Waters to kick on with Eagles
The immediate future of Beau Waters has been guaranteed, with West Coast convinced the courageous defender can make a successful return next year.
Waters is understood to have met the post-surgery benchmarks required by the club to show his body is still potentially capable of withstanding the rigours of AFL and playing a meaningful role in 2015.
The 28-year-old's spot on the list had not been certain until recent weeks despite being contracted for next season, with Waters needing to demonstrate he could meet physical conditions related to range of movement and joint strength to prevent his 120-game career from ending.
Senior West Coast officials had been prepared to have a frank conversation with Waters about stepping aside to free up a position on the list if his body had not responded well from the latest round of surgery.
The 2003 No.11 draft pick had right shoulder surgery in May after the joint became infected over the summer, with pins and screws from a previous operation last year having to be removed.
Those setbacks have restricted him to just seven matches in the past two seasons. The 2006 premiership player is believed to have had 31 operations in his career.
A source close to Waters said it was now "business as normal" and he was preparing for pre- season.
"He's contracted and that was always his desire (to play on)," the source said.
"Obviously, after any type of surgery you need to get the tick off.
"It's all positive on the back of that, so it's business as usual, rehab and looking forward to next year from Beau's perspective."
Waters will concentrate on further strengthening his right shoulder in the gym over coming months.
He trained with the main group on Tuesday at Patersons Stadium and appeared to mark the ball with confidence on the lead.
Waters, who stood down as vice-captain in January, told _ The West Australian _earlier this month that his surgeon had been happy with the operation results.
"I'm really confident that I'm going to play again, so my priority is about getting me right and I've got a great program over the coming months," Waters said.
