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WEST Coast has passed on the chance to shore-up its ruck stocks in the NAB AFL Draft, with the Eagles instead deciding to bolster their midfield division by snaring damaging playmaker Daniel Venables in the first round.

In a surprise to some draft watchers, the Eagles called Venables' name with pick 13, filling a need for speedy onballers.

Venables, from the Western Jets, battled a foot injury during the second half of the season, which ruled him out of testing at the NAB AFL Draft Combine.

But at his best the youngster is a dynamic 186cm playmaker who boasts pace, power, and toughness, and can turn a game in an instant – as he did by booting the match-winning goal to lead Vic Metro to victory over Vic Country in June.

East Perth product Sam Powell-Pepper was also under consideration by the Eagles to add to their engine room, but West Coast settled on Venables.

"We've really rated Daniel's ability quite highly all year," Eagles national recruiting manager Rohan O'Brien told AFL.com.au.

"He's had a bit of an interrupted couple of seasons really with some injuries, but we think he brings some qualities that are hard to find as a midfielder.

"He's super-competitive and attacks the footy hard and he's got good speed and skill, so we were really pleased to add Daniel."

• 10 things we learned from the draft

Despite the Eagles losing star ruckman Nic Naitanui (ACL) for most of next season and with Scott Lycett (PCL) racking against time for round one, the club didn't take a punt on South Fremantle big man Tim English, who went to the Western Bulldogs at pick 19.

"Absolutely (we considered him). Tim's another one of those boys that when you're picking where we are you think, 'Geez, they're great talents these boys and we'd love to have any one of these four or five'," O'Brien said.

"But unfortunately you have to pick one and you hold your breath until your selection comes round again."

West Coast secured Jake Waterman – the son of dual premiership player Chris – with the final pick in the draft, No.77 overall, continuing the family legacy at the club.

Waterman's brother Alec was drafted by the Eagles with their final pick in the 2014 draft but didn't play a game due to a battle with glandular fever.

South Australian small forward Willie Rioli, 21, finally earned a shot at the big time after dropping 16kg over the past 18 months.

Selection No.13 – Daniel Venables

Rohan O'Brien says: "(His foot) is on the mend, everything's good, we've had him checked out medically and the boys are fine with that for the long term. We'll have a look at it when he comes in and most likely be a bit conservative with him."

Selection No.34 – Josh Rotham

Rohan O'Brien says: "Josh is a boy from West Perth, he's played predominantly half-back or back in general, a little bit midfield and a tiny bit forward. He's about 192cm, has good speed, kicks well and we think he's got good versatility."

Selection No.52 – Willie Rioli

Rohan O'Brien says: "It's great to give Willie a chance. Willie's a boy that's had a lot of talent and probably been noticed by a lot of clubs over four or five years now but he's made some changes to his game, got himself a bit fitter and performed really well in league footy for Glenelg and been able to play through midfield as well. I think he's predominantly small forward to start with."

Selection No.77 – Jake Waterman

Rohan O'Brien says: "It's worked out well for us to get Jake. We've obviously watched him for a long time as a father-son player, he's had a really solid year at all levels. He played some good League footy for Claremont and (in the) under-18s champs for WA. I think that shows the depth of the talent pool that Jake was selected in that range."

Eagles fans reaction - Curated tweets by AFL