West Coast haven’t had to search far for a new high-performance manager with Phil Merriman joining the Eagles just days after leaving Fremantle.

Merriman announced his departure from Fremantle after five seasons to ‘pursue a new professional opportunity’ on Monday, with the Eagles landing his services after Mat Inness returned to Melbourne with Essendon for family reasons.

Merriman revealed he was preparing to move states before the Eagles swooped on him.

“My family and I were planning to head interstate and then this golden opportunity came up to work with this group and this club. It was something that I just couldn’t pass up,” Merriman said.

“What excites me is the ability to work with a young and up-and-coming group who have clearly got a great athletic profile.

“Also, from the mo

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