West Coast Eagles’ Elijah Hewett tipped for breakout season, labelled ‘impressive human being’ by teammate

Strong. Powerful. An impressive human being. That’s how a teammate has described West Coast young gun Elijah Hewett, tipping the former first-round pick to put injury woes behind him and have a breakout 2025 season. Hewett burst on the scene in his debut campaign, earning the admiration of Eagles fans — and a Rising Star nomination — across 14 appearances in blue and gold. An explosive midfielder-forward, Hewett had a confident demeanour and the dash to match, providing a glimpse of why the club split pick two to secure both him and Reuben Ginbey in 2022. But while injury tapped the brakes throughout Hewett’s first season, it completely derailed his second. Diagnosed with sesamoiditis, a serious foot issue, Hewett was sent to Melbourne in February to consult with world-leading physiotherapist Dr Sue Mayes at the Australian Ballet. A month later, the Eagles conceded their attempts to avoid surgery had failed. The club bit the bullet and Hewett went under the knife to repair the issue with an estimated return mid-year. The half-full glass was emptied in July as he sustained another foot injury, a minor bone stress concern separate from his earlier ailment. He was taken “off legs”, as Eagles high-performance manager Mat Inness described it, for weeks, ruling him out for the remainder of the 2024 season. Months later, Hewett has hit the ground running in November for the start of his third pre-season, catching the attention of West Coast ruckman Matt Flynn. “He’s obviously had a few injury setbacks and at the moment, he’s moving really well,” he said. “He’s worked on his tank, his body is feeling good. “He’s strong, he’s powerful. He’s a player that I think will be in for a big year and I’m really excited to see what he does with his game in 2025.” Flynn, 27, spent a fair bit of time alongside Hewett in the club’s injury ward last season, with the former Giant missing most of the year with knee, hamstring and ankle issues. He was blown away by how “professional” and “competitive” Hewett was, describing him as “a very impressive human”. “That showed through all our rehab sessions, he would be taking it up to me in whatever exercise I was to do,” Flynn said. “He’s a very impressive human and he deserves a strong run at it.” New Eagles coach Andrew McQualter was also glowing of Hewett when asked about him earlier this month. McQualter revealed the 20-year-old had completed all training sessions ahead of the pre-season. “He’s given himself a chance to have a great year by the pre-season he’s going to be able to do,” McQualter told Gettable. “He’s struggled to stay on the park in the last couple of years, but we’re really excited by what Elijah can do. He’s incredibly powerful with a huge work rate.” Hewett has been a regular on the training track since the first-to-fourth-year players returned on November 11, more than a fortnight ago. On Friday, the midfielder showed no signs of any lingering issues with his feet as he took part in running, skills and contact drills throughout the session. It’s one of many positive signs for the Eagles ahead of McQualter’s first season as coach with young forward Noah Long also making strides after his season ended prematurely with an ACL injury in round eight.