THE BEAUTY of country football for Liam Baker is the community spirit and the way senior players will put their arm around you as a youngster and protect you on the field. 

A product of Pingaring in WA's Wheatbelt, it's an approach Baker has taken into the AFL and will no doubt transfer to Origin football when he represents Western Australia as one of the state's country-bred stars. 

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The dual premiership player has already been on the front foot and warned his Victorian opponents he'll be having a "red-hot crack" in the February 14 clash at Optus Stadium, with plenty of enthusiasm building among the WA squad. 

He'll also be proudly representing his corner of WA, where he returns when possible to help on the family farm and put in a training session with the Lake Grace-Pingrup Bombers.  

"Footy is pretty relaxed out there, but the leaders are country blokes that love talking, love getting the boys up, and love defending their own as teammates," Baker said.  

"That was the best thing about it. When you're a young fella, these old guys that you look up to, they put their arm around you and protect you out on the field.

"It's similar to AFL in that way, but it's more of a community thing out there. I loved footy out there. It was good fun."

Baker's hometown, Pingaring, is nearly 350km east of Perth, and he would travel 50km south to Lake Grace for school and football before moving to the city to complete his education at Aquinas College. 

Returning to the club as a teenager before being drafted to Richmond as a rookie in 2018 provided some of tough utility's lasting footy memories. 

"Every now and again I'd come back and play a bit of a league for them, and it was probably only three or four games, but I remember those games," Baker said.  

"As a 16- or 17-year-old with all the Deep Heat in the change rooms and all of the grown men, you looked up to these guys and they're the memories I've got playing for Lake Grace. 

"Footy out there is important for the town and the community. Even playing juniors, we'd watch the league after, and if it was a home game we'd stay for dinner and leave at 8.30-9pm.

"You're playing with your mates, your Mum and Dad are there with their mates, and the culture of the footy club is really important. 

"The players aren't more important than the staff, and you're just one club and everyone does their bit. That's one thing you learn from country footy."

Baker still has a connection to the Bombers and has taken an interest in the emergence of young WA midfielder Lucas Robinson, who is a top 2026 draft prospect who hails from Lake Grace-Pingrup.  

The two-time premiership Tiger has used the mid-season bye in previous seasons to return for a training session at the club while also building his experience on the family farm, where he plans to return more permanently when his AFL career finishes. 

But for now, football is Baker's focus as a key leader at West Coast and a vital player in WA's Origin squad.