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There is a saying that goes, just because it was a bad ending, doesn’t mean it was a great story.
These words can be applied to the West Coast Eagles’ 2015 season, as they overcame all odds to reach the grand final in a magical run, only to fall by 46 points at the final hurdle against Hawthorn.
Despite the poor showing on grand final day, what the Eagles accomplished last season shouldn’t, and simply cannot, be overlooked.
Anything that could go wrong did go wrong for West Coast earlier in the season and it started with a slew of injuries to the backline.
Eric Mackenzie, one of the club’s leaders, blew out his ACL in the first game of the NAB Challenge, a massive blow that spelt doom for the Eagles season.
How could they possibly overcome the loss of one of their leaders and the regaining club best and fairest? The pundits were quick to write West Coast off and considered them outsiders to make the eight.
Come Round 1 against the Western Bulldogs, though, and things only got worse. Mitch Brown, another key cog in that Eagles defence, suffered a similar knee injury to Mackenzie, which put an end to his season.
For all intents and purposes, the Eagles’ wings were cut off before they could even begin to fly in 2015.
Well, Adam Simpson and his men used these injuries as motivation, and the Eagles, after losing two of their first three games, soared back up the ladder to finish with 16 wins, dominating anyone who got in their way.
With West Coast putting the AFL on notice in 2015, they now gear up for an equally dominant 2016 season, and who’s to argue they won’t be better this time around?
For one, the aforementioned Mackenzie and Brown return from injury to bolster a backline, which held up fine without them. The emergence of Jeremy McGovern, Brad Sheppard and the reinvention of Sharrod Wellingham helped West Coast hold-up down back.
Up front, the Eagles are led by goal-kicking machine Josh Kennedy, who is simply getting better and better with every passing season. Despite his almost comical run-up when kicking for goal, no one can argue with the effectiveness and impact Kennedy makes in front of goal.
Assisting Kennedy is the always reliable Mark LeCras, the big-bodied Jack Darling and the newest Eagle, Lewis Jetta, who brings a spark to West Coast’s forward line.
In the middle is where West Coast shine though.
Led by former Brownlow Medalist Matt Priddis, the Eagles field one of, if not the, best midfields in the entire league. Surrounding Priddis are the likes of Chris Masten, Andrew Gaff, Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo, Dom Sheed and former Lion Jack Redden.
With freak of nature Nic Naitanui in the ruck, the Eagles have oodles of talent in the midfield, which very few clubs, if any, can match.
Best 22
B: Shannon Hurn, Eric Mackenzie, Will Schofield
HB: Brad Sheppard, Jeremy McGovern, Sharrod Wellingham
C: Andrew Gaff, Matt Priddis, Elliot Yeo
HF: Jamie Cripps, Jack Darling, Lewis Jetta
F: Josh Hill, Josh Kennedy, Mark LeCras
Foll: Nic Naitanui, Luke Shuey, Chris Masten
INT: Jack Redden, Scott Lycett, Dom Sheed, Mitch Brown
MVP: Matt Priddis
The Eagles’ curly-haired leader, Priddis is the definition of class, as he is one of the AFL’s most prolific ball winners. The 2014 Brownlow Medalist, who in a funny occurrence of events has finished second in the Eagles’ best and fairest count the last two years, arguably is coming off his best season.
Priddis topped his numbers from his Brownlow-winning season in most of the major statistical categories (apart from kicks), as he averaged 29.6 disposals, 19.7 handballs, 10.0 kicks and 7.3 tackles per game.
He would finish first in the AFL in handballs, tackles and clearances last season and there is no denying he will be even better in 2016, a scary thought for the rest of the league.
Future Star: Dom Sheed
In an extremely tough Eagles midfield, Sheed willed his way in and after numerous impressive performances is now a lock in West Coast’s best 22. He is also lining up to be one of the stars of the future in the AFL.
The 11th pick in the 2013 national draft, Sheed played in all 23 games last season, after only appearing in ten games in his debut season. In those 23 games, Sheed put up averages of 19.5 disposals, 10.0 kicks, 9.6 handballs, 3.0 marks and 2.3 tackles. He displayed last season how he can be an efficient force in moving the Eagles forward and expect him to get better as his career goes on.
Make or Break: Scott Lycett
With Callum Sinclair gone, Lycett now steps into the secondary ruck role behind Naitanui and after an inconsistent 2015, he needs to start performing at a steadier rate in 2016.
Lycett played in only six games last season but did have a monstrous outing against Hawthorn in Round 19, where he put up 20 disposals, laid seven tackles and had an impressive 39 hit-outs.
Those games are where Lycett shows he has all the potential to be an ideal back-up to Naitanui – he just needs to put it all together and show that talent every week.
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