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2nds WAFL Watch - 2025 Edition

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How did ____ go on the weekend?

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Putting this into a spreadsheet for convenience. 2024 is still there in a tab on the bottom of the sheet. I'll update this as much as I can throughout the year. The All Stars game and our match sim against Richmond are now up.
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GoEaglesGoSGIO said:
We won 2 games...What is this magical shift that will change that ? You are going on like we are adding players when we lost players too. We need to talk about the loss of experience too...

People are rubbishing my ideas and coming up with none of their own or even worse not willingly accepting it is a problem that needs solving and simply surrendering to the problem.

I mean what is acceptable as a season for our WAFL team ? I think we need to be in the 7 wins range myself . Have we done enough to get 5 extra wins ? I don't think so
Click to expand...
People are rubbishing your ideas because they’re impractical at best and unbelievably farcical to the point of impossibility at worst.

Nobody is “not willingly accepting it is a problem”. You being the most outraged one here doesn’t mean the rest of us are happy with the state of the WAFL. Hence the hundreds of posts for years about how we fix it. You’re not first to this. Our former AFL Eagle club captain once missed the whole season injured and the club never announced it. We know they didn’t care about this.

Nobody is surrendering to that position, we just don’t think we can have a full WAFL, Reserves, and Colts program with 25 AFL or potential AFL calibre players at each spot, for reasons many have explained.

A place to start, which seems to be where we’re headed this offseason, is the same place the W had to start when the new admin came in. It’s a very analogous set of teams, based purely on the fact the old admin did not give a single **** about either.

1. Accept there’s a problem and a lack of taking the program seriously. This has been done and admitted publicly a few times by Pyke now.​

2. Incrementally reset the list, both through youth (our army of draft picks in both) and astute signings from other clubs (Johnson, Robertson, McRae, plus more to come, and in the case of the W Drennan, Hosking, McGrath etc​

3. Rectify coaching issues. This was the main hamstring for the W program, where each new coach was found down the corridor and no open search was literally ever run for a HC role outside the club. Just who was already on deck.​
​
The WAFL program has done similar. It got to the point where Rob Wiley was asked to coach the boys as a favour to the club a few years ago. Zero forward thinking or open field recruiting, just who can we get in.​

That isn’t to knock Horsley either, I feel like he could be a reasonable coach, but they’ve never seemingly run an open search for the role, it’s always just been a who’s left of the development team. I’d give him more time with a halfway reasonable list and see what comes of it, but the process to get to this point has been terrible and identical to the W (which was thoroughly rectified).​

Recognising that the league setup is disadvantageous in some ways (but also very advantageous in others if we can keep our AFL list healthy) doesn’t mean we’re rolling over and accepting defeat.

The rot is well and truly in, as it was with the W, and the approach they’re taking to rectify it seem very similar. I’m excited (and expecting) to see it pay dividends in the form of a few more wins.

I’m also reluctant to say this last part because I know you’ll latch on and make it a whole thing, but the success of our WAFL program isn’t inherently wins and losses. A five win season with properly competitive games week in and out, where our kids are given a chance to play key roles but not fight a lone hand against a team of men is a successful season.
 
HoneyBadger35 said:
People are rubbishing your ideas because they’re impractical at best and unbelievably farcical to the point of impossibility at worst.

Nobody is “not willingly accepting it is a problem”. You being the most outraged one here doesn’t mean the rest of us are happy with the state of the WAFL. Hence the hundreds of posts for years about how we fix it. You’re not first to this.

Nobody is surrendering to the position, we just don’t think we can have a full WAFL, Reserves, and Colts program with 25 AFL or potential AFL calibre players at each spot.

A place to start, which seems to be where we’re headed this offseason, is the same place the W had to start. It’s a very analogous set of teams, based purely on the fact the old admin did not give a single **** about either.

1) Accept there’s a problem and a lack of taking the program seriously. This has been done and admitted publicly a few times by Pyke now.

2) Incrementally reset the list, both through youth (our army of draft picks in both) and astute signings from other clubs (Johnson, Robertson, McRae, plus more to come, and in the case of the W Drennan, Hosking, McGrath etc)

3) Rectify coaching issues. This was the main hamstring for the W program, where each new coach was found down the corridor and no open search was ever run for a HC role outside the club. Just who was already on deck.

WAFL program has done similar. It got to the point where Rob Wiley was asked to coach the boys as a favour to the club a few years ago. Zero forward thinking or open field recruiting, just who can we get in.

This isn’t to knock Horsley, I feel like he could be a reasonable coach, but they’ve never seemingly run an open search for the role, it’s always just been a who’s left of the development team. I’d give him more time with a halfway reasonable list and see what comes of it.

Recognising that the league setup is disadvantageous in some ways (but also very advantageous in others if we can keep our AFL list healthy) doesn’t mean we’re rolling over and accepting it.

The rot is well and truly in, as it was with the W, and the approach they’re taking to rectify it seem very similar. I’m excited (and expecting) to see it pay dividends in the form of a few more wins.

I’m also reluctant to say this last part because I know you’ll latch on and make it a whole thing, but the success of our WAFL program isn’t inherently wins and losses. A five win season with properly competitive games week in and out, where our kids are given a chance to play key roles but not fight a lone hand against a team of men is a successful season.
Click to expand...

On what planet is our WAFL team aligning to this?

1) Accepting it is a problem.... and then bringing back the exact same people 2 months later? Its not logical. When Pyke said the problem exists I expected a list cleanout and a coaching change. Instead we got Ash Johnson

2) Incrementally reset the list at AFL level but at WAFL level... I mean are we? Im not seeing it. Its just the same people year in year out im afraid.

3) Rectify coaching issues? Same people from what I can see....

It doesnt mean we are rolling over and accepting it is one thing to say, but what is they physical proof you can show me that we are taking steps to improve the situation 5 years later? Maybe someone can point them out to me at WAFL level and I can point them out at AFL level and we can then compare notes... because to me one is changing and the other is stagnating

You gotta give me something to go as a successful 2026? It can be whatever you want. Its up to you. To me we need 7 wins, players in consistent positions and not moving spot every few weeks and some actual leadership... of any type.
 
GoEaglesGoSGIO said:
On what planet is our WAFL team aligning to this?

1) Accepting it is a problem.... and then bringing back the exact same people 2 months later? Its not logical. When Pyke said the problem exists I expected a list cleanout and a coaching change. Instead we got Ash Johnson

2) Incrementally reset the list at AFL level but at WAFL level... I mean are we? Im not seeing it. Its just the same people year in year out im afraid.

3) Rectify coaching issues? Same people from what I can see....

It doesnt mean we are rolling over and accepting it is one thing to say, but what is they physical proof you can show me that we are taking steps to improve the situation 5 years later? Maybe someone can point them out to me at WAFL level and I can point them out at AFL level and we can then compare notes... because to me one is changing and the other is stagnating

You gotta give me something to go as a successful 2026? It can be whatever you want. Its up to you. To me we need 7 wins, players in consistent positions and not moving spot every few weeks and some actual leadership... of any type.
Click to expand...
You’re talking like the AFL program and WAFL program are seperate beasts? The majority of the WAFL list is dictated by the AFL list, which is going through the changes I’ve addressed. If we compare the Round 1 2025/2026 WAFL sides I bet you’ll see quite the list churn in action.

Plus, a lot of the top ups that are staying are good footy players too. To cull them all is like saying the Eagles AFL side won one game, why didn’t we delist all 40+ blokes and properly reset the list?

Sparks is a shame to lose, and the rest are very much easy to see go. Couple further that could go (Mumme played a few forgettable games as a starting place), but the top ups still active on the website were, for the majority, good contributors. Guys like Datson, Eastough, Burke, Lucassen, TEB, very happy to see them returned. It’s also not their job to carry this team. It’s the job of one or two marquee signings and the senior fringe AFL types (soon to be Cole, Bailey Williams, McRae, possibly Dev etc) plus a few nice efforts from our listed kids from time to time.

Our success won’t be dictated by the worst top up on our list, that’s for sure.

As for a marker? Five wins and competitive football every week, with the kids learning key roles but not left to fight lone hands against the adults (like I said in my OP). That’s a successful season. I’m hoping we go more than that in the Win-Loss, but it’s a development program so the growth of Gross/Hall/Davis/Grego/Allan etc is more important to me than splitting the difference between a five or six win season.
 
GoEaglesGoSGIO said:
On what planet is our WAFL team aligning to this?

1) Accepting it is a problem.... and then bringing back the exact same people 2 months later? Its not logical. When Pyke said the problem exists I expected a list cleanout and a coaching change. Instead we got Ash Johnson

2) Incrementally reset the list at AFL level but at WAFL level... I mean are we? Im not seeing it. Its just the same people year in year out im afraid.

3) Rectify coaching issues? Same people from what I can see....

It doesnt mean we are rolling over and accepting it is one thing to say, but what is they physical proof you can show me that we are taking steps to improve the situation 5 years later? Maybe someone can point them out to me at WAFL level and I can point them out at AFL level and we can then compare notes... because to me one is changing and the other is stagnating

You gotta give me something to go as a successful 2026? It can be whatever you want. Its up to you. To me we need 7 wins, players in consistent positions and not moving spot every few weeks and some actual leadership... of any type.
Click to expand...
10 players out + 4 extra rookie spots means about 12 different WAFL players from either players being relegated because they lost their spot in the AFL or new players.

There has been a number of coaching changes at AFL level which does impact at WAFL level as the majority of players in the WAFL are AFL listed usually and especially so now that we have a larger list. Horsly is a little hamstrung here in that there would be some back-seat coaching re. player positions etc. Playing Williams ×2, Barnett, Livingstone all in the same team might have been hard.
 

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As everyone knows, the players that are showing up as part of the WAFL squad in mid November, on the league’s archaic and non-reliable site, are the complete set of players that will fill the squad when the season kicks off in April.

So the fact that most of the names currently on there are players that were in the 2025 squad is absolute irrefutable proof that the club is making no real changes.
 
eaglevision said:
If Cody is still available in the rookie draft we’d be mad not to take him at pick 1. Can’t see him getting past Adelaide’s late picks in the ND.
Click to expand...
Yeah I agree, was just replying to to other comment. Curtin would be a great pick up altho if we take CDT it makes us look top heavy.
I'd still rather not take CDT at this stage🤣
 
Players from the 2025 WAFL squad who it appears are not returning, based on the fact they’re either not showing up as active WCER players on the league’s site, or they are but with no number allocated:

Harley Sparks (signed in SA)
Connor Klemke
Ethan Sambo
Tyler Mouritz
Oscar Armstrong
Reagan Hutchinson
Luke Yeo
Luke Howarth
Cooper Brown
Mitch Anderson
Jhett Morrison-Carter

That’s 11 of this year’s 27 that it appears aren’t going on next year. At this stage, and based only on what I can glean off the site. And things are obviously going to change as we get closer to the season.

(Just adding a few disclaimers in case anyone mistakes my educated guesswork for an actual official final squad announcement)
 
Miguel Sanchez said:
Players from the 2025 WAFL squad who it appears are not returning, based on the fact they’re either not showing up as active WCER players on the league’s site, or they are but with no number allocated:

Harley Sparks (signed in SA)
Connor Klemke
Ethan Sambo
Tyler Mouritz
Oscar Armstrong
Reagan Hutchinson
Luke Yeo
Luke Howarth
Cooper Brown
Mitch Anderson
Jhett Morrison-Carter

That’s 11 of this year’s 27 that it appears aren’t going on next year. At this stage, and based only on what I can glean off the site. And things are obviously going to change as we get closer to the season.

(Just adding a few disclaimers in case anyone mistakes my educated guesswork for an actual official final squad announcement)
Click to expand...
Bit of a shame re. Yeo. I thought he looked good about 60-70% of the time.
 
Miguel Sanchez said:
It looks like we’ve signed another ex-AFL player - Callum Jamieson.

That’s a bit of a surprise.
Click to expand...

Someone for the ECU physio students doing work experience to practice on - he’s always good for an obscure injury or two

But good luck to him - nice to see one of our former listed players keeping faith with the club.

Does give us some defensive cover down back which will be handy
 

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Cuzz09 said:
How much would Jamo be paid to play WAFL for the Beagles?
Click to expand...
The TPP with super for the Beagles for 2026 is $178,360.
So he is taking a pay cut. All non Afl players would get a match payment
It is a secret but i suspect $400 to $800 a game depending on how the club values each player.
i would suspect Jamo and Ash Johnson being former Afl players would be at the top end of payments.
 

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Miguel Sanchez said:
It looks like we’ve signed another ex-AFL player - Callum Jamieson.

That’s a bit of a surprise.
Click to expand...
Handy enough given our KPD depth which then flows onto the WAFL side.

Very odd, but I’ll take it. Hope he’s still laughably massive after another offseason.
 
GoEaglesGoSGIO said:
Another change id make is to have a Colts team of our academy players plus extras. Zero reason not to have a Colts team . Drag out the size of the academy with more numbers and bring them forward to the WAFL side if they are not drafted but impress like say Archer May did at the Western Jets

Sooooooo many changes can occur and should occur but instead we do nothing because its easier to do nothing then it is to take a risk
Click to expand...

The other afl clubs are not going to allow the eagles to have a colts team. The Eagles WAFL side has been crap because the senior side is crap. This is very common and has been in footy forever. Get our top side competitive and watch it flow down to the next level. None of this is rocket science. Oh and maybe they could use the concessions they are given instead of not using them as the Eagles have the last 2 years.
 
greatwhiteshark said:
The other afl clubs are not going to allow the eagles to have a colts team. The Eagles WAFL side has been crap because the senior side is crap. This is very common and has been in footy forever. Get our top side competitive and watch it flow down to the next level. None of this is rocket science. Oh and maybe they could use the concessions they are given instead of not using them as the Eagles have the last 2 years.
Click to expand...
I agree with all of this .

With the other AFL clubs part, who gives a absolute crap? Just do what we want. We can call the Colts tean, Hungry Jacks FC for all we care.

AFL teams can complain all they like really. Shouldn stop us from doing what we want when we want
 
GoEaglesGoSGIO said:
I agree with all of this .

With the other AFL clubs part, who gives a absolute crap? Just do what we want. We can call the Colts tean, Hungry Jacks FC for all we care.

AFL teams can complain all they like really. Shouldn stop us from doing what we want when we want
Click to expand...

I hear you but it aint how the AFL work mate. You saw through Covid that unless all teams shad access to full training then none of them could train.
 
GoEaglesGoSGIO said:
I agree with all of this .

With the other AFL clubs part, who gives a absolute crap? Just do what we want. We can call the Colts tean, Hungry Jacks FC for all we care.

AFL teams can complain all they like really. Shouldn stop us from doing what we want when we want
Click to expand...

I assumed he meant the other WAFL clubs wouldn’t allow WCE to have a colts team. Because they wouldn’t.
 

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