Eagles recruit Ellis sheds fitness issues

West Coast recruit Xavier Ellis admits he was glad former coach John Worsfold wasn't around to challenge him to a race when he arrived for the AFL club's pre-season training.

Ellis struggled to maintain his elite fitness levels during his last three years at Hawthorn, with a myriad of foot, calf and knee injuries restricting him to just 16 games over that period.

The 2008 premiership midfielder secured a trade to West Coast at the end of last year, but he knew he was starting way behind others at the start of pre-season.

"I didn't come over in peak condition. I didn't play much footy for a couple of years, so I was a bit overweight, sloppy and a bit unfit," Ellis said.

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"I remember Murray Newman losing a 2km (time trial) to John Worsfold (in 2012). He would have had me too.

"But I'm fit now. The fitness staff and doctors have been great."

If Ellis was a superstitious person, the injury-prone midfielder would have been a tad worried when he first arrived in Perth.

"I moved all my stuff over. Most of it broke on the train," he said with a laugh.

But Ellis' time in the west has been smooth so far.

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Eagles recruit Ellis sheds fitness issues