West Coast Eagles hint at new role and jumper number for Brady Hough with preseason training moves

Harvey’s Brady Hough could be set for a new role on the half-back flank if West Coast’s preseason training is anything to go by. The new draftee featured up forward and sometimes through the midfield in a stellar season for Peel Thunder and the State under-19s, but has been training across half-back at his new club. The move was made during a match simulation session last Monday. He was renowned for his versatility during his debut season at Peel Thunder, spending brief periods at half-back but also on the wing, as well as his primary role as a midfield-forward. He also looks set to adopt a jumper number from one of the club’s premiership heroes. While the club has not yet formally released its new jumper numbers for next season, a giant screen at its Mineral Resources Park training facility had Hough’s name next to the number 19. It is the number worn by ruckman Nathan Vardy in the club’s 2018 grand final triumph over Collingwood, but most famously by Karl Langdon for 100 games, Michael Gardiner for 57 games, and by legendary goalsneak Mark LeCras briefly in the first two years of his career. The silky ball-user was taken with pick 31 in the national draft and became the second Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault product currently on an AFL list, alongside Fremantle’s Ethan Hughes. He was part of the biggest draft group from the South West region in more than a decade, following on from the 2009 crop which included Fremantle’s pick No.4 Anthony Morabito, who Hough grew up living less than a kilometre from in Harvey. The 20-year-old also sneaked in two games for Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault’s league side during the year and was playing full-time for the club as recently as 2020.