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Nic Naitanui is just days away from a return to AFL football, almost a year after suffering a second major knee injury.
As is the case with Perth's most recognisable sports person, there has been plenty of discussion and debate about his injuries and his future at the West Coast Eagles.
Can a footballer with two reconstructed knees, less than a year away from turning 30 and who has played just 15 of his team's last 62 matches, still contribute at the highest level?
West Coast certainly believes he can, handing Naitanui a new three-year contract tying him to the club until the end of the 2022 season.
Former Eagle Sharrod Wellingham played alongside Naitanui for five years and was taken aback with the length of the contract extension.
"On a personal level I was very happy for Nic, but I was a bit surprised they did have that amount of confidence coming off the back of two knees," he said.
"It does reiterate just how highly regarded he is within the four walls of the footy club.
"He obviously did a lot of work over his rehab program and they've got enough confidence that with what he's done he will be right [going forward]."
So what is it that makes Naitanui such an important piece of the Eagles puzzle?
Naitanui's X-factor
According to Wellingham, it is more than just what the 201-centimetre ruckman does in the air.
"It's the presence that he does bring. The boys get a little bit taller when he's there," he said.
"When he's in the ruck, the midfield can be more aggressive, more confident in knowing where the ball's going to go.
"But if Nic loses [the ruck], his ability to have an impact around the contest when it's on the ground following up with tackles is second to none.
"Collingwood's Brodie Grundy is probably the benchmark of that with Nic being out, but that's what he provides."
Eagles left with a healthy option in the ruck
With Naitanui locked up for the next three seasons, the focus now shifts to the roles of Tom Hickey and Nathan Vardy.
The pair has covered Naitanui's absence this season, but haven't featured in the same side often, with the Eagles preferring Oscar Allen as the second ruck.
Wellingham said it presented a good problem for West Coast coach Adam Simpson, if the Eagles decided to play a second recognised ruckman.
"They now have two really good ruckmen vying for that one position and I think that is a really healthy position for the club to be in," he said.
"They will both be very aware of the situation ahead of them."
Naitanui is set to make his return to the AFL against Hawthorn at the MCG — the same ground where he played his last ill-fated AFL game.
Topics: sport, australian-football-league, perth-6000, wa