Gary Buckenara analyses West Coast’s list after the 2018 season
WEST Coast are 2018 premiers. There’s a sentence no one predicted they’d be saying entering into this year. So how did they do it and are they headed for a period of sustained success? Gary Buckenara analyses the state of the Eagles’ list.
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WEST Coast and 2018 premiers. Those are words the football world didn’t expect to put in the same sentence this year.
The Eagles were tipped, by me included, to be one of the teams to slide down the ladder this year because the list appeared to be in a transition phase following the retirements of Matt Priddis and Sam Mitchell.
What occurred instead, however, courtesy of smart recruiting decisions over the last two years was a regeneration of the list to incorporate more speed and x-factor that enabled the team to play a more exciting, aggressive and successful brand of footy.
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There’s no doubt West Coast was a deserving premier after finishing second on the ladder following the home-and-away rounds with a 16-6 win-loss record.
The fascinating aspect about the club’s rise to the flag was their structure. It was a return to the more traditional structure required to win premierships after two years where Western Bulldogs and Richmond were successful with non-traditional forward setups consisting mostly of small forwards.
In the end it was the dominance of a two (and at times three) tall forward structure inside 50 with two big defenders down back who are good one-on-one players but can also intercept mark and use their skills to rebound.
The Eagles were undefeated when Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling played side-by-side in the forward line, illustrating the gun key forward one-two punch is still the ideal way to build your list. But the impact of Willie Rioli, Liam Ryan and Mark LeCras can’t be underestimated.
Rioli and Ryan are two dynamic and exciting small forwards who bring exactly what every club is looking for — manic pressure that causes “chaos” (one of the current AFL buzz words) and innate goal sense. They added that missing link of pace and magic the Eagles lacked.
At the end of last year I asked which players would step up and be the next wave. The emergence of Darling, Brad Sheppard, Elliot Yeo, Jack Redden and Tom Barrass into genuine stars is ultimately what gave this team the lift it needed. These are the guys who stood up to become that next wave.
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Then there was also the re-emergence of Chris Masten after a poor 2017 season but played 24 games this year, Dom Sheed came on in leaps and bounds throughout the finals series, Liam Duggan has found his feet at AFL level and Tom Cole has also found his position. All four had uncertain futures at the end of last year but 12 months later they are key players (and premiership players) with bright futures.
Sheed in particular did a fantastic job in the absence of suspended star Andrew Gaff.
While the club exceeded expectations this year and should be headed for a period of sustained success — if players can stay healthy given the age profile of the list.
But I do have some concerns.
When Kennedy and/or Darling were injured the Eagles struggled to kick a score. That tells me West Coast doesn’t yet have the depth to cover critical players, while there is also a lack of depth in the key defensive stocks down back following the retirement of Eric Mackenzie. Where do they turn if Jeremy McGovern gets injured?
The depth in those areas is in a development phase with Jarrod Brander, Oscar Allen, Josh Rotham, Jake Waterman and Matthew Allen all in the first years of their careers and have had limited, if any, senior experience.
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What I will say though, is the club has been planning for the future through the drafts to build depth in its key position stocks, which isn’t something that can be said for a lot of clubs. So in 2-4 years when Kennedy, Will Schofield and Mackenzie are retired and McGovern, Darling and Sheppard are approaching their final years, the next group of talls should be well and truly ready to hold down key positions if and when required. It’s smart list management.
The Eagles didn’t anticipate premiership ruckman Scott Lycett leaving, however. His departure leaves a massive hole given Nic Naitanui will miss a lot of the year with a knee reconstruction. Will Nathan Vardy be the No.1 ruckman? Where does new recruit Tom Hickey fit in? He couldn’t even hold down the No.1 ruck role at St Kilda. Can Vardy and Hickey play in the same team?
There are some questions to be answered.
Retaining Gaff was a huge win. It was massive. Everyone had him gone given he hadn’t recommitted before the end of the season but clearly West Coast has developed a team-first culture where players are willing to sacrifice to achieve success. There’s no doubt Gaff, as a leader, will help drive and motivate the group next year because he will want to taste the premiership success he missed out on this year. That kind of motivation is hard to come by and the Eagles have three sources — Gaff, Naitanui and Sheppard — as clear best 22 players who missed out because of suspension and injury.
WEST COAST’S LIST NEEDS
The Eagles list now has good balance following some smart recruiting to add pace to the forward line and midfield and the beginning of the development phase for a key forward behind Kennedy, who is now 31. There are a few areas requiring attention, however.
Adding ruck depth is the most critical need following Lycett’s departure, plus planning for life after Naitanui should already be underway. The Eagles should be looking for a young ruckman to develop via the drafts. The Eagles also need an experienced key defender, from an AFL club or state-league, as back-up in case McGovern or Barrass get injured.
West Coast would also love more class through the midfield. They couldn’t get the deal done to get Tim Kelly from Geelong, who would have been perfect. I’m sure they did all they could to get the deal done but at the end of the day, he will be playing for Geelong next year so it wasn’t a good result for the Eagles.
PLAYERS WHO NEED TO STEP UP IN 2019
Vardy had a fantastic finals series but with Lycett gone, he becomes a seriously important player. He has had injury issues in the past, so ensuring he has the best pre-season he can to prepare himself for a big year will be critical to the club’s premiership defence. Players either thrive or struggle with expectation and the pressure to perform — which way will he go?
Brendon Ah Chee crossed from Port Adelaide to West Coast for more senior opportunities but still spent half the year out of the AFL side, playing WAFL. With a number of young players coming through, including Jack Petruccelle who had a taste of senior level this year, Ah Chee needs a big year to prove he belongs on the list.
CRYSTAL BALL
West Coast won the premiership this year ahead of schedule. Will they fall away in 2019 like the Bulldogs or will they become a juggernaut like the Tigers? That’s the challenge for Adam Simpson and his team — to maintain the hunger. The Eagles must be top-four next year to prove this year wasn’t a fluke.
Originally published as Gary Buckenara analyses West Coast’s list after the 2018 season
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