After producing a good old fashion flop earlier this year, West Coast ruckman Scott Lycett is determined to make the most of his second chance at the tail-end of the AFL season.

Lycett had the perfect opportunity to gain valuable AFL experience when star ruckman Nic Naitanui was ruled out of the first five rounds this season.

But after tallying just three possessions and nine hit-outs in West Coast’s round-one loss to Fremantle, Lycett was promptly dropped to WAFL ranks, with Callum Sinclair instead called up to aid Dean Cox in the ruck.

One of Lycett’s greatest attributes is his athleticism and mobility, but he appeared slow and indecisive in that loss to the Dockers.

Lycett had plenty of time to stew over that performance while he plugged away in WAFL ranks.

So when the 20-year-old received a senior recall for last week’s loss to the Bulldogs, he made sure he didn’t disappoint.

Lycett ran his heart out to finish the game with 15 possessions and seven hit-outs in the best performance of his three-year AFL career.

And with Naitanui no guarantee to play again this year – and Sinclair also done for the season – Lycett has the chance to showcase his potential over the final five rounds.

The 202cm ruckman revealed his bad performance against Fremantle was due to his poor mental preparation for the match.

“I think, mentally, I just wasn’t ready. I think I played the game in my head before it had even been played,” said Lycett, who will again team with Cox for Saturday’s clash with Gold Coast at Patersons Stadium.

“Over pre-season, the talk was that I was going to play, and I pretty much had the whole pre-season to think about that.

“It was definitely pretty tough mentally.

“So I went back to the WAFL and worked on my strengths.

“I just did what I know I could so, when I got the chance to play AFL, I just wanted to apply that and that’s what I did on the weekend.”

Eagles coach John Worsfold predicts a big future for Lycett, who is being groomed to take over from Cox once the 268-game veteran retires.

Worsfold revealed the club had ramped up Lycett’s development in the ruck this year after the No.29 pick from the 2010 draft spent much of his previous two seasons learning his craft up forward.