West Coast will this season attempt to arrest a decline that has seen them slide from the premiership summit in 2018 to a ninth-place finish in 2021.
The Eagles’ ageing list appeared jaded last season.
Adam Simpson’s side were unwilling to grapple with both the absence of key players and the threat posed to their methodical play by teams just as compact, but far more explosive.
They clung to a top eight spot until the penultimate round, but their campaign was doomed by back-to-back thrashings out of the bye, at the hands of the Western Bulldogs and Sydney.
Nevertheless, the Eagles’ experience and talent on all lines can’t be understated.
Furthermore, wherever we find a premiership hero in the twilight of his career, we also find a young player ready to step into his place.
Jeremy McGovern, a four-time All-Australian key defender and one of the competition’s highest-paid players, negotiated knee, adductor and hip injuries throughout the season.
Understudy Tom Barrass was impassable, having stepped up to lead the defence when McGovern was hurt. He has now played 99 games, and in December committed his next six seasons to West Coast.
With the emergence of 21-year-old Harry Edwards as a capable second or third defender, Josh Rotham was able to hand off the one-on-one assignments, pick off intercepts and either cut through or go over the opposition with his powerful kick.
The defensive mix around the key pillars is strong. Former captain Shannon Hurn was beset by soft tissue injuries last season but played well in a scratch match in early February, and Simpson will continue to depend on steady stoppers Tom Cole and Jackson Nelson.
Plug-and-play small defender Liam Duggan built a career-best season with midfield minutes sprinkled throughout, Luke Foley looked at home in his five games at half-back, while Alex Witherden will play a key role if Simpson instructs his side to put more speed on the ball.
Nic Naitanui is the beating heart of the Eagles’ midfield. The three-time All-Australian ruck can, with a whirlwind of hitouts to advantage and clearances, take a match away from the Eagles’ opponents in mere minutes.
At times, his brilliance papered over the cracks. Tim Kelly shouldered the on-field burden of the injuries to skipper Luke Shuey and Elliot Yeo, and sacrificed his scoring game to put up strong contested numbers. He’ll hope to have their help this season, and tap his creativity once more.
Prolific winger Andrew Gaff started slowly as the competition came to grips with the stand rule, but reorganised his game and compiled a strong set of performances, and Jack Redden and Dom Sheed harvested groundballs as they covered for their injured teammates early on.
The Eagles midfielders’ positioning around the contest and defensive running (or lack thereof) was defining, but so too was their depth. Xavier O’Neill won little ball but showed composure in his propensity to let opponents close in before he released a teammate.
20-year-old Luke Edwards was a fixture in the second half of the season, and offers the inside-outside capacity and commitment the Eagles have craved. Draftees Campbell Chesser, Brady Hough and Greg Clark will all be tested as Simpson builds out and future proofs his rotation.
A lingering problem is Naitanui’s time on ground percentage and the lack of established support. With premiership player Nathan Vardy having retired, we’re still waiting on Bailey Williams to put in a breakout performance, while Callum Jamieson hasn’t played in two years on the list.
Simpson can’t turn to a forward to support Naitanui, either. A lack of positional continuity was chipping away at the confidence of talented key forward Oscar Allen, and now he is in a moon boot.
Josh Kennedy featured in 18 games and snagged 41 goals last season, but at 34 he will have to be managed through the season. His partner of more than a decade, Jack Darling, remains unvaccinated, was refused an exemption and is barred from the club.
Father-son recruit Jake Waterman has the work rate and contested marking chops to play a mobile centre-half forward role in front of Kennedy, until Allen is ready to come back or Darling relents on his position.
The situation is a touch sunnier at the tall forwards’ heels. Jamie Cripps and Liam Ryan have been hampered through the pre-season, but the Eagles will welcome back Willie Rioli after he spent two seasons serving a drug ban.
Jack Petruccelle has been patchy but like Cripps can shuttle up and down, stretch the defence and hit the scoreboard. Jamaine Jones and Zac Langdon offer similar attributes across half-forward, but bring acceleration and pressure on the ball as well.
West Coast fans have every reason to be excited by the addition of Carlton’s Sam Petrevski-Seton. The 23-year-old was unhappy in the Blues’ backline, and has already outlined how he hopes to rove to Naitanui’s taps.
A durable prospect, the former No. 6 selection raced to 94 games in his five seasons at Princes Park, and his cool head and vision, willingness to take on the tackler, pinpoint kicking and crunching tackles will add bite to the Eagles’ half-forward line and midfield.
Can Simpson invigorate his charges, or will the fatigue and frustration at the top linger into a third season? The latter seems more likely, but if they are able to play in Perth, and can slowly cross names off the injury list, they aren’t to be counted out.
It has been a difficult summer, and it’s difficult to see where the answers to the most pressing questions of the Eagles will emerge, but this is a well-built list with the maturity and talent to find a way to contend.
DEFENDERS
Jeremy McGovern, Tom Barrass, Shannon Hurn, Liam Duggan, Josh Rotham, Harry Edwards, Tom Cole, Jackson Nelson, Alex Witherden, Luke Foley, Rhett Bazzo.
MIDFIELDERS
Tim Kelly, Elliot Yeo, Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff, Sam Petrevski-Seton, Dom Sheed, Jack Redden, Luke Edwards, Connor West, Xavier O’Neill, Zane Trew, Campbell Chesser, Brady Hough, Greg Clark.
RUCKS
Nic Naitanui, Bailey Williams, Callum Jamieson.
FORWARDS
Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling(*), Liam Ryan, Oscar Allen, Jamie Cripps, Willie Rioli, Jack Petruccelle, Jamaine Jones, Zac Langdon, Jake Waterman, Isiah Winder, Jack Williams.