“It was a compression fracture to my T8 (vertebrae), and I’ve wedged about five of my other vertebrae a bit shorter. It’s just something I’m going to have to manage forever. It still gives me a bit of trouble in my everyday life. It’s OK when I’m moving, but as soon as I’m static, I feel like I’ve got a broken back again. It’s a permanent thing, and it’s something that I work on from the second I wake up. I’ve got to do my mobility and get moving and find a way to come to work.”

These were the confronting words of Tom Barrass in February during an interview with 7NEWS, reflecting on the injury that ended his 2023 season after he fell awkwardly in a marking contest against Richmond and landed on his neck.

And it is all the evidence West Coast should need when considering whether to renegotiate and extend the star defender’s existing contract, which already ties him to the club until the end of 2027 and is believed to be worth about $750,000 per season.

Barrass’ ability as one of the competition’s best key defenders is in no doubt. His 446 career intercept marks leading into last week’s game ranked him behind only teammate Jeremy McGovern for most in a player’s first 150 games, and his 1,138 spoils put him behind only Harris Andrews’ 1,226.

Champion Data also this week rated him one of just four “elite” key defenders alongside McGovern, Gold Coast’s Sam Collins and Hawthorn’s James Sicily, according to their complex statistical metric.

But given Barrass will turn 29 in October and will be the best part of 32 when his current deal with the Eagles expires, the club would be crazy not to factor in both his age and injury history when contemplating any kind of extension.

West Coast are facing the longest rebuild of their existence, and in part, its predicament has been amplified by poor decisions around contracting aging players following the 2018 premiership.

It is hard to see the club being a serious finals contender in the next three season’s Barrass is contracted for and even less likely that the club stalwart is part of the next flag.

These are the types of hard decisions the club needs to get right if it is to right the ship.

That is not to say Barrass isn’t entitled to maximise his earnings as a footballer. Reportedly, with a five-year deal from Hawthorn worth close to $1 million per season on the table, it would be a mega payday to retire on.

And if the West Coast can bring two first-round draft picks in return, it could work out a win-win.

One thing they can’t afford to do is give in to Barrass’ contract demands.

The club has already given ground to Elliot Yeo in offering him an extra year he was chasing on his contract extension, and Jake Waterman is also reported looking to restructure his deal, following big interest from Victorian clubs.

Bowing to all of these demands could open the floodgates for more players at West Coast to do similar and, in turn, cripple any rebuild progress the club is desperately chasing.