West Coast Eagles 2021

Aug 14, 2011
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Covid created challenges 2020 but weren't Robinson Crusoe there going out finals without a whimper.

On paper at least have the overall depth and balance cross the park to challenge 2021.

Genuine player for the flag?
Their top liners are as good a unit as any, but the kids coming through are battling.
Of the 8 debuted in 2018, Ryan, Rioli & Venables played in the flag, Rioli & Venables are no longer available. Waterman & Oscar Allen are kicking on as regulars in the starting 22, whilst Petrucelle has struggled for opportunity & the earliest draft choice Jarrod Brander has disappointed in 11 games over 3 seasons.

Kelly, NicNat, Shepherd & Gaff missed the 2018 flag & are regulars so it fair to tag the 2020 squad as non performers, as was the 2019 finals performance. Unfortunately the inclusion of Kelly was offset by the loss of fellow AA mid Yeo, thats footy.

I'm sure the Eagles see Liam Duggans 2020 as a preview to a full time spot in the midfield rotation & the younger defenders have progressed so another pre season should help development.

Got the cattle, not convinced about the appetite unless they make top 2.
 
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May 3, 2007
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No chance - Trevor Nisbett is set to announce the club is folding next week.
I am sure you are. Still remembered Lewis Jetta in 2015 throwing imaginary spears at the eagles fans in Subiaco after kicking a goal. He did it because you lot booed Adam Goodes LoL.

Jetta inspired me as I throw imaginary spears to people I dislike. LoL
Following the delisting of Lewis Jetta we have commenced proceedings to fold the club next Monday.
next thing your team will hire Ross Lyon as the eagles AFLW coach lol
 

The Passenger

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Mar 25, 2003
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Jetta inspired me as I throw imaginary spears to people I dislike. LoL
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Sep 16, 2006
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It sucks when a top 4 quality team finish 8th and you pull them first week of finals like last season. Unsurprising result. We have a top 4 quality team but if we finish 5th or lower again I'll be disappointed. We're starting to look like our mid to late 90s team: always there abouts but never really a chance to go all the way.
 

kid_a

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Apr 5, 2010
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I see people just couldn't wait to get in here and start chatting about west coast 2021. They'll be struggling to improve on last years performance, maybe drop further down the ladder, because they won't be winning two derbies.
Tbf the title of the thread kind of indicates that is what most people would be chatting about 😘
 
May 5, 2006
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11-16.5-16-12-16-15-15.5* wins since Simmo took over. *pro rata for a 22 game season, finished 12-5 this year.

Pretty good record but not converting any of 2016, 2019 and 2020 into top 4 finishes is disappointing.

On one hand, renowned footy Nostradamus Wallsy had us finishing last in 2018, the year we won the flag. We were a McGovern mung floater away from finishing 3rd/4th and without that we probably don't win the flag. Compare that to 2019 when we narrowly lost games to Collingwood and Richmond late (then lost to Hawthorn at home who were playing for nothing), and this year where we played like chumps in the first Qld hub then lost a winnable game to the Bulldogs late in the year. There's a chance that while the H&A records are similar that 2018 was the outlier. WC 2018 steamrolled Richmond, were undefeated against the top 4, undefeated in Melbourne. WC 2019/20 can't match that. People focused too much on how ordinary we were in the first Qld hub and not enough on the fact that we weren't actually that good back in Perth, we had mostly easy games at home.

On the other hand, we have a pretty good and experienced team and really should be challenging for a top 4 spot. We have a team that was good enough to win the flag 2 years ago with Venables, Rioli, Jetta, LeCras, Lycett, Schofield, Masten gone and Kelly, Allen, Waterman added and Gaff, Sheppard, Naitanui, Nelson in. Depth is iffy and we've seen the best of Kennedy and Hurn, but it's still a team that on merit should win around 13-17 games. My biggest concern is that we wasted a prime season of Naitanui this year. He debuted in 2009 and throughout his career has been consistently good 2011/12, 2015 and 2020. Was good in 2018 until he did his second ACL. He's only played 37 games in the last 4 seasons so is no guarantee of reproducing his 2020 form next year.

We have:

Pasties: Kennedy, Hurn
Late prime: Naitanui, Redden, Shuey
Prime: Sheppard, Gaff, Darling, McGovern, Yeo, Kelly
Approaching prime: Sheed, Barrass, Duggan, Ryan

Those are our best players, and of the younger players it's really only Allen to get genuinely excited about so far. I don't see a cliff approaching as we have a good core of 24-28 year olds, but that core plus the guys 30-33 looks a lot better than that core with the guys under 24 on exposed form.
 
I see people just couldn't wait to get in here and start chatting about west coast 2021. They'll be struggling to improve on last years performance, maybe drop further down the ladder, because they won't be winning two derbies.
i see you couldnt wait to exhibit your inferiority complex as a Freo supporter.
 

Do the Dew

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Feb 14, 2019
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Covid created challenges 2020 but weren't Robinson Crusoe there going out finals without a whimper.

On paper at least have the overall depth and balance cross the park to challenge 2021.

Genuine player for the flag?
Eagles mentally soft when it counts. Couldn't deal with covid hub, couldn't even get into top 4 with 6 straight games at home in a shortened season, tried their hardest to buy home games, then got knocked off by 8th at home after resting there for 2 weeks with the Pies essentially flying in and out. Even in 2019, they got smashed by a 9th place Hawks at home in the final round, knocking them out of top 4 and flushing their premiership hopes away.

They'll still win the majority of their games at Optus next year, but can't see them doing much damage otherwise. Should finish about 6th if they're lucky.
 

GoGeta

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If they don't win the premiership the good people of W.A will call it a ''conspiracy of the east'' and set in motion new grounds for another secession movement.
They will gain their independence from tyranny and oppression so help them God!

The mining wealth is all theirs by birth right. Theirs theirs theirs theirs theirs theirs theirs!

The first major project the newly independent country of ''The peoples democratic republic of Western Australia'' will undertake is to build a mighty stadium 3 times the size of the MCG. It will be named Bloodbath Arena and in between AFL games it will be used like the ancient colosseums of Rome, where foreigners captured from the east are pitted in mortal combat against ferocious native animals like..

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Jan 19, 2008
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Melbourne
AFL Club
Geelong
It sucks when a top 4 quality team finish 8th and you pull them first week of finals like last season. Unsurprising result. We have a top 4 quality team but if we finish 5th or lower again I'll be disappointed. We're starting to look like our mid to late 90s team: always there abouts but never really a chance to go all the way.

Top 4 quality teams finish top 4 mate.
 
They could win the whole thing. But they seem a bit disinterested, or easily distracted from playing ruthless full on footy. KPFs getting on, so they'd better get it going or they'll 'just' be a finals team, but not a contender.

There's a glass 1/2 full, 1/2 empty view
 
They could win the whole thing. But they seem a bit disinterested, or easily distracted from playing ruthless full on footy. KPFs getting on, so they'd better get it going or they'll 'just' be a finals team, but not a contender.

There's a glass 1/2 full, 1/2 empty view

It's not a coincidence that (in my opinion) our three best players the last two years were Gaff, Sheppard and Naitanui.

We've got the talent - there is no doubt - the question is the hunger.
 
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