Deep dive special: Inside look at West Coast for 2020
With the inclusion of stars Tim Kelly and Nic Naitanui and a perfect age demographic, there is a sense of timing about the West Coast Eagles in 2020.
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As West Coast licked its wounds after an inglorious end to its premiership defence last year, a silver lining quickly appeared seven days later.
The Eagles had strangely lost three of its last four games of the season with the end coming at the hands of Geelong in the semi-final.
This meant the Cats took their place in the preliminary final match-up with Richmond.
Normally that would be the last game the Eagles would want to watch but the performance of No.11 in the blue and white hoops turned it into a much more positive experience.
Tim Kelly was best-on-ground with 31 possessions and three goals despite Geelong being run over by the eventual premiers.
While it hadn't been made official, the worst kept secret in football was that Kelly was returning home to join West Coast in 2020.
Three weeks later the trade was done, a swag of early round picks headed to Kardinia Park and the best second-year player to potentially have ever played the game was an Eagle.
Kelly finished second in the best and fairest award in each of the two seasons he played at Geelong.
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He finished fifth in the 2019 Brownlow Medal and was named on the wing in the All-Australian team.
Fast forward five months and the Eagles are still pinching themselves that they have Kelly in their colours.
“He is a wonderful player and as a person, a young father coming into the club he's made a huge impression,” West Coast football boss Craig Vozzo said.
“To us he feels like a really good fit from a person perspective and I think he feels the same about us as a club.
“So that has gone well and his on-field training has been great. His elevation into match simulation was quite special to watch.”
As silly as it sounds, the Eagles will have to be careful how they manage the introduction of a ball-magnet and offensive weapon like Kelly into its midfield.
Established stars like Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo, Andrew Gaff, Dom Sheed and Jack Redden are used to seeing plenty of the pill so some adjustments will need to be made.
Finding the right balance between attack and defence in the midfield is something that may take some time.
“The synergy of our midfield is something we will need to keep working through but he (Kelly) has got complimentary talent and complementary skills we think to the other guys," Vozzo said.
“He has got an ability to play midfield and push forward which is going to be really important for us as well."
Kelly, 25, isn't the only addition set to keep the Eagles at the pointy end of the ladder, they have an old favourite returning which is even scarier proposition for opposition clubs.
Nic Naitanui has only played 20 games since the end of 2016 with just five appearances last year because of knee and ankle injuries.
A slow and patient summer has the Eagles cautiously optimistic that their star ruckman is ready to resume his mantle as one of the game's best.
“He doesn't do all of our training given the injuries he has had in the past," Vozzo said.
“But he has done a full block of training, a consistent block and we're looking forward to him having an impact from the start of the season.”
There will be another significant change when the Eagles run out onto Perth Stadium next Sunday for the season opener against Melbourne.
The coin toss will feature Norm Smith medallist Shuey as captain thanks to defender Shannon Hurn giving up the job after five years.
“He (Hurn) was really honest with us as we were with him and it was a good time for him to hand it over,” Vozzo said.
“He's going to remain a really important part of what we do moving forward but it gives Luke a great opportunity to grow.
“He is already a great leader as our vice-captain previously and has a great influence over the group but until you're in the hot seat as captain you don't realise what goes with it from a wider club perspective.”
Forward Jack Darling and All-Australian Yeo have also been added to the seven-man leadership team.
There is a sense of timing about West Coast this year.
The spur from last year's disappointing finish, the inclusion of two superstars in Kelly and Naitanui and the age demographic of the side suggests there is a bit of seize-the-moment about 2020.
A number of the Eagles big names are either past 30 or pushing it with Hurn and key forward Josh Kennedy both turning 33, Will Schofield is 31, Lewis Jetta turns 31 in May while Shuey, Naitanui and Redden are 30 this year.
“I've got great faith in our group as has Adam (Simpson)," Vozzo said.
“They're really professional, really driven and are a really good group of young men who've had a great pre-season.”
THE LIST
IN: Tim Kelly (trade). Callum Jamieson, Ben Johnson, (national draft). Mitch O'Neil, Anthony Treacy (rookie draft).
OUT: Matthew Allen, Patrick Bines, Keegan Brooksby, Chris Masten, Fraser McInnes, Kurt Mutimer, Brodie Riach, Josh Smith (delisted).
OFF CONTRACT
Once again all the focus is on Andrew Gaff although word is there won't be the drama that surrounded his previous re-signing.
The gun midfielder inked a two-year deal at the end of 2018 after deciding not to return home to Melbourne where he had a number of suitors.
It's understood Gaff is about to trigger a four-year contract extension that would see him remain at the Eagles until the end of 2024.
Defender Mark Hutchings is a restricted free agent this year while veterans Shannon Hurn, Josh Kennedy and Will Schofield are on the unrestricted free agency list.
BURNING QUESTION
Is it true Josh Kennedy has had his best pre-season for a long time?
Kennedy joked recently that at the age of 32 you can't use the term "flying" in a pre-season but after several injury-riddled summers the key forward has enjoyed a relatively free run at things.
“It has been three years of compromised pre-seasons for Josh and it gets harder to deal with that as you get older," Eagles football boss Craig Vozzo said.
“So getting him through a full block of training gives him that barrier of confidence and I think the early signs are really good.”
PRE-SEASON HERO
Jack Petruccelle
The goalsneak with the extraordinary leg speed is looking to add more tricks to his kit bag. On the back of an impressive summer Petruccelle is pushing to get more midfield minutes. He played 20 games and kicked 21 goals last year and looms as the Eagles wildcard, particularly in the absence of Rioli.
BEST PLAYER YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF
Bailey Williams
The young Victorian ruckman is set to jump over Tom Hickey and Nathan Vardy as the main back-up for Naitanui. At 200cm and with a leap coach Adam Simpson has said is “bigger than Nic”, the former Dandenong Stingray has put himself in the frame for a surprise Round 1 selection.
Originally published as Deep dive special: Inside look at West Coast for 2020