THE West Coast Eagles have continued to lock away their young talent with first-year forward Jake Waterman signing a two-year contract extension.

The deal locks in Waterman with the Eagles until the end of the 2020 season.

Waterman, the son of dual West Coast premiership player Chris, is only four games into what looms as a long AFL career.

In other contract news, injured livewire forward Liam Ryan is set to be offered a one-year extension in coming days.

Waterman’s signing follows that of Willie Rioli, who also signed a two-year deal this week.

Debate continues over the hardness of Optus Stadium and its connection with the growing player injury toll.

Camera Icon Connor Blakely. Credit: Seven News Perth

Docker Connor Blakely today gave his verdict, saying he did not have a problem with the surface.

“I haven’t really noticed it too much to be honest,” he said.

“It’s a great surface, it’s a great stadium and it’s really good for this state.”

Blakely, who started his AFL days as a midfielder, said his new defensive role was not totally foreign.

“I did play a bit at half-back in the under 16s for the state team, so I did have a bit of experience there,” he said.

Blakely took part in training session today for sick kids and their siblings from Ronald McDonald House.