Hard work gets West Coast Eagles midfielder Matt Priddis to 150-game milestone Matt Priddis will earn life membership at West Coast when he plays his 150th game this weekend. WEST Coast midfielder Matt Priddis almost ended up digging holes for a living. Instead, the 28-year-old will become a life member of the Eagles when he notches his 150-game milestone in Friday night's clash with Collingwood at the MCG. Priddis thought his AFL dream had passed him by after being overlooked in three successive national drafts. The 184cm midfielder lacked pace, and there were plenty of other players out there who boasted better skills. But his tireless work ethic and outstanding professionalism caught the eye of West Coast, who decided to throw Priddis a lifeline via their rookie list at the start of 2006. Priddis managed just two games in West Coast's flag-winning campaign that year. But he has been a fixture in the side ever since, transforming himself into one of the AFL's most consistent and prolific midfielders. Priddis revealed this week that he probably would have taken up a job in the building industry had he not got picked up by the Eagles. And if it wasn't for his meticulous focus on getting the best out of himself, West Coast would never have come knocking in the first place. "I've got no doubt that his strong character probably got him the gig ahead of others," West Coast coach John Worsfold said. He's a quality young man with amazing focus on producing the best he can get out of himself. That's what ended up giving him the opportunity to get on a list. His physical attributes were holding him back from being drafted, so he made the most of the physical attributes that he's got. He turned them into a strength at WAFL level with no guarantee that it was going to lead to anything, and he did that over a number of years. I specifically remember when we talked about a rookie list spot being available for Pridda, his character and quality of his character was one of the key factors. Priddis described the 2006 rookie draft as his "last real roll of the dice," and said he knew he still had plenty of work to do once he gained a spot on the list. "I came to club where the midfield was Judd, Kerr, Cousins, Fletcher, Stenglein - these sort of guys," Priddis said. So it was probably the best footy apprenticeship anyone could have, and luckily things fell my way. I absolutely loved my footy - just coming up to the club every day instead of getting on the building site. I just wanted to make this last as long as I could. I've been able to make it last eight years, and hopefully there's a few more. Priddis freely admits the 11th-placed Eagles have underachieved this year. But he's confident the club can return to premiership mode in 2014. "We obviously haven't played too many finals games since '07," he said. I've been a part of that rebuilding phase and I want to be a part of the team that is hopefully standing on the podium in the last day of September. I'll be doing everything I can to make sure I'm a part of that team.