The West Coast Eagles have successfully recruited the highly-regarded strength and conditioning coach, Paul Turk, from Collingwood. Turk’s appointment comes in the wake of the Eagles’ recent injury struggles and is seen as a crucial step in their efforts to establish a stronger, healthier squad in preparation for a draft-led rebuild in 2024.
Paul Turk, who served as the athletic performance coach for Collingwood over the past two seasons, including their 2022 premiership campaign, will now join the Eagles under the leadership of Mathew Innes, the new high performance manager recently recruited from the Western Bulldogs. Turk’s 17 years of experience in the AFL system, along with his senior positions at Essendon and North Melbourne, makes him an invaluable addition to West Coast’s off-field team.
Moreover, Turk’s previous work at the Western Australian Institute of Sport as a physical preparation specialist further underscores his expertise in the field of strength and conditioning, which is expected to have a positive impact on the Eagles’ playing group.
West Coast has endured two challenging seasons due to unprecedented injury woes, making Turk’s arrival especially timely. The club is eager to rectify these issues and pave the way for its young talent to flourish in the upcoming years. Turk himself expressed his eagerness to contribute to the development of the young players and overall resilience of the playing group at West Coast. He said, “There is a group of young players coming through at the Eagles who I’m looking forward to helping achieve their performance peaks, while also building resilience across the entire playing group. I loved my time in Perth previously and can’t wait to head back west for a new challenge.”
Turk, who previously held a dual role across the Magpies’ AFL and AFLW programs, expressed gratitude to Collingwood for the opportunity and emphasized that his decision to move was influenced by the desire to be closer to his family. “This was not an easy decision to make, but it’s important to me to return home and raise my young son,” Turk said, while extending his best wishes to Collingwood for their future endeavors.
Turk’s extensive experience and commitment to player development make him a valuable asset to the Eagles as they seek to overcome injury challenges and build a competitive team for the future.
