Tagger experience invaluable for Eagle Andrew Gaff Eagle Andrew Gaff gets a solid boot on the ball. Picture: Justin Benson-Cooper. ANDREW Gaff's leanest return last year was 15 touches and the West Coast bolter knew exactly who restricted him: "Yeah, Hawthorn. (Liam) Shiels followed me around all day. The Hawks went on to win by 25 points in the final round of the regular season, avoiding a post-season rematch. Sinclair gets nod for AFL debut It was a rare slow day at the office for Gaff, whose outside run and carry was a strong asset for West Coast and had him averaging 25 touches in just his second season at the elite level. The 20-year-old said he had learnt to expect closer attention from opponents and was embracing another opportunity to tackle the Hawks today. "It was a very good learning experience and I'll be better for it," Gaff said. Hopefully, I'll be better than that. I've had a couple of players follow me during games, but that's expected at AFL level. Myself and Luke (Shuey), Scotty Selwood and all those blokes, we've got to improve and shrug those opponents. Whoever they want to go with -- Shuey, (Matt) Priddis, Scotty Selwood -- if one bloke's getting run-with, they expect to be helped out and I'm sure the other midfielders will perform well, seeing as they're off the chain. These things happen in football and we've got to deal with them. Gaff's impact on West Coast's 2012 was highlighted by his top-five absence from only two of the club's 12 key statistical areas, contested marks and tackles, but he revealed the inside aspect of his game could be set for a boost, having added some weight in preparation for a presence on ball. It is an area West Coast must be wary of today when ruckman Callum Sinclair makes his debut in the Eagles' second consecutive match without leading hand Nic Naitanui. Gaff said Sinclair had the full faith of the Eagles and had developed a good chemistry with the midfielder. "I've put on a couple of kilos to hopefully play a bit more in the middle and be a bit more versatile, which is important for any player," Gaff said. Nic can do some things in the ruck and around the ground that no one else in the league can, but as you've seen, we're playing Callum Sinclair, we played Scott Lycett last week, we've got a lot of options. (Sinclair) has been very good (in training), he's got soft hands, which is important for a ruckman, he's got a presence about him and he's got a bit of a mean streak. He's been working with us for about three or four months and that's long enough for us midfielders to know how he taps it and where he taps it and what he's like around the ground, being pretty agile.