West Coast vs. Hawthorn analysis: What the Eagles’ loss tells us about Oscar Allen’s future

Sam Mitchell was ‘shocked’ when he saw Oscar Allen lining up down back – but it might increase the chance the Eagles’ captain leaves. Ed Bourke unpacks what the magnet swinging means.

Most who came to Docklands on Sunday would have expected to see Tom Barrass play on his former teammate Oscar Allen.

But not in Hawthorn’s forward line, where they locked horns during the final quarter of the Hawks’ 50-point win while both looking decidedly uncomfortable.

Moving Allen to defence had been flagged by West Coast a few weeks before, but Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell said he was “a little bit shocked” to see the free agent actually warming up with the Eagles’ backline group moments from the start of the game.

In the meeting with Allen that thrust him into the middle of an undeserved storm over his loyalties, it is improbable Mitchell would have been selling a vision of the 26-year-old playing anywhere but forward for the Hawks.

“The challenge probably that ‘Mini’ (Andrew McQualter) has got is he’s got a lot of talented (tall forwards) … I think they’ve got a couple of really good marking options in front of the ball,” Mitchell said after the game.

“I think (Archer) Reid is going to be a really good player in particular, so moving Oscar to make sure he can keep all his young talent on the field made a little bit of sense to us.”

Allen was an outstanding forward in his draft year, and save for two games in his 2018 debut season has been used in attack or pinch-hitting in the ruck.

Oscar Allen walking onto Marvel Stadium on the weekend. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images.

The Eagles’ co-captain might be out of form, but he had 73 goals under his belt from the past 34 games heading into this campaign.

When he returned from a knee injury last year, there were games where he functioned effectively in tandem with Jake Waterman, and surely that is a key forward partnership that can bring the Eagles deeper into games than using a raw duo in Jack Williams and Archer Reid.

West Coast only just shaded Hawthorn for forward entries (50 to 56), but it yielded only six marks inside 50 to the Hawks’ 23.

McQualter said he considered swinging Allen into attack, but ultimately decided it would be “unfair” to his skipper.

“I think he built up going into the game to play as a back, so we just stuck to that, and he had some moments where he kept growing,” the coach said.

Those moments were few and far between though, as Mabior Chol too often was able to launch at the ball before his opponent Allen could get body contact on him.

Chol, who has run hot at times this season but also been successfully nullified by GWS and Port Adelaide, ran the table in the Hawks’ forward half with three contested marks and nine score involvements for 3.2.

Allen only looked more settled in his new role after his longtime teammate Barrass raised eyebrows by jogging down to the goalsquare at the start of the final term.

Moving to allay the notion the move might have been a sign of disrespect to West Coast, Mitchell said it was the first in a series of experiments to help the 29-year-old become a more comfortable forward.

Oscar Allen was in defence for the Eagles. Picture: James Wiltshire/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Barrass was not so sure a move like that would be engineered for him again.

“I didn’t get my hands on it, so I think that will probably be the end of my forward career,” he told this masthead.

“I was surprised to see (Allen) in defence, but I’ve had the pleasure of playing with him for eight years, and he’s a fantastic aerial player and very disciplined backman.

“I think he’s doing a great job of getting his body right, coming out and playing and impacting the game, and (the scrutiny over his performance) is just the nature of free agency as well as being a public figure.”

Allen is due to play his 100th game against Melbourne at Optus Stadium on Saturday night.

If he is kept in defence against an undersized Demons forward line, it will raise questions about whether the Eagles are doing the right thing by their co-captain, and whether it will dent their hopes of retaining him.

Originally published as West Coast vs. Hawthorn analysis: What the Eagles’ loss tells us about Oscar Allen’s future