West Coast is the real deal, despite what doubters say

YOU don’t have to look hard to find an expert with a question mark over West Coast. They are about to get an emphatic answer from a genuine premiership threat, writes David King.

Shannon Hurn of the Eagles.

FORGET derbies — Sunday’s clash against the Tigers is the West Coast Eagles’ biggest AFL game in Western Australia since the Ben Cousins homecoming in 2007.

Are the Eagles ready?

West Coast sits second, having lost only to the Swans courtesy of a Lance Franklin

eight-goal assault in Round 1, yet their compliments and credits always come with the same rider.

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“Can they win at the MCG?”. Great question, but nothing is further from their minds on Sunday as Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin and Alex Rance stand between season validation or mere participation.

The MCG truth is they only have to win one game (Grand Final) there this year to become premier, no more, no less. Since the start of 2015 the Eagles are 37 wins and eight losses in Perth so maybe the discussion should be about West Coast’s ability to qualify for the Grand Final as the “House of Pain” is back.

The dimensions of Perth Stadium are closer to that of the MCG than the almost cylinder-shaped Subiaco Oval, and the West Australian teams will no longer have a plan that potentially fails to adapt to the ’G.

The Eagles have beaten Port Adelaide in Perth and GWS on the road, with an inferior squad, over the past fortnight. They are flying and Adam Simpson cares not for endorsement nor authentication, but if they beat the Tigers on Sunday, the gushing will start.

Eagles skipper Shannon Hurn is a contender for All-Australian captain.

Adam Simpson’s teams win on method and system, not just talent.

The argument of taking the best three to four players out of any team and watch them fail was put to rest at Spotless Stadium last weekend.

Simpson just shifts the responsibility and those roles to other players without fear or favour. And they get it done.

Tom Barrass and Scott Lycett aren’t Jeremy McGovern or Nic Naitanui but they know what Simpson demands and they embrace the challenge.

Simpson has an incredible rapport with his players and his empathy and attachment to this playing group is palpable.

The mechanics of what the Eagles do has evolved and is evolving as they continue to maximise the strengths of their personnel. Think Nic Naitanui, Jack Darling, Jeremy McGovern etc.

Over the past month the Eagles have gone from a bottom four clearance team to an AFL top-five clearance machine that now locks the game in its forward half.

The ball spends on average an extra 10.5 minutes in the Eagles forward line than the opposition’s, numbers akin to the Eagles’ Grand Final season of 2015.

While the 2015 version scored slightly more on average, that was largely due to its stoppage

dominance.

Adam Simpson’s current Eagles crew obtains far greater returns after forcing the opposition into turnover.

Richmond has the AFL’s best turnover score differential of +31 points on its opposition on average but West Coast is the competition’s next best at +21. That’s the model that brings silverware.

There is a veil of negativity that surrounds the Eagles. It’s generally from the media core who refuse to acknowledge the fact that the Eagles might just be genuine premiership contenders.

It’s also easy to fire bullets at individuals in this team, rightly or wrongly.

“Does Jack Darling do it in big games?”

“Nic Naitanui doesn’t take marks.”

“Does Andrew Gaff really do any damage?”

At the moment Shannon Hurn would likely be the All-Australian captain and teammates Jack

Darling, Nic Naitanui, Jeremy McGovern and Andrew Gaff would all be more than simply in the conversation for All-Australian honours.

And Mark Le Cras has wound the clock back and has added tackling pressure to his arsenal.

Jeremy McGovern is one of the top defenders in the game.

The Eagles are now a genuine two-target forward line given the improvement and consistency of Darling combined with the evergreen Josh Kennedy.

They are averaging six goals between them per game this season and if they produce that against Alex Rance and David Astbury, the Eagles will no longer be on the sixth line of premiership betting.

The fortnight of truth is upon Adam Simpson and his troops as the Tigers at Perth Stadium is

followed by Hawthorn at Etihad the following Sunday

There are still some question marks regarding method, as is the case with all teams so early in the season, but Simpson will get some answers.

Is the Eagles’ pressure game good enough? Is there an unhealthy reliance on scoring from their defensive half? Can Kennedy, Darling and Co. turn their forward 50m time dominance into a score that separates the game against the best team in the AFL?

There’s possibly more information to be obtained by the Eagles than the Tigers but at Round 9 this feedback comes at a perfect time.

The Alastair Clarkson disciples in Simpson and Damien Hardwick go head to head for the fifth time on Sunday with the ledger square at two wins a piece.

I get the feeling this won’t be the last time they meet this season, and the stakes will be significantly higher next time — at the MCG.

I also get the feeling that Sunday will be Jack Darling’s coming out party as a legitimate A-grade forward who influences games of significance as the Eagles turn this 2018 season on its head.

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