What are your Top 5 positive takeaways from the Eagles 2025 campaign?

[Deepthroat]

I am keen to see what people are taking out of 2025.

I must admit I am struggling to take anything more than a few "green shoots" and many of them a based on a small sample size and the prospect of some early draft picks.

What am I missing?

Should I be looking toward 2026 with more positivity because of what has been achieved?

 

[YeoGabbaGabba]

This has been a terrible season, no doubt. To pick 5 is hard but I will try:

1 - With 4 less wins, our percentage is actually relatively similar (68.1% in 2024 vs 63.5%). Without the extra wins (a few we won by 5+ goals last year) we’ve definitely kept the bloodbath 80-90+ margins down

2 - We’re actually giving some of the younger players opportunitieswho should be playing (Shanahan, McCarthy, Hall etc) = natural list progression with more coming off the books

3 - Another good MSD pick; McCarthy’s a jet

4 - Pick 1 + 2 (OA comp) + possibility of 10/11 if Hawks finish 9th (decent possibility after last night’s result)

5 - It seems like HR9 wants to stay here, which given the season we’ve had is huge. As clearly, he’s the main source of optimism for supporters and for the younger fans coming to the footy

Rough year no doubt but off the top of my head that’s what I can try and say.

 

[Bleedblueandgold]

Hewett not being injured
Tom McCarthy drafting
Liam Baker

3

Liam Baker

Age

27

Ht

173cm

Wt

72kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.7

4star

K

7.8

3star

HB

7.9

5star

M

3.2

3star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.7

3star

D

14.6

4star

K

6.8

3star

HB

7.9

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

1.8

3star

CL

0.5

3star

D

14.4

4star

K

6.2

3star

HB

8.2

5star

M

1.6

2star

T

1.8

4star

CL

1.2

4star

playing consistently well
Jobe Shanahan looking good
Clay Hall improvement and getting games

 

[Patron]

1. Jobe Shanahan - You find a potential KPP that looks that good every year and you will be contending in 5 years time.
2. Mccarthy - Out of nowhere. Our best kick, best playmaker and averaging more fantasy points this year than any other wce player.
3. Hewett - mostly uninjured this year and taken some strides. It did feel at the start of the year that he may just be perpetually injured before disappearing.

This is where it gets hard and I have to go to things that haven't even happened.
4. Harley - needs to improve, but seems committed and likely to sign.
5. Priority picks/draft hand - This year is looking like our biggest draft hand in the rebuild. With the likelihood of OA going for pick 2, and priority picks, we should be looking at 3-4 top 10 picks, as well as some draftable academies.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Pyke asking for priority picks. Will probably be rejected and then offered to another club in a couple of years time, but still. Shows a mindset shift and getting the message out there that the draft is failing as an equalisation tool. Also debunking shit like "you're a rich club" like that means anything with salary caps.

We have a month or so to go so I'm not going to talk about losing margins or percentages or players not being injured because I'll jinx shit harder than Simmo's prayer to the footy gods when 5 goals down in the 2018 Grand Final.

Will edit post-season.

 

[southcoast]

Been a tough year but AfL fixturing has been diabolical this year.

We’ve always played teams above us. How can that be?

 

[mattyc75]

Harry Edwards form
Harley showing more maturity
Drafting McCarthy
Closer games with longer periods of competitiveness despite losing more senior players
The evolving gameplan

 

[Matele]

Shit season, but there’s some positives.

1. KPP stocks at either end of the ground look solid af. Shanahan/Waterman up front and Edwards/Ginbey/Hough down back.

2.McCarthy was a dub in the MSD.

3. Harley wanting to stay from all reports. Optimism for fans and a reason to see out games when he’s on field.

4. Hewett has been solid coming back from where he’s been. Will only improve with another pre-season under his belt.

5. The Gameplan is there, the noise from the club is positive (‘we’ve had enough of this shit, let’s improve asap’, making noise about PP and drafting BS).

It all feels like we’ll be better off in 2026-27. I don’t think the 1 win really tells the whole story.

 

[Barrybran]

Pretty well covered in here.

Ginbey will be 1 or 2 in our B & F this year. After stumbling his way through as a midfielder in his first two seasons, he's found a home in defense and his game has gone to another level. He has the makings of a Blakey/Weddle type off half back in the future.

 

[Donkers]

1. McCarthy is an absolute bloody steal, is ready to go and is like an extra first round pick in the exact list hole we needed
2. Edwards has come on exceptionally well. He won't be good in some match ups but when the midfield has been able to hold up he has really built as the season has come on and has been great defensively and on rebound.
3. Shanahan is just an elite talent. Again a draft steal.
4. Baker is 99% certain to win our B+F and is well and truly worth the draft capital he cost.
5. Hewett returning from injury and building. I always worry with major foot injuries if the player will ever come back. Still needs 2 more preseasons but will be a very very good player.

HM to Harley Reid who came back not in the best shape and with an injury cloud but has really built into the season and has led the midfield as a guy who just turned 20.

 

[Boohemian]

At least wait for the season to finish so we can say that it's over.

 

[braddalzielleoursaviour]

1. McCarthy is going to be an asset for us moving forwards
2. Clubs awareness and activity in the compensation and priority pick space
3. Harley once he got going.
4. Hewett being largely injury free
5. Reubs has shown he can be a lock down on mid-talls, whilst also being able to tuck it under the arm and go. Work on your kicking son.

We’ll be better for it, happier than I was last year despite the 1 win. Another year into the young lads, another offseason to add some more talent and warm bodies, get it done WC.

 

[Altum Volantes]

Hmm.

They are all pretty soft positives for me.

1. As it stands, Harley appears keen to extend his stay.
2. Baker and Graham have both delivered as advertised.
3. Overall, the injury list has been less consistently deep (albeit, almost exclusively featuring our best senior players..)
4. Some brief patches of good football.
5. Games into young players in all areas of the ground - mixed results but good to see.

That's it I think.

For the most part it's been a horror show and I suspect that the final 4 games are not going to bring much to be positive about with our best 5 players (at the start of the season anyway) out of the team.

 

[ziad]

Been a tough year but AfL fixturing has been diabolical this year.

We’ve always played teams above us. How can that be?

they are against us - Saints must have problems

 

[Seadog]

After careful consideration ............................... Na I've got nothing.

 

[eaglesnutcase]

1.Our stocks of big men looks good with Reid,JW,Shanahan.
Waterman will love it.
2. HEd is looking very good.somewhere recently he worked out the spoil/mark differential.
3.HR sounds committed and with Hewett staying sound it’s a good starting point.
4.Macarthy what a steal.
5. Gross is a nice little sleeper.
We are getting games into our youngens and with our best ever draft No’s looming we have the basis of a nice squad going forward

 

[Carbine Chaos]

3) Hole in the wall at Chamonix. Pullet and fritz

I normally get something different there.

 

[shoutsatclouds]

I normally get something different there.

Ah, but do you get Pullet?

 

[kid_a]

+blooded loads of young players

+Ginbey has found his most effective role and he looks really good at it, will only get better.

+Hewett getting game time and actually looking good and developing

+Harley genuinely cares, sometimes to a fault, but you can't deny his intensity when he pulls on the jumper on match day

+The fans!.....averaging 44,000 to home games in a season where we have 1 win and most weeks rock up expecting to be beaten. Unlike Hawks fans and even Tigers fans who seem to scatter to the four winds when times are tough, a good portion of our fans still rock up and cheer hard and try to support the process instead of hurling abuse and threats at our players and staff (like Carlton and Port fans)

 

[DorothyG]

before the North game I was still pretty invested in the season . After that train wreck, I’ve pretty much checked out.
Only positive I can see is that after 4 years of pathetic showing after pathetic showing, they have broken me. I get a couple hours of my weekends back to do other things I enjoy.

I am really indifferent as to what will happen in the final games. This is a very freeing feeling, I can finally relate to people, like my wife, who have zero interest in the footy experience during the winter

 

[DanWCE]

before the North game I was still pretty invested in the season . After that train wreck, I’ve pretty much checked out.
Only positive I can see is that after 4 years of pathetic showing after pathetic showing, they have broken me. I get a couple hours of my weekends back to do other things I enjoy.

I am really indifferent as to what will happen in the final game. This is a very freeing feeling, I can finally relate to people, like my wife, who have zero interest in footy experience the winter

Tigers game for me. Was worse being there. Went to watch local rugby instead of watching the derby (got to see a nail biting win) but I've run out of other things to do today, particularly with the weather, so I'll be tuning into this one Warming up for it watching the Eagles Saints game with the young bloke

 

[sharps24]

1. Rawlinsons form at WAFL level, kids been involved in absolutely everything.

2. Harry Edwards Harry Edwardsing

3. Sandy Brock Sandy Brocking

4. Clay Hall Clay Halling

5. Harley Reid breaking up with the sister of our #1 pick. That could have gotten real awkward for the kid.

 

[Deepthroat]

I admire everyone's attempt at the exercise. It didn't unearth a lot for me, I think a few are wearing rose coloured glasses when it comes to our KB stocks. I also reckon whilst Baker has been one of the better players, there wasn't enough to justify the price tag.

The main 5 for me

1. Tom McCarthy
2. Ginbey in the backline (needs another season)
3. Hewett injury free and having decent clearance numbers in half his games
4. Harley's second half and signs for staying
5. Exposure for Jobe and Archer, both have shown enough to think there is plenty more to come

Apologies to Hough, Gross & Hall who have either taken a step forward or shown they have strong potential to.

 

[Obbig]

1. The VFL dont give a shit about the footy heart lands outside of Victoria.
2. Shanahan is probably gonna be awesome.
3. Hewitt, Harley probably gonna be formidable in 2-3 years.
4. Our Beagles dont win much but they are better.
5. High draft picks cannot be gambled away.