Eagle Opportunity: How West Coast Can Rise Above Their Gloom
Last updated: Mar 24, 2022, 3:18AM | Published: Mar 24, 2022, 3:18AM
The West Coast Eagles have a unique opportunity in front of them in 2022.
An injury list featuring no less than 10 best 22 players to kick off the season has immediately put them on the back foot, and then there are the COVID implications that have minimised the squad to the point of needing top-up players in the opening part of the season.
Already a team expected to be on the decline with ageing stars and an undesirable game plan, coach Adam Simpson may have stumbled into a situation where the lack of expectation can help him save his job.
The Eagles were far more competitive than anticipated in the Round 1 loss to Gold Coast, being within 3 points with just 9 minutes left in the match.
Granted, the Eagles still had their preferred key defensive personnel, Nic Naitanui, Andrew Gaff, Jack Redden and Josh Kennedy in the team, but performances from some of the younger talent should have given Simpson some hope.
Make no mistake, West Coast are a shambles overall.
Punters- At TopSport the Eagles are now second-favourites for the Wooden Spoon and are currently paying $4.2.
The only above-average young talent on this list is predominately key position, the way they play is antiquated and older guys probably aren’t that good anymore.
And maybe coach Simpson will look to play it as safe as they did in Round 1 and the past few seasons and rely on efficiency to take them forward.
If he does that, though, he mightn’t be in a job come the end of the season.
Because the opportunity that has presented itself in front of the Eagles this season, is one that allows for attacking footy without fear of the repercussions.
If no one is expecting West Coast to be any good, surely it behoves Simpson to try something different?
Traditionally, this has been a group built on “flicking the switch”.
In 2021, they ranked 15th for inside 50s, 14th for contested possessions, 18th for tackles, 16th for intercepts, even 13th for running bounces.
On the flipside, they were 1st in contested marks, 1st in total marks, had the second-highest kick-to-handball ratio and committed the second-fewest clangers.
West Coast slowed the game down with uncontested ball until they manipulated the opposition enough to create space.
Indeed against the Suns, they had 17 fewer inside 50s (but went at 48% scoring efficiency once inside 50), 21 less tackles, 26 more marks yet 7 less marks inside 50 and far fewer handballs.
Inevitably, Tim Kelly, Luke Shuey, Liam Duggan and Elliot Yeo will return sooner before the addition of other key players, and the temptation will be to continue playing this brand of football that has proven to be unsuccessful.
Round 1, though, showed a potential for a different way forward for the Eagles.
Willie Rioli attended 13 centre bounces, Jamaine Jones attended 9 and Sam Petrevski-Seton, 7.
For Jones in particular, the Suns clash showed an incredible point of difference that the Eagles could absolutely use going forward as a pinch-hitting midfield.
Finishing with 21 disposals, 6 marks, 5 tackles and 2 goals, the 23-year-old lined up predominately across half-forward, but attended enough midfield contests around the ground and at the centre bounce to create havoc for the strong Suns midfield with his pace and aggression.
Punters- At TopSport West Coast are now paying $4.5 to play finals in 2022.
Rioli and Jones working all the way up the ground to tackle and create space behind them, of which they could capitalise upon with their pace, showed that quick ball movement can work for this Eagles team.
Petrevski-Seton was relatively quiet with just 15 disposals, but operated at 87% disposal efficiency including 5 in the last quarter. His natural game was on the outskirts of the contest but feeding the ball to a clean user with pace opened up the game early in the quarter.
The former Blue had 6 score involvements along with Jack Petruccelle, while Luke Foley had 5 to highlight the effectiveness of directness at West Coast, whether it be through elite ball use, or through sheer pace.
While Shannon Hurn finished with 585 metres gained, the former captain had 0 score involvements on the day and committed 7 turnovers, while Luke Foley used his 472 metres gained to great effect with his 6 rebound 50s being direct.
The reliance on Naitanui in the centre bounces is great when it works out, but with a ruck contest that broke even against the Suns, the likes of Redden and Gaff felt less effective in close and it was the spread and quickness of offensive ball movement once it got to the flanks that really troubled the Suns.
That, ultimately, is where the Eagles can head towards in 2022.
A key issue with this group has been the one-paced nature of midfield and the like-mindedness of defenders seemingly more concerned with kicking efficiency rather than decisive movement.
It’s why Liam Ryan has stood out so magnificently as a forward option – the ball isn’t down there enough to overwhelm the opposition with weight in numbers, meaning it takes highlight plays to make things happen.
Perhaps there’s something admirable in sticking to your guns as a coach and riding it out, but even a team like Geelong, that has maintained such relevance for over a decade, has had Chris Scott make changes to his gameplan continually adding quality recruits to keep them going.
The Eagles have been uninspiring at the draft table and with their recruits for a couple of years, which has resulted in this expected decline towards the bottom 4.
Punters- At TopSport Josh Kennedy is paying $18 to win his 3rd Coleman medal and first since 2016.
Typically, boards of huge clubs aren’t too fond of steep drop-offs and coach Simpson must be aware of that.
However, with injury comes a slight easing of pressure and an enormous opportunity to make a change for the better.
With the likes of Foley and Witherden off half-back and Jones and Petrevski-Seton as rotational midfield pieces with x-factor, there is nothing to lose for the Eagles to become a more dangerous offensive threat.
Brisbane have become one of the best teams in the competition with similar numbers to the Eagles in all categories except inside 50s, clearances and metres gained.
The direct approach catches teams completely off-guard and nothing is lost in the pressure and clearance situations.
The switch in mindset to Brisbane’s approach is possible and fits this Eagles’ playing group extremely well.
If you’re going to go down, you may as well go down swinging.
Adam Simpson has the chance to make the Eagles a better threat going forward by playing a more attacking style.
That’s the opportunity that presents itself for the football club in 2022.
Let’s hope he seizes it.
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