Seven untold stories from West Coast in 2015

West Coasts #1 mid field is Selwood, Priddis, Gaff and NicNat for me, # 2 is Masten, Shuey, Rosa, Lycett Freo is Fyfe, Mundy, Crowley, Sandi, Number 2 is Barlow, Hill, Mzungu, Clarke Geez the Dockers have the Eagles on toast with both those matchups! But I think that West Coast will beat Freo this year ..... in the NAB challenge like they did last year

LeCras finished the season nicely and you saw his confience building the longer the year progressed. Kicking 12 goals against the Bombers at Docklands was the major highlight of his 2014 campaign and I'm quietly confident now that he has had the plates removed from his arm that he is set for his best year since 2011. What that means exactly is yet to be determined of course. Unfortunately Darling hasn't completed even 1 minute of pre-season this year so that takes some gloss off the LeCras news unfortunately and is a good example of the revolving door I was referring to earlier. One comes back in and another goes out but all teams have to deal with that I know. I still belwive that if WC has a decent enough run with injuries that the midfield is good enough to do what they need to without setting the world on fire because of the strength of their attacking and defensive lines,

Lroy, this is what you wrote about Priddis on Aug 14th last year - 5 weeks before he won the Brownlow so no apologies from me for taking your comments with a grain of salt. "Priddis and Masten rack up stats.. half their disposals hit the opposition… still not sold on those 2" http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/08/10/west-coast-beat-collingwood-60-points-keep-finals-hopes-alive/ Not sold on Priddis hey? You've been under valuing him on here for years.... Dear oh dear, and you're still bagging Rosa. I've disagreed with you for a long time on your assessment of WC players so it's just a case of same old same old I'm afraid and for the most part you've got it wrong imho.

Freo has a far more structurally set line-up while WC is building a flexible line-up so it's a little bit different but I get the point you are trying to make. There is no doubt that WC's midfield is it's weakest link but it's nowhere near as weak as many pundits believe but they will be challenged if too many mids get injured. The forward line and defense is pretty elite, especially the forward line and that compensates for the midfield somewhat. Let's go through the players I listed as mids one by one and see who is right. The Pies classified Wellingham as a midfielder with the likes of Pendles, Beam, Swan and Thomas etc in the side so I say he's a mid for sure and he's had a cracker of a pre-season according to Simmo so fingers crossed that he will deliver http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/collingwood-midfielder-sharrod-wellingham-nominates-west-coast-as-his-club-of-choice/story-fn69a32t-1226487655226 The Hawks labelled Ellis as a midfielder as well so he's a mid http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/free-agent-xavier-ellis-leaves-hawthorn-to-join-west-coast-eagles/story-fn69a32t-1226740907343 Hutchings came 2nd in the Sandover Medal as a mid and WC have named him as a mid so not sure why you keep resisting? http://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/news/2013-09-17/hutchings-leads-eagle-count Lucas is known as a wingman which is the same as a mid to me http://www.carltonfc.com.au/player-profile/kane-lucas Sheed, Sheppard and Duggan are all midfielders but Sheppard was used mainly in defense last year so he's the only little question mark out of that trio. McGinnity is a tagger in the midfield or forward line so let's split that 50/50 if you like http://www.footywire.com/club/sports/player-2720-biography.html Cripps is a forward that can run through the middle so I will give you that one. Darling could be an incredible midfielder if they wanted to him to play that role and he spent time in there last year. He's a natural a footy player as you get (barring a couple of indigenous boys), same as McGovern. Smart, skilful, hard at the ball, can play small or tall, strong overhead and can run all day. McGovern can also pinch hit in the ruck like the Q-Stick used to. Nic Nat has completed his first pre-season in 2 years and his ability to create something out of nothing is a genuine x factor around the stoppages which helps the midfield no end, not forgetting his sublime tap work and leap. I'm pretty sure that I just proved that it was the right call by me to name all of them mids, expect maybe Cripps and Shepp, even though they can both play as mids. I love it when people read 'expert opinions' and then proceed to comment like experts when the reality is that they don't know as much as they think they do. I know that sounds arrogant but don't take it that way. It's just that I'm confident that I know my team better than most and I'm sure that you know your team better than I do. I try to be careful when commenting on lists that I don't know intimately as I do WC's and by intimately I mean watching all (or most of their games) as you simply can't trust the experts because they have to keep abreast of 18 teams while my focus is on one. Especially Victorian experts commenting on interstate teams, Gerald Healy is an exception eg Mackenzie had a better and more consistent year than Rance. He and Priddis should both have been AA but they weren't because the Vic experts don't see enough of them eg the likes of Frawley and Bartlett et al don't have a clue to be frank, just look at their tipping results. Jakovich and Healy voted strongly for Mackenzie but were outvoted by the Vic mafia, can't recall how they voted on Pridda. Obviously it's impossible to predict what will happen but I'm optimistic and hopeful that WC is going to rattle some of the fancied teams and make the 8 which will be a pass mark. 2015 is still very much a development year. Priddis turns 30 in March and he is the oldest player on the list. 2016 and beyond is when I am expecting them to make a very serious push. I'm just looking for improvement this year and if they can improve they should make the 8 when you look at what they did last year.

Jax we're talking about a different Le Cras. You're talking about the guy who was an A-grade small forward in 2009-2011, while I'm talking about the guy with questionable confidence and resilience in 2015. Neither of us is talking about Le Cras the star midfielder because he never existed. I loved watching Le Cras in 2009-2011 and I hope he returns to form in 2015. But even if he does, it won't solve WC's biggest problem, which is a lack of gun midfielders. Ps. You also need to stop living in the past about Cox as an A-grader.

do Ballas and Watters run through the midfield regularly like LeCras does? If they do then you are right. LeCras is primarily a forward I agree but he spends time in the midfield in most games. Simmo made it very clear that he wanted players to be able to change positions seamlessly, like he did when he was Clarko's assistant at the Hawks and I saw that beginning to happen last year and I'm expecting to see more of it this year.

LeCras is as much as midfielder as Ballas and Walters.

That's a harsh assessment of the WAFL teams to include West Coast in the top 2 teams in WA

I would not include any of those players as "mid fielders" - they are stop gap in that position. If you're going to call them midfielders then Ballantyne, Walters, Ibbotson, Sutcliffe, Duffield and Spurr are all midfielders for Freo. But I would agree that all of them can run through the midifeld, usually chasing an opponent who has the ball and that they can't catch.

LeCras has alternated between the midfield and forward line at various times for at least 5-6 years and you didn't know that? You said he was a medium loss at best, and you forgot that he is an All Australian and you want me to trust your judgement on the WC list and 2015 fortunes? Here's an ABC article from 2011 confirming LeCras played midfield http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/27/3201805.htm?site=perth Watch them play instead of reading about them. I'm not using injuries as an excuse for WC not playing finals last year. Blind Freddy knows that less injuries means more competition for spots and players playing to their strengths and nothing beats players stringing games together. I am saying that injuries were a significant factor for WC last year, as was the entirely new coaching team and game plan. The best teams overcome those challenges and WC didn't, so what. They are a very young list and they will learn from it. If they have a decent run with injuries they should make the 8. That's not difficult to make a case for IMO (re-read Cam's post please) WC's have had major injury problems for 3 years running. If you were to count the number of injuries, their timing and rank them over 3 years WC would most likely be in the Top 3 of worst hit teams over 3 years. That's just a guess and I'd love it if someone ran the numbers as it would be an interesting piece. It's not just about games played, it's also about very important players playing with injuries or being underdone eg LeCras 2013-14, Nic Nat 2013-14, Josh Kennedy played 9 games with a dud foot in 2012. Watters, the vice-captain of WC and AA half-back in 2012 hasn't played for 2 years. Then there are the players like Rosa that had a standout 2012 and a horrid 2013-14 with injuries. He would come back after a 5 week layoff and plays 1-3 games before going out again and he's not the only one. I encourage you to look more closely at WC's injuries between 2012-2014. I am confident that you will see key players have missed large chunks, or had interrupted stints. They were decimated in 2013 with up to 11 players from the best 22 missing in one game and 4-8 of them for big parts of the season. It was a revolving door week in week out. You need momentum to be moving in the right direction, especially with young lists like WC's (WC's list is 0.3 days older than Port's). 3 years of sustained injuries takes it toll on a team in many ways not least win/loss ratio. Just like great injury runs builds positive momentum which naturally increases a teams chances of winning. In closing let me be very clear (and summarise) my position. WC did not deserve to play finals last year or the year before because they weren't good enough. I think they have a strong chance of making the 8 this year, that doesn't mean that they will. If they have a decent run with injuries they will surprise other top 8 and top 4 sides. They won't win all of them but they will win some and they will scare others and push them right to the end.

Dude, Rosa cant hit the side of a barn from 5 yards. His disposal is shocking, its one of the reasons our forwards have been struggling. He kicks it over their heads, or bobbles it up 5 yards in front of them, they prop, get creamed, turnover. The reason we won the 06 flag was because he wasnt in the side. He should have been traded years ago.

Are we talking about the same Mark LeCras? I'm talking about the Mark LeCras that made the 2009 initial AA squad. Many said that he should have made the final team with his 58 goal return. He backed up his 2009 year by being named in the final 2010 Final squad after a 63 goal return. I'm pretty sure that he was named in the 2011 initial squad with 47 goals but I can't be sure of that. How you can name an AA class act like LeCras 'just good' is beyond me. It is very clear to everyone that he was at the top of his game and then this happened. In Feb 2012 he ruptured his ACL and missed the entire season. He came back in 2013 only to break his arm in of the very early rounds. He came back early and played injured because WC were trying to back up their 2012 Prelim Final. In 2014 he started to show glimpses of his pre-injury form only to re-injure his arm again. I'm happy to say that he had the plates removed from his arm during the off-season so fingers crossed that he can get back to his very best because he is a sublimely skilled player.. Do you remember the 2011-2012 WC teams that played the defensive press as good as anyone? It got them to a Prelim in 2012. That defensive pressure is still there if Simmo wants to, and is able to turn it back on. Selwood and Nic Nat played major defensive roles and both of weren't right last year. Losing an AA player at the top of his game (LeCras) for the best part of 3 years is no small matter (2012-2014). Nor is losing another AA and touted Glass replacement in Watters for the last 3 years. Or another AA in Nic Nat that has played injured for 2 seasons and never competed a pre-season.

Le Cras a midfielder? I'll admit he's a good small forward, particularly against Melbourne. But your problems were in the midfield so Le Cras was a medium loss - not a major one like some of the key players the Hawks and Dockers lost. As for Rosa and Selwood, they're mediocre (have you checked Rosa's tackle count and defensive run?) but mediocre midfielders are a dime a dozen. Many teams can say they were missing a couple of mediocre midfielders. Again not half as damaging as losing Mitchell or Fyfe. Cox was obviously a top ruckman a couple of years ago but no more. Gaff is in the Rosa class for defensive incapacity, and he didn't get injured anyway. Schofield and Brown are good defenders but that's not where you lost games last year, and they both played most of the season anyway. WC players just aren't as good as good as the Perth media make them out to be. And you struggled last year because you had a poor midfield in particular - not because of injuries.

Saying that WC may have missed LeCras, Rosa and Selwood 'just a little' shows how little you know about the list. LeCras is widely acknowledged as a gun player that can play as a forward or midfielder. Rosa is a link man with a great outside game that would get him a starting guernsey in any team but injuries continue to dog his career and Selwood is WC's #1 tagger. How can those injuries (on top of the other injuries) have had little significance on WC in 2014? In fact the opposite is true. The lower that you rate their list the more important these omissions become as they don't have the depth of some of the higher placed teams to cover for them. You said that WC only had 7 decent players on their list last year. I disagree and the following names may help jog your memory. Granted, some of these players are more 'decent' than others and maybe a few can be removed but the vast majority of them are 'decent players'. Cox, LeCras, McGovern, Gaff, Rosa, Selwood, Watters, Ellis, Yeo, Brown, Butler, Masten, Bennell, Wellingham, Lycett, Schofield, Hutchings, Sinclair and Sheppard. I don't read papers. I watch WC play and make up my own mind. Keep drinking the kool-aid the Melbourne press feeds you but be careful how much you consume as they are known kill brain cells.

Jax there's no doubt injuries to top players can affect a team's performance. But if WC doesn't have any more or less injuries than any other team, and the injuries are mostly to mediocre players anyway, it sounds like you're just making excuses. Who really cares how many games Josh Hill and Sharod Wellingham missed in 2014? Here's a list of games in 2014 by your only decent players down there: Priddis (22), Hurn (18), Shuey (20), McKenzie (22), Josh Kennedy (20), Jack Darling (22), Natanui (20). That's a good run compared to the Hawks' and Dockers' injuries to top tier players last year. And even your next tier of players had a reasonable run with injury. Le Cras, Rosa and Scott Selwood were maybe missed a little, but every club has those sort of problems. Try reading some Melbourne newspapers so you don't get an overinflated view of WC players.

Gecko you wrote the following on this thread yesterday http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/02/10/2015-afl-season-preview/#comments So, you're acknowledging that injuries are a "HEAVY" factor in one post analysing the fortunes of the Hawks and Freo (2014 top 4 teams) and then you kiss off the significance of injuries when analysisng WC fortunes (2014 missed the finals). WC is clearly the weakest of these 3 teams so how can keep a straight face and cite injuries as a 'HEAVY' factor for the Hawks and Freo and not apply that same logic to a clearly weaker WC?. That doesn't make any sense Gecko and you are clearly biased. Which one of your opinions are we to believe and when? This is what your wrote on the other thread: "Author: Gecko Comment: Tim that was good fun. The debate about contenders will rest heavily on the timing of injuries. With so many ageing players, the Hawks and Freo will be sure to cop injuries - just like they did last year. One key difference last year was that McPharlin was missing at the end of the season whereas the Hawks' key players were all fit come September. I agree with Michael's list of contenders below, and will maybe throw in Essendon (if they somehow evade suspensions), Geelong (need one young midfielder to 'emerge') and Brisbane (need a full forward to emerge, letting Merritt return down back) as outside chances." End quote

where do you think will WC will finish?

lol

They're certainly one of the best two teams in WA.

WC don't have a perennial problem attracting non-WA players, not sure where you got that from? WC haven't tried to attract many non-WA players and when they have they've often got their man. No different to any other team I would have thought. I agree that in theory it is harder to attract non-WA players across the sand but I don't think its been an issue as they haven't gone after many that they haven't got.