WaDsY
2 Mar 2005, 09:53
Eagles punters do study.
02 March 2005 Herald Sun
Mike Sheahan
"THE educated money continues to come for West Coast.
The Eagles are on the fourth line of betting for the flag at $8. That's tight for a team that hasn't won a final since 1999.
They have been backed in from $21 without winning a game with any relevance to the premiership race.
The rationale is pretty simple, really. The team that finished eighth last year has regained Michael Gardiner (three games in 2004) and secured Tyson Stenglein, perhaps the best run-with player in the game.
Then there's Ben Cousins. The skipper played 17 of a possible 23 games last year, but never seemed right physically, missing six games with a back/hamstring problem late in the season.
Cousins and Gardiner are All-Australian, Stenglein finished second and third in best-and-fairests in Adelaide.
He is tall (189cm), has extraordinary endurance and is both brave and strong over the ball. He also happens to be only 24.
The Eagles as a group are young – Drew Banfield is the senior citizen at 31 – and tall – eight senior players stand 194cm or more.
Talking of eight, that's how many youngsters made their debut at West Coast in 2004, with an extraordinary total of four scoring Rising Star nominations.
They also have the tasty mix of 12 games at Subiaco Oval and four at the MCG.
It's hard not to be excited about West Coast.
It won 13 of 22 home-and-away games last year, beat the Brisbane Lions twice, and also had wins over Sydney, Geelong, Essendon and Melbourne.
That's good form. Not many teams of recent years can boast they went through a year without losing to Brisbane.
The Eagles surged into the finals, winning eight of their last nine games.
The solitary loss came against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, and they scored 31 times to Port's 22.
West Coast has a super midfield: the much-improved Dean Cox in ruck, with Cousins, Chad Fletcher, Daniel Kerr, Andrew Embley, Michael Braun and a young chap with a Brownlow Medal to his name, Chris Judd, at ground level.
Cox, a towering 204cm, is a nephew of former East Perth and North Melbourne powerhouse Richard Michalczyk.
He's much taller and obviously has more reliable hamstrings.
Gardiner and Mark Seaby are on standby. The plan will be to protect Gardiner from centre-square work, but he will be more than handy at ball-ups and boundary throw-ins inside the forward 50.
The only query on the Eagles at full strength is the defence.
Key defenders Darren Glass and Quinten Lynch took huge strides last year, but have to do it all again.
The cavalier David Wirrpunda or the veteran Banfield will play back pocket.
Banfield is safer, but Wirrpunda's dash and value as the designated kicker after a behind probably gives him the edge.
Up the other end, Gardiner or Ashley Hansen will play centre half-forward, with Andrew McDougall at full-forward, flanked by Phillip Matera and Ashley Sampi.
Scary, really.
Matera is an under-rated performer: a small (171cm) permanent forward who kicks 60 goals a year.
Sampi's returns aren't quite as good, but he is a brilliant player going into his fourth season at 21.
The more one studies the West Coast list, the more convinced you are that it is poised to take a major step forward.
If the Eagles can score a top-four finish, which seems likely, they are going to be a lot tighter than $8 for the 2005 premiership.
My query is whether they are yet seasoned enough to win finals. They have been eliminated in the first week of the past three finals series and most recently won a final in 1999. They actually haven't been much chop in finals since the premiership year of 1994.
EXPECTED FINISH: 3-5"
Makes some very good points, I wouldnt disagree with much of that. He is the only Victorian scribe that actually studies interstate sides properly. Others make stupid statements without the proper research.
Bring on 05
02 March 2005 Herald Sun
Mike Sheahan
"THE educated money continues to come for West Coast.
The Eagles are on the fourth line of betting for the flag at $8. That's tight for a team that hasn't won a final since 1999.
They have been backed in from $21 without winning a game with any relevance to the premiership race.
The rationale is pretty simple, really. The team that finished eighth last year has regained Michael Gardiner (three games in 2004) and secured Tyson Stenglein, perhaps the best run-with player in the game.
Then there's Ben Cousins. The skipper played 17 of a possible 23 games last year, but never seemed right physically, missing six games with a back/hamstring problem late in the season.
Cousins and Gardiner are All-Australian, Stenglein finished second and third in best-and-fairests in Adelaide.
He is tall (189cm), has extraordinary endurance and is both brave and strong over the ball. He also happens to be only 24.
The Eagles as a group are young – Drew Banfield is the senior citizen at 31 – and tall – eight senior players stand 194cm or more.
Talking of eight, that's how many youngsters made their debut at West Coast in 2004, with an extraordinary total of four scoring Rising Star nominations.
They also have the tasty mix of 12 games at Subiaco Oval and four at the MCG.
It's hard not to be excited about West Coast.
It won 13 of 22 home-and-away games last year, beat the Brisbane Lions twice, and also had wins over Sydney, Geelong, Essendon and Melbourne.
That's good form. Not many teams of recent years can boast they went through a year without losing to Brisbane.
The Eagles surged into the finals, winning eight of their last nine games.
The solitary loss came against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, and they scored 31 times to Port's 22.
West Coast has a super midfield: the much-improved Dean Cox in ruck, with Cousins, Chad Fletcher, Daniel Kerr, Andrew Embley, Michael Braun and a young chap with a Brownlow Medal to his name, Chris Judd, at ground level.
Cox, a towering 204cm, is a nephew of former East Perth and North Melbourne powerhouse Richard Michalczyk.
He's much taller and obviously has more reliable hamstrings.
Gardiner and Mark Seaby are on standby. The plan will be to protect Gardiner from centre-square work, but he will be more than handy at ball-ups and boundary throw-ins inside the forward 50.
The only query on the Eagles at full strength is the defence.
Key defenders Darren Glass and Quinten Lynch took huge strides last year, but have to do it all again.
The cavalier David Wirrpunda or the veteran Banfield will play back pocket.
Banfield is safer, but Wirrpunda's dash and value as the designated kicker after a behind probably gives him the edge.
Up the other end, Gardiner or Ashley Hansen will play centre half-forward, with Andrew McDougall at full-forward, flanked by Phillip Matera and Ashley Sampi.
Scary, really.
Matera is an under-rated performer: a small (171cm) permanent forward who kicks 60 goals a year.
Sampi's returns aren't quite as good, but he is a brilliant player going into his fourth season at 21.
The more one studies the West Coast list, the more convinced you are that it is poised to take a major step forward.
If the Eagles can score a top-four finish, which seems likely, they are going to be a lot tighter than $8 for the 2005 premiership.
My query is whether they are yet seasoned enough to win finals. They have been eliminated in the first week of the past three finals series and most recently won a final in 1999. They actually haven't been much chop in finals since the premiership year of 1994.
EXPECTED FINISH: 3-5"
Makes some very good points, I wouldnt disagree with much of that. He is the only Victorian scribe that actually studies interstate sides properly. Others make stupid statements without the proper research.
Bring on 05