West Coast forward-ruck Jack Williams says new coach Andrew McQualter made it clear as soon as he walked in the door — poor performance wouldn’t be accepted.

McQualter made the first big selection call of his short tenure this week when he dropped star midfielder Tim Kelly and premiership defender Tom Cole for their Gather Round clash against Carlton at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

They were joined on the outer by small forwards Noah Long and Tyler Brockman, who were also axed in the wake of the disappointing 81-point belting at the hands of the Greater Western Sydney.

Williams knows McQualter’s stance well, having started the season in the WAFL despite showing promise in 2024.

“Mini’s been open with us, as a new coach coming in, he’s still trying to figure out what his side looks like,” Williams told The West Australian.

“And he’s made it clear to us that it’s all about your performance and form and I can talk from personal experience on just how that works.

“You might think you’ve played a couple of good years or a couple of good games but it’s a new slate coming in and Mini’s trying to work out the right balance that he wants.”

Williams returned for the round three western derby as the Eagles tried to find the right forward mix without last year’s All-Australian Jake Waterman.

The spearhead is back from a calf and back injury for the clash against the Blues and West Coast have chosen to go into the clash with four tall forwards in Waterman, Williams, Archer Reid and co-captain Oscar Allen.

Williams said it was possible that all four could play because they wouldn’t all be in the forward line at the same time.

“Through bench rotations and the second ruck role more often than not there will often just be three or maybe even two of us up there,” he said.

“We feel like if we’re able to get enough entries we think we’re going to be dangerous us there.

“And if we’re not taking any marks were bringing the ball to ground at least to bring the small fellas into the game. I’m excited to see how it goes.”

Williams conceded he was “frustrated” to miss out early in the season with Reid chosen as the back up ruckman ahead of him.

But now they’re working together to give the Eagles a different look in their ruck structure.

“It’s pretty flexible between us two in regard to that role. We can wax with each other,” he said.

“It works out well if one of us struggling to get into the game we can get up the ground and get involved in the contest. And if the other one is having a good time in the forward line they can stay down there, and the other one can go into the ruck.

“It’s a pretty good partnership that we can build off each other each other and see how the games are playing out.”