There’s an interesting situation developing at West Coast, with the Eagles preparing to ask some very tough questions at the end of the season.
As a team that finished just one game out of the top four last year, they should be disappointed by their start to the year. With five wins from the first nine rounds, they are in the top eight but they should be entrenched into the top four based on their young talent.
Giving away a 41 point lead to be beaten by Port Adelaide in Round 5, that game will have a big influence on the Eagles’ ladder position towards the end of the year.
Prior to the commencement of the current season, the mandate for the Eagles should always have been a top-four finish. With each passing week, it looks less and less likely.
They were pushed to the brink against Brisbane in Round 7, which most expected to be a walk in the park. In Round 8, it took a contentious free kick in the dying stages of the game, followed by Nic Naitanui taking the mark of the year to kick the winning goal after the siren.
Just because they’re not in the bottom half of the ladder, that should not excuse a team from performing below expectation.
From a leadership perspective, coach John Worsfold it out of contract at the end of the year. Captain Darren Glass is 32 years old and no certainty to continue playing on. He offered to hand over the captaincy at the start of the season only to voted back into the position by the playing group.
Given West Coast’s premiership window is wide open, the decision of whether Glass plays on will be solely on him. As the club’s second longest serving captain, behind only Worsfold, he will leave on his terms.
This may include playing on without the burden of captaincy, a common trend which has developed across league veterans.
The jury remains out on whether Worsfold should be brought back next season.
No decision should be made until after the season because the Eagles are very likely to make the finals. By midseason should it appear they will not, this is a whole different scenario.
It feels like Worsfold has been around forever and that is because he has been at the helm of a single team longer than any other in the league. At the end of the year, Worsfold will have coached the Eagles for 12 consecutive seasons which netted one premiership.
Additionally, he is a two-time premiership winning captain with the Eagles and appointing him as senior coach when he was just 32 years old has been justified.
At the end of the season, Worsfold will be just 45 years old. Yet he is second only to Mick Malthouse and Kevin Sheedy in AFL games coached among current senior coaches. The difference is that Worsfold is 15 years junior of Malthouse and 20 of Sheedy.
A powerful argument can be made for Worsfold to be the best investment an AFL club can make. He has many years in front of him and has experienced more success than others on the coaching market.
But is 12 years too long to be at one club? Nine was almost too long when the Eagles claimed the wooden spoon in 2010 and Worsfold’s future was in doubt.
Amazingly, he coached the Eagles from the wooden spoon to fourth the following season and gained a two year contract extension, which expires at the end of the current season.
Based on the fact Worsfold’s contract is still yet to be extended, there are hesitations from both the Eagles and Worsfold. The longer it is drawn out, speculation will continue to mount about a gargantuan offer from a rival club.
Again, Worsfold looms as the best investment in football.
The other key change will be the captaincy.
Beau Waters is currently the vice-captain and will be considered. However, two names which will come under serious consideration will be Scott Selwood and Mark LeCras.
Because Glass and Waters are both defenders, Scott Selwood has taken up the duties of calling the shots around the centre circle. With the guidance of veteran Daniel Kerr, Selwood’s visible emergence as a leader on the field is clear to all supporters.
The way he directs traffic is eerily similar to his older brother Joel, who captains Geelong.
Turning 24 next year and entering his seventh season, he is in the ideal age bracket to be appointed as club captain.
LeCras looms as the interesting name among list management discussions because he is a restricted free agent at the end of the season. He will be 27 years old next season and is one of the most sought after players among free agents.
He has returned from an ACL injury which derailed his 2012 season but has not lost anything in terms of his form.
Eased back into football by playing in the Eagles forward pocket, it is often forgotten that LeCras is a midfielder who plays his role in the forward line. Due to his success and the emergence of Selwood, Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff and Nic Naitanui as young midfield stars, LeCras’ midfield time is limited.
LeCras is a required player at West Coast but if he is to field offers from rival clubs, he will be offered more money elsewhere.
His loyalty should remain with the Eagles for sticking with him throughout his injury issues and as a West Australian native, his family are in the West.
The Eagles have the opportunity to prevent LeCras from hitting the open market but they would need to sign him pretty soon. The captaincy will not be assured during contract discussions but it will be in the back the LeCras camp’s minds.
For now, the only matter of concern for the Eagles will be playing football and making finals. September action should be a mere formality but with their talented list, top four should always have been the expectation.
As the season goes on, the more unlikely a top-four finish looks, the more questions will be asked of what direction the Eagles want to go.
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