It was the swans who played ugly footy back then, not west coast. We were known for handball and ball on, when Kerr, Judd and Cousins were on their skills and run were exhilarating (watch Q1 of 2006 GF for example). The reason the Swans v Eagles were so close in games back then is they played two opposite styles that were great at cancelling each other out.This is a slight deviation - I think the best team of the lot from a pure footballing perspective was the 92-94 Eagles, but I enjoy watching the 2018 generation more than any other. This is a group of blokes more unified than I think we've ever seen at the club.
And let's be honest: 2005-2006 era Eagles was bloody ugly footy. It's not a comment on us, but a comment on where the game was at the time.