WILLIE Rioli's supporting role in Dom Sheed's unforgettable Grand Final goal was dissected from every angle after West Coast broke Collingwood hearts on the last Saturday in September.

Did he illegally block Brayden Maynard's attempt to spoil Sheed's mark?

That question will never be answered to everyone's satisfaction, especially not for Pies fans.

However, Rioli also had a less-examined influence in the frantic moments after Sheed's 'impossible' set shot, when the livewire small forward joined his teammate for the contest's most crucial restart.

CLUB LISTS COMPARED Oldest? Youngest? Most experienced?

It was the only centre bounce Rioli attended for the entire Grand Final.

Whether it was down to good luck or good management we don't know, but one suspects the latter, given Adam Simpson and his coaching staff were feverishly planning for the aftermath of Sheed's kick even before he lined up from the boundary.

Officially, neither team was credited with a clearance win from the final bounce with 105 seconds to go.

However Rioli, and Sheed for that matter, played a part in keeping the footy pinballing around until Jamie Cripps found space in the maelstrom of bodies to hit up Josh Kennedy with a careful 15m chip, as the Eagles clung on to a five-point lead.

For a first-year player to be handed such responsibility in the biggest moment of his football life speaks volumes about the trust West Coast's hierarchy has in Rioli, and where his career might be headed.

FULL FIXTURE Every round, every game

Stats supplied by Champion Data reveal that Rioli ranked second, only behind spring-heeled ruckman Nic Naitanui, for centre clearance differential amongst his team's top 15 attendees last home-and-away season.

The Eagles might not always win the stoppage battle when Rioli is part of the starting four, but it's an area of the game in which his innate footy smarts come to the fore.

It adds weight to the belief that the Eagle with the famous bloodlines offers much more than just a threat around goals and will keep adding strings to his bow.

With West Coast's hunters set to become the hunted in 2019 and searching for ways to stay ahead of the pack, it's reasonable to expect the 23-year-old will boost his midfield presence, perhaps adopting the pinch-hitting role his cousin Cyril mastered at Hawthorn.

WHO MAKES FINALS? Dothe 2019 Ladder Predictor

Track-watchers have spied a trimmer and more toned Rioli this summer, and his improved condition hasn't gone unnoticed by teammates after he spent his off-season break training with now-retired Cyril and fellow cousin, Rivcmond's Daniel, back home on the Tiwi Islands.

"All we can ask is you keep improving in your off-season every year, and it's his third year now and he's come back in better shape again, that's all we can ask of Willie," Lewis Jetta said at a pre-Christmas training camp in Dunsborough.

"He has a bright future.

"He can set himself up to be an elite midfielder or an elite forward-line player."

Rioli only spent 9 per cent of matches running through midfield last season, according to Champion Data's tracking, and drilled 28 majors in 24 games.

However, he also ranked in the top five players on the ground for distance covered on six occasions, remarkable considering he famously shed 16kg before being drafted at pick 52 in 2016.

If he can keep building his fitness base and combine top-level running ability with his blistering pace, elite decision-making, pressure and ball use, there seems no reason he can't become an even bigger dual position threat during West Coast's premiership defence.

Willie Rioli centre bounce attendances (club ranking shown)

CBs Win Loss Diff 2018 H&A 31 (11th) 16 9 +7 (2nd of top 15 attendees) Naitanui was No.1 (+12) 2018 Finals 8 (8th) 4 4 0 (only 8 players attended)

Comparison (2018 home and away season)