West Coast captain Luke Shuey concedes his team weren't fit enough last season, but says the group are now in the best shape since winning the 2018 flag.
The Eagles won just two games in 2022 as mass injuries and COVID disruptions wreaked a heavy toll on the club.
The fitness of the group was also blamed for the horror on-field results, with players such as Elliot Yeo and Nic Naitanui copping the heaviest external criticism.
Shuey addressed queries about last year's fitness standards head-on when he fronted the media on Wednesday, saying it had been a major focal point for the club during the off-season.
"Yeah, when there's smoke there's fire," Shuey said.
"A lot of people externally were calling us unfit last year. They probably weren't completely off the mark with that suggestion.
"Once we did our review, we were also going to figure out what we needed to get better at, and you can't do anything unless you're fit in this game.
"So our first step over the off-season was making sure we came back in good shape."
West Coast are being widely tipped to finish near the bottom of the ladder this year, but Shuey is quietly optimistic about what the team can achieve.
"I think (we are) certainly fitter than the last four or five years, no doubt," Shuey said.
"Our strength and conditioning staff did a hell of a job putting together a program that was different to years gone by.
"The playing group was certainly more driven. There were more numbers training together each week."
Shuey was 20 years old when West Coast collected the wooden spoon in 2010.
The Eagles rebounded by making the preliminary final the following year.
Shuey says the recent examples of Sydney and Collingwood bouncing back from near the foot of the table had also buoyed hope of a quick turnaround.
"For different reasons we weren't competitive last year, and that was a rollercoaster of emotions at different times - embarrassing, disappointing, angry, frustrated," Shuey said.
"For some of these young boys coming through, there was no harsher introduction than last year. They'll learn from that and they'll play plenty of footy for the footy club over the years to come.
"It's a similar start that some of us had in 2009-10 when we copped the wooden spoon. I guess it's a blessing in disguise if you get exposed to that at a young age.
"You realise how tough AFL footy can be. It's not all beer and skittles and those guys are hopefully in for a few more successful years than last year."
