WEST Coast free agent Bailey Williams is keen to extend his career with the Eagles after stripping back his approach to the game this season and emerging as the No.1 ruckman the club has desperately needed. 

Williams' return from a groin injury in round five has given the Eagles' midfield a massive boost, with the high-leaping ruck flourishing under new centre ball-up rules and adding muscle at ground-level. 

The 26-year-old has caught the attention of rival clubs as a restricted free agent, but Williams' management and the Eagles have started preliminary talks on his future, with the club understood to be keen to lock away its in-form big man.

After standout games against Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney in the past fortnight, Williams said he was enjoying his football as much as ever in 2026 and wanted to continue working with the Eagles' young and exciting list next year. 

"I've spent a fair bit of time here now. It's my eighth year and it hasn't all been good times, but there's a young group, young talent, and new coaches around the place, and I'm excited by that," Williams told AFL.com.au this week. 

"I reckon this club and this group of lads that we've got here can do some really great things and these last few weeks of footy have shown how good we can be when we're at our best. 

"Although we're probably not getting all the results we want, this is a club I'm really excited about and I'm enjoying my footy. So yeah, I'm absolutely looking to re-sign."

A springy ruckman whose running vertical leap rivalled that of former teammate and now ruck coach Nic Naitanui, Williams is clearly suited to the new centre ball-up rules that prevent rucks from crossing the halfway line before contesting the ball. 

But his career-best form this season has also been the result of his off-field approach, building a quieter life in the Perth hills and compartmentalising football so he can go "full noise" when he is at the club and on game day. 

The laidback big man said he had simplified his approach to the game following a groin injury that severely disrupted his pre-season and saw him start the year in the WAFL. 

"I obviously didn't have the start to the season that I wanted. I wasn't in a great space and had to focus on my rehab with my groin, but then I just stripped it all back," Williams said. 

"It was more the mental side. I had such a big run of playing without being injured that I might have taken it for granted. But I've come back in this year refreshed and just loving my footy. 

"I look to go out every week and just play as hard as I can and enjoy it, and with the mental side of things, they don't feel as heavy as they once did.

"I'm living a pretty chill lifestyle when I'm away from the footy club. I've got the two dogs, Rusty and Wendy, and it's super quiet in the hills, but I love that. Then when I'm in the club, I dial right up." 

With his fitness and confidence back, Williams has been one of the game's most effective follow-up ruckman since his return to the team in round five, ranking top five among rucks for clearances (5.6) and contested possessions (11.4). 

Against Collingwood in round 11, he became just the third player to record 25 or more hitouts, 12 or more clearances and three or more contested marks in a game, joining North Melbourne's Tristan Xerri and Brisbane premiership big man Oscar McInerney. 

Incredibly, Williams' centre square combination with Harley Reid, Elliot Yeo and Tim Kelly is the most effective in the competition this season for overall clearances (35). 

"I work closely with Luke Shuey and Sam Radford, our stoppage and midfield coaches, and they're really big on us playing to our strengths," Williams said. 

"Along with Nic, they have given me the confidence to play my own game and they know that my strengths are following up and getting after the footy.

"When I'm at my best, I'm jumping at the footy and playing aggressive and physical, and I think that's just something that comes naturally with being hungry for the contest. 

"Most of our gun midfielders are the same in Harley, Tim Kelly, and 'Yeoy'. I feel like we're a really hungry unit and when we all play to our strengths and play our role, it's a fun group to play with.

"We're starting to play more footy together as a unit and I feel like we're causing headaches for sides and starting to work really well with each other."

Williams worked closely with Naitanui when the pair were teammates between 2019-2023, with the Eagles champion passing on his knowledge and introducing the 201cm big man to the wheelie bin drills he used to hone his 360-degree tap work. 

Naitanui has since returned to the club as a ruck mentor and is having an impact, providing expert guidance for Williams and the clubs other rucks, including exciting young tall Cooper Duff-Tytler.

"With this new ruck rule, a lot of the work we're doing is about the angles you use to get the best jump at the footy, and then jumping hard and being physical," Williams said.

"Then what you do once your feet hit the ground, and trying to act as an extra midfielder. That was obviously Nic's strength and I feel like it's also my strength.

"We played a little bit of footy together and he's a ripping bloke and a really humble guy. He's chilled out and great to sit down with and pick his brain. All of us rucks are really, really lucky to have him around the place."