Scott Selwood is coming out of contract - and rumours are rife of a move back to Victoria. Credit:Getty Images He is confident too that the Eagles will maintain their strong record of being able to re-sign players they deem to be important for their future, including Selwood. "I hear a lot of rumours, but I don't think too much about them until they're fact," Gaff said. "There's obviously the lure of [Selwood] being from Geelong and his brother [Cats skipper Joel] playing there. "But there was speculation a few years ago that he was going to Melbourne, and that didn't happen.

"He loves the club and his friends here and I am confident that he will be here for the long haul. "I like my group of friends in Perth and back in Melbourne. It's good to catch up with the others back there. "There is always the lure of family from Melbourne and school friends. But I don't see any reason for things to change at the moment." Gaff is closing in quickly on his 100th AFL appearance (game 98 is against Melbourne in Darwin on Saturday night), which (barring injury) will coincide with the Eagles' round 16 clash with Collingwood at Etihad Stadium. It is West Coast's only remaining home-and-away fixture in Melbourne and will allow him to celebrate the event – which he says is a big effort and that he is very proud of - with his family and friends.

If the milestone does fall in the clash against the Pies, he will have played 94 consecutive games, having not missed since round 17 of his debut season, 2011. The guy whose wore the Eagles' number 3 jumper previously, Chris Judd, reached the milestone only eight games faster. Gaff admits that he has been fortunate with injury, but says that could also be a result of him having to work a bit harder than most in his weekly preparation. "I've had a bit of luck, no doubt," he said. "But I have to be careful with my body because I am not as flexible as most. I am probably the most inflexible bloke going around in the AFL.

"I'd like to think it's genetic, but I have a stiff body - stiff hips. I have to be careful, but I am aware of what I can and can't do and just need to prepare a bit differently later in the week." Gaff looks at his condition as a positive though, as he sees a lot of guys with loose limbs have problems with shoulders popping in and out – something he doesn't have to worry about. Since early in his career though, he has had to worry about being tagged by opposition players though and it's something he says still happens regularly. But he is clearly learning to deal with it; and his teammates are learning to assist him more. And now the Eagles midfield is looking dangerous.

"They're just trying to stop some outside run I suppose," he said. "It's part of footy and something I have had to deal with since the end of my second year. "It took some getting used to, but you find different ways to outwork and outthink the guys you are on. "Last year, people said we were flat track bullies, only playing well against bottom sides and not standing up against good teams. All teams strive to do that and the midfield group is doing well. "We've made a few changes. Elliot Yeo has come in and has been unbelievable. He plays similar to Nat Fyfe, adding a dimension that we didn't have before."

In nine of 12 games this season, the scoreboard has ended up in favour of West Coast. And Gaff has been a major factor for that happening. He clearly took a step up in the second half of last season, about the same time the Eagles started to click under new coach Adam Simpson, and he hasn't looked back since. He has taken his average possession count from 19.9 per game in 2013 to 29.2 so far this year. His tackles are up from 1.8 per game to 2.8 over the same period and he is taking almost two more marks a game also. All while he continues to cop a tag. But he says the improvement in West Coast has come across the board – not just from him.

And that while he admits he was disappointed with events at the start of this season, he now sees a huge amount of upside for the club – another reason why is more than happy to call WA home for a while longer yet. "After round 1, against the Western Bulldogs, when we lost last, I was pretty devastated," he said. "It was more disappointing after the game, to find out we had lost Mitch Brown on top of Eric Mackenzie [during the pre-season] "I struggled to find the positives, especially when considering it is a long season with 22 games after that. "We had to find replacements and Will Schofield is playing well on guys a lot taller and stronger. Jeremy McGovern has been unbelievable too. Jeremy could be unstoppable as a forward; he's unstoppable as a defender.