Eight reasons West Coast Eagles can improve in 2018

NO Priddis, no Mitchell, no Eagles? Not so fast. The return of an AFL superstar isn’t the only reason predictions of a West Coast slide in 2018 might be off the mark.

Nic Naitanui competes with Hawthorn’s Jonathon Ceglar.

WEST Coast endured a rollercoaster 2017 campaign before beating minor premier Adelaide to sneak into the finals in the last minor round game of the season.

Plagued by inconsistency and fade-outs, the Eagles produced one of the upsets of the year to beat Port Adelaide in an epic elimination final, winning with an after-the-siren goal from Luke Shuey in extra-time, before being brutally exposed as a premiership pretender by GWS in a 67-point semi-final drubbing.

What’s in store this year? Here are eight reasons the Eagles can improve in 2018.

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1. NIC NAITANUI

Nic Nat is back. In a devastating blow to the Eagles, the athletic All-Australian ruckman with a gazelle-like leap missed the entire 2017 season following a knee reconstruction.

He is a difference-maker and coach Adam Simpson’s outfit badly missed his spectacular aerial work in the centre square and strong presence around the ground.

Naitanui’s return will be welcomed by a new-look West Coast midfield which has lost key pieces Matt Priddis and Sam Mitchell to retirement while allowing Nathan Vardy to spend more time forward.

Nic Naitanui will be a huge inclusion in 2018.

2. THE ATTACK

Josh Kennedy is one of the best key forwards in the game and the centrepiece of the Eagles attack. Big and strong and an elite kick at goal, Kennedy missed five games through injury last season and fell just short of winning a third consecutive Coleman Medal with 65 goals in the home-and-away rounds.

He gets strong support from fellow tall Jack Darling while Naitanui’s return should allow Vardy to add more height in attack. Veteran small forward Mark LeCras is in the twilight of his career but remains a threat while new draftees, swingman Jarrod Brander (pick 13), Oscar Allen (21) and Liam Ryan (26), are all highly-rated forwards.

Teenage talls Brander and Allen could take time to develop but livewire small Ryan, 21, kicked 73 goals in the WAFL last season and is capable of stepping straight into AFL football, according to list manager Brady Rawlings. Second-year small forward Willie Rioli could also get a first taste of AFL action after injury ruined his debut season.

3. THE DEFENCE

West Coast’s backline is marshalled by two 2017 All-Australians in Jeremy McGovern and Elliot Yeo. They are intercept kings who played key roles in the Eagles making the finals. Former Lion Yeo, who has just signed a five-year contract extension, won his first John Worsfold Medal as club champion following a career-best season.

McGovern, meanwhile, almost single-handedly kept West Coast in its famous elimination final win against the Power by heroically taking 15 marks and continuing repelling attacks.

With captain and backline superboot Shannon Hurn and one-on-one guns Eric Mackenzie and Tom Barrass in support, the Eagles will be hard to score against in 2018.

4. NEW STADIUM

The Eagles will play at their new state-of-the-art ground, Perth Stadium, for the first time and Simpson says the playing group is “pumped’’.

“It is a great stadium and I think our players have been anticipating with a lot of confidence what they can do there,” Simpson said. “The key for us now is to try to make it feel like home as quick as we can.’’

The stadium will hold more than 60,000 people — 17,000 more than former home Subiaco Oval.

The new Perth stadium will hold 60,000 Eagles fans.

5. THE NEW BRIGADE

There has been a changing of the guard at West Coast with a massive 1411 games of experience lost through the departures of Brownlow medallists Priddis and Mitchell, Drew Petrie, Sam Butler, Sharrod Wellingham and Josh Hill.

But the Eagles got their teeth into the national draft, taking five players between numbers 13 and 38, including Brander, Allen, Ryan, Brayden Ainsworth (No. 32) and Jack Petruccelle (38). A couple could make their presence felt in 2018 while West Coast will be looking for fellow youngsters Liam Duggan and Luke Partington to take the next step in their development. Former Port Adelaide midfielder Brendon Ah Chee could also make an impact after being traded back to his home state.

6. OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Elimination final hero Shuey and ball magnet Andrew Gaff are already gun midfielders, averaging a team-high 30 and 26 disposals respectively last season. But with the retirements of Priddis and Mitchell other players will get the chance to step up to make an impact in the midfield.

Dom Sheed took a step forward last season but the Eagles need to find more onball contributors.

After years of predictability, opposition analysts will be working overtime trying to shut down a new midfield mix.

Mature-age Eagles recruit Liam Ryan is a one-man highlights reel.

Josh Kennedy will be desperate to reclaim his Coleman Medal crown.

7. REALITY BITES

The Eagles won’t be lulled into a false sense of security over where their list is at.

While they finished sixth last season they understand they were probably a little lucky to make the finals after Melbourne’s collapse against Collingwood in Round 23. Twelve player departures — through retirements and delistings — tells the story.

Eagle fans will have to invest in copies of the AFL Record but new faces bring new energy and possibilities.

8. AIR PATROL

West Coast is powerful in the air, ranking fourth for total marks, third for contested marks and sixth for marks inside-50 last season.

McGovern took the third-most marks in the home-and-away season with 169 while Yeo was ninth with 148. Throw a fit-again Naitanui into the mix and the Eagles will fancy themselves when it comes to aerial combat.