Have the West Coast Eagles been figured out?

After two losses on the trot, many are wondering whether the West Coast Eagles have lost the hunger to defend their premiership in 2019.

Minus premiership players Jack Redden and Tom Barrass, the Eagles suffered their worst defeat of the season so far, going down to the Geelong Cats by nearly ten goals at GMHBA Stadium in the final match of Round 6.

It continued their woes at a ground where they have not won since 2006, when they famously came from some 50 points down to clinch a thrilling three-point win.

This followed their 42-point loss to Port Adelaide at home last week in which they managed just eight goals, while they were also beaten by the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba by 44 points in Round 1, also only managing eight goals on that occasion.

Both of those matches were played in either wet weather or very greasy conditions as was the case in Bris Vegas, where the Eagles led by 27 points at quarter-time only to see the Lions romp their way to an easy victory in front of their home fans.

And in their Round 4 win against Fremantle, they were hardly convincing, as they allowed the Dockers to compete after quarter-time, at which point the Eagles had kicked five goals to nil, eventually settling for a 13-point win.

But it was in Round 5 when the Power provided the blueprint to beating the reigning premiers, shutting down their much-vaunted forward line and kicking nine goals to two in the first half to set up the victory.

Against the Cats in a match played in perfect conditions, the Eagles fared worse, kicking only two goals in the first quarter and a total of just seven for the whole match despite the best efforts of Andrew Gaff, who gathered 30 disposals.

By contrast, the Cats kicked seven goals in the first quarter on their way to a 58-point victory, eventually booting a total of 15.14 (104) – the highest score kicked against the reigning premiers in a match so far this season.

It was clear that Chris Scott had done his homework and studied the Lions’ and Power’s recent victories over the Eagles to a great degree.

Central to the win was a best-on-ground performance from Gary Ablett – who stands to become the oldest player in modern history to win the Brownlow Medal should he maintain his rich vein of form – as well as four goals from Gary Rohan.

Ablett is one of only four players – the others being Harry Taylor, Joel Selwood and Tom Hawkins – remaining from the 2009 premiership side, and one of two from the 2007 side that beat Port Adelaide in the grand final, the other being Selwood, who was in his debut season.

(Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)

It was 12 years ago that the Cats handed the Eagles – also the defending premiers at the time – their first defeat of the season at Kardinia Park.

That was the second of 15 consecutive victories they would enjoy in a year when they ended a 44-year premiership drought.

The Cats have also started this season well, and a similarly timed win over the Eagles – also at home – could set them up to finally deliver a premiership to their fans while Ablett, Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield are playing together.

They could so easily have been undefeated to start the season had they not taken the foot off the pedal after half-time in their Round 4 match against the GWS Giants, at which point they led by 21 points, eventually going down by four.

Highlighting the evenness of the competition, the Giants had been beaten by the Eagles by 52 points in Round 2.

That was the only time the Eagles have managed to crack the ton so far this season – on that occasion they booted 15.12 (102) – but many will attribute it to the Giants playing very poorly than the Eagles playing well.

As for the Eagles, they’ll be keen to bounce back when they welcome the Gold Coast Suns to Optus Stadium on Saturday night – but while they should start favourites, they’ll be wary of a Suns side that has been reasonably competitive this season, their past fortnight aside.

Coach Adam Simpson will warn his side not to take the wooden-spoon favourites lightly, like we saw in Round 18 last year when the Sydney Swans suffered a shock 24-point defeat at home, which would eventually derail their season.

It will eventually come down to attitude to see how the Eagles respond from their latest shocker, and whether they can regain the form that saw them claim an unexpected premiership win last year.

While unlikely, another loss on Saturday night could make things all the more interesting in the race for this year’s flag.