Gary Buckenara analyses West Coast’s list after 2016 season
HE WANTS to play with his brother, but the Eagles should be doing everything they can to steal Hawk Brad Hill from under Fremantle’s nose. GARY BUCKENARA ANALYSES WEST COAST’S LIST
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IT was a funny old year for West Coast — in the last month of the home and away season they were the form team of the competition only to be knocked out in the first week of the finals in a major upset.
West Coast is always going to be a competitive side but there are question marks over whether the list is a premiership list.
We know Bradley Hill wants to return to Western Australia and has met with Fremantle so he can play with his brother but if I was West Coast I’d be doing everything I could to try and get him. He would be such a valuable commodity playing every second week on Subiaco Oval with his run and carry.
To try and trump Fremantle I’d offer Hawthorn a first-round pick to get him given the Dockers will probably offer a second-round pick — possibly their Chris Mayne compensation — and possibly a player to sweeten the deal. Or, I’d even offer Liam Duggan, who’s a Victorian boy and good young player, as a straight swap to try and get the deal done.
Hill adds so much in terms of speed, endurance and ball use he’d be worth it. They’re hard players to find. If he was in this year’s draft there’s no doubt Hill would be a first-round pick.
The Eagles are a fantastic team when Nic Naitanui is up and running with their stoppage work one of their biggest strengths. He gets his hand to the ball first with his leap and that brings their inside midfielders — Matt Priddis and Luke Shuey in particular — into the game immediately.
The list has some good outside runners with Andrew Gaff, Sharrod Wellingham and Lewis Jetta but playing at Subiaco, you really need players with great kicks and I’d like to see that Bradley Hill-type player come into the fold.
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE TIGERS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE BLUES
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE DOCKERS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE PIES
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE CATS
Adam Simpson’s side has a good forward line but I feel it’s a bit too reliant on Josh Kennedy to kick bags of goals. He’s a gun no doubt, a Coleman Medallist but to win finals and Grand Finals you need more than one consistent option.
Mark LeCras has been good over his career and Jack Darling OK in parts but they need another goalkicking option, like nippy small forward who can make something out of nothing. That’s probably what’s missing.
I hate to mention it but there were two incidents with Darling in big games — one was in the Grand Final in 2015 where he dropped a mark when the Eagles were mounting a challenge as he anticipated body contact, and the other when the game was well and truly over against the Bulldogs in the elimination final — I’m not sure how his coach will react to all that.
It just wasn’t a good look. You don’t want that happening in big games.
I think the blowtorch will well and truly be on Jack Darling next year and it deserves to be. In those two incidents he let himself and his club down and his teammates down as well. None of us like being in that position as players — but players these days know they have a responsibility and duty of care to each other so you feel a bit more comfortable about being open and vulnerable. But back in the day when I was playing, we didn’t have that or a Match Review Panel so you might have been hesitant at times — although you didn’t see most shirking any contest. There’s less reason to do it now in the modern game.
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE DEMONS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE SAINTS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE BOMBERS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE LIONS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE SUNS
LIST ANALYSIS: BUCKENARA ON THE POWER
I’m sure subtly it’ll be mentioned and shown to him to say that’s not acceptable. Hopefully he becomes a better player for it.
Eric Mackenzie is an interesting one as a key position defender. He did his knee last year and struggled for form and fell out of favour this year but before that he was one of the best defenders in the game. I always say give a guy at least 12 months back playing after a knee reconstruction or serious injury before being too critical or concerned about form. He should gain more confidence in his knee after another pre-season under his belt.
He’s too important to let go or not invest in him. The Eagles should show faith in him.
Lewis Jetta and Jack Redden were disappointments as fairly high-profile trade acquisitions. There was always a bit of buyer beware with Jetta — on his day he’s a dynamic player who brings pace and good ball use but the gap between his best and worst is far too big.
Redden had his injury issues this year but he was also dropped a couple of times. He’s a nice player but at best he’s a B to B-minus player. He’s a good depth player who went to the Eagles with a bit more expectation on him than I believe he was capable of delivering.
Of the young players I think Dom Sheed is developing really nicely and a kid I like who hasn’t had a decent run at it is Tom Lamb. I’m not sure where he’s at but he’s got definite talent and could be a bit of a late developer because he has a lot to learn about footy. He has the talent to be a really good player but needs to come to terms with the demands of being an AFL player.
I really like Liam Duggan, he’s a terrific kid who’ll be a really good player, Luke Partington is an inside mid who works hard, there’s a bit to like about Tom Cole and Jackson Nelson who has done a bit more than what I thought he could produce. He’ll be a good depth player.
Tom Barrass has probably been the big improver and one of the stories of the year for the Eagles in how much he has developed and impressed at senior level.
The list overall is in good shape but needs a couple of tweaks — with a Bradley Hill type, quick small forward and a back-up ruckman who can contribute week in, week out — to elevate it and add some class to have another real crack at a premiership.
I wouldn’t be making any major changes outside that. I’d be very surprised if the Eagles don’t play finals in 2017 and push for a top four spot.
Hayden Ballantyne has been linked to West Coast — although now appears likely to stay at Fremantle — I think that’d be a good move. He’d add another dimension to the forward line and take a little bit of pressure off LeCras who has become a bit more of a utility type. Ballantyne can put pressure on opposition defenders and cause a bit of chaos.
As for his trade value — a late second or early third-round pick.
There’s obviously a bit of talk around Mackenzie and if he decided he wanted to continue his career elsewhere, he’d be worth a second-round draft pick in the 20-30 range.
The Eagles have also sounded out axed North Melbourne veteran Drew Petrie, which puzzles me. I’m not sure why he would move over to Perth or why West Coast actually want him. I know they’re concerned about Naitanui’s injury and their back-up but that’s what Giles is there for. What they actually need, is a longer-term back-up.
WHAT THEY NEED
I’ve said this for a number of clubs already, and people don’t understand full just how hard they are to find, but the ruck is an area that needs more depth. Naitanui will miss most of if not all of 2017 with a knee reconstruction, which is a major blow, and although Scott Lycett is a good back-up, there isn’t much outside of that. Jon Giles is there but can he be relied upon to play 22 games as a second fiddle? The game now has become a lot about stoppages, winning them and winning clearances, so getting your mix right is critical. I think they need to add both a developing ruck and an experienced back-up but Petrie isn’t the answer as a one-year stop gap. By experience, I mean a player capable of playing for between 3-5 years or even longer.
WHO’S UNDER THE PUMP
Darling is definitely under the pump. He’ll need to really step up in big games and in big moments in 2017. He’s such a vibrant player that the Eagles do need him up and going.
Mackenzie, if he ends up staying, will also be under the pump to recapture his best form. There will be a bit of focus on him that’s for sure. But with another pre-season under his belt since doing his knee he should be gaining more confidence and feel as though he can do the things he could before he went down.
Partington is signed at the Eagles until the end of 2018 but needs to show a bit more in his second season because he plays as an inside midfielder and the Eagles do have quite a few of those.
I’m not sure where Kurt Mutimer is at and Malcolm Karpany is probably under the pump, while a young kid called Matthew Allen, who’s a potential key position player, needs to work on his fitness.
WHO SHOULD GO
Xavier Ellis, Damien Cavka, Patrick McGinnity and Kane Lucas have retired, while Jamie Bennell, Brant Colledge, Alec Waterman and Corey Adamson have already been delisted and that will probably do them for this year. That’s quite a lot of list changes for a team that played in a Grand Final two years ago and should be pushing for top four in 2017. Karpany, if there is another change, is probably the one for mine. He’s on the borderline. And before the finals series I would have said Jon Giles’s time was definitely up but they need him now.
CRYSTAL BALL
The Eagles will be competitive in 2017 and from my point of view will be a 5-8 team. If they can add a small forward and outside runner with good ball use, I think they can push up and challenge for top four and have a crack at a premiership.
Coach Adam Simpson also needs to find a way to get his team to perform outside Perth. That was a real worry for them this year and stopped them from being a top four team and premiership contender. The club and football department as a whole need to review what went wrong with that this year and get it right for next year’s campaign. Premierships aren’t won at Subiaco.
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