Kade Dittmar’s quest about to get harder as Brady Hough, Jye Amiss & more return to clubs for training

Kade Dittmar’s fight to win a spot on the West Coast Eagles’ list might become even harder, after the club announced more players had been invited to train with the squad. Margaret River’s Dittmar, and former Fremantle Dockers ruckman Luke Strnadica have been training with the Eagles since after last year’s national draft. But the Eagles have added former Brisbane midfielder Tom Joyce and VFL midfielder Logan Young to the train-on group, while The West Australian is also reporting mature-aged South Fremantle pair Tom Blechynden and Toby McQuilkin have also been invited. The Eagles have two list spots remaining for the train-on players to compete for, but they could yet save one of the vacancies for this year’s mid-season draft. Dittmar, whose father is a premiership player at SANFL powerhouse Port Adelaide, is considered one of the unluckiest West Australian prospects to have missed out on selection at the draft. It comes as AFL players across the country, including the South West region’s bumper crop, return to full training for the first time in 2022. For Jye Amiss, who became the highest draft pick from the region in more than a decade when he was selected by Fremantle at pick eight, the new year marked his first full session with the main group. Amiss began his time at the Dockers rehabilitating a knee injury he picked up playing the curtain raiser to the AFL grand final at Optus Stadium in September. He told the South Western Times in December he was anticipating an injury-free run to start the year. “The knee is really fine and the body is feeling great — when I come back from Christmas I’ll be 100 per cent,” he said. Amiss’ former East Perth colts and Busselton teammate James Tunstill has also returned to Queensland after a stint back in his hometown for Christmas. Harvey product Brady Hough has also returned to West Coast training, where he made a strong impression before the break. The Eagles posted a picture to its social media platforms on Monday of Hough, who appears to have already added size to his frame, wrapping up fellow South West product Dittmar at training. Former Eaton Boomer Isiah Winder is back training at West Coast, while Connor Blakely has also returned to the Dockers after being re-drafted as a rookie at the end of last year.