Brookton-Pingelly’s Tom Blechynden joins West Coast Eagles as COVID top-up player

Upper Great Southern star and emerging South Fremantle midfielder Tom Blechynden has joined the West Coast Eagles as a COVID top-up player for the upcoming AFL season. All AFL clubs will get 20-player COVID-19 contingency lists — a pool of players from which they can draw during 2022 if their team is affected by the virus. Blechynden spent time training with the Eagles in the pre-season as he pressed his claims for a spot on their list in the supplemental selection period. He missed out on an SPP spot but is now in line to make a dream AFL appearance in Eagles colours if an opportunity arises through COVID cases. The 22-year-old hails from Brookton-Pingelly and is among three players from South Fremantle who joined the Eagles. Ongerup product and three-time Subiaco premiership defender Angus Dewar has also joined the Eagles. Dewar played 25 games with Hawthorn before he was delisted at the end of 2016, and has been a star with Subiaco in the WAFL since returning home to WA. The 29-year-old and Subiaco teammate Stefan Giro have been taken by the Eagles as clubs across the country lock in their 20-play contingency lists this week. Former North Melbourne midfielder Declan Mountford, like Dewar, may get another chance at AFL level after he was also named on the Eagles contingency list. Mountford played 12 AFL games for the Kangaroos before returning to WA to ply his trade with Claremont in the WAFL. The North Albany junior was one of two Claremont players taken by the Eagles, and five were selected in total from his club, with Jye Bolton, Bailey Rogers and Ronin O’Connor joining Fremantle.