the blokes coming in and young kids developing that wouldn’t have usually got a game last year but did, and that will only help them.”