Reuben Ginbey: West Coast Eagles youngster wins time trial, set to remain in defence under Andrew McQualter

New West Coast coach Andrew McQualter has declared Reuben Ginbey will be played as a permanent defender next season after he returned to training with a hulking frame and a team-best running performance during testing. Ginbey is entering his third AFL season after being drafted at pick nine and has been trialled in multiple positions across his first 40 games. McQualter said having a 191cm player with elite running ability, the strength to play in a key position and the mobility to be used as a smaller player meant Ginbey would be incredibly valuable to the team. And on the back of the 20-year-old taking out the club’s running trial on Monday, McQualter revealed he believed Ginbey was best suited to the backline to start next season. “Reuben won, which is probably not a surprise. He is some sort of athlete,” McQualter said. “I think we’ll look to play him in the backline to begin with. We’ll really settle him there. He showed some great parts to his game last year and he’s still really young. He’s going to evolve and develop as a player but to begin with we will settle him in the backline. “It’s a good thing to have, his physical traits. He’s strong, he’s fast, he’s fit. It gives him a great starting point. But whether he plays tall or small, it might be week-to-week dependant. “But he gives himself a great physical profile to be able to play multiple roles.” McQualter confirmed he’ll also play Richmond recruit Liam Baker as a backman after trading for him in the off-season. Baker won’t start at the Eagles for several weeks but has proven he can also play as a midfielder and a forward. McQualter wants to give his defence as much strength and talent as possible. “He showed when he played as a back, he’s actually one of the better ground ball backs in the comp,” McQualter said. “His ability to win contest behind the ball is really strong. It’s pretty good in front to be fair. But I see that as being a really important part of the game - to have a really stable back half.” Youngster Elijah Hewett also turned heads during the first session of the pre-season as he returned from a foot injury that left him sidelined for all of last season. McQualter said the 20-year-old was now free of restrictions. “He was pretty excited to do his first session today,” McQualter said. “There’s quite a bit of personality about Elijah and he was terrific. He did the full session today. It’s really exciting he hasn’t played much footy over the last few years. He’s fit and he’s ready to go.”