Sydney coach Dean Cox still has a great love for West Coast, but he will be treating his former club like the enemy when they clash in Perth.

In a quirk of the fixtures, it’s taken until the final round of the AFL season for Cox to get his first crack at coaching against the Eagles.

Cox is a legend at West Coast after playing 290 games for the club across 14 seasons, including a pivotal role in the 2006 flag.

The 44-year-old has endured a rocky start to senior coaching, losing five of his first seven games in charge this season as Sydney crashed out of finals contention.

The Swans have been much better in the second half of the campaign with seven wins from their past 10 matches, and they’ll be aiming to end 2025 on a high with a big victory over wooden spooners West Coast.

Eagles fans were left shocked when Cox turned down the chance to take over as coach last year, but the club legend is still set to receive a warm welcome when he strolls out onto Optus Stadium on Saturday night.

His premiership coach - John Worsfold - is now West Coast’s head of football, and Cox is set to run into plenty of other familiar faces back in WA.

“You always have fond memories of your time at one footy club and I love West Coast for every opportunity they gave me,” Cox said.

“You say hello to a few of them if they’re still at the football club, but we’ve got a job to do.

“They (West Coast) are the enemy this week.”

West Coast (1-21) are already guaranteed to receive the wooden spoon, and unless they cause a huge boilover against Sydney, they will finish with one win for the first time in their history.

One bright note to come out of the tail-end of their season has been the form of Campbell Chesser, who looks set to earn a new deal after stringing together three promising games.

Chesser was a first-round draft pick in the 2021 national draft, but injuries and poor form have restricted him to just 35 games across four years.

The 22-year-old tallied a career-high 22 disposals in last week’s 94-point loss to the Western Bulldogs, and he will be aiming to finish off the season strongly.

The Eagles will unveil their 10th debutant of the season - Lucca Grego - against the Swans, while Tyrell Dewar earns a recall.

Sydney have been boosted by the return of star ruckman Brodie Grundy from concussion.