The West Coast Eagles used to be such an arrogant powerhouse – and with good reason, too. Up until this decade, it was a renowned club that had continual success on and off the field. Even the short-lived dark times of Ken Judge and the drug saga, finals were the thing that was expected every year and the next premiership was never too far away.
All clubs, however, are susceptible to a great fall and the great giant of the West, through a series of misfortunes, fell harder than most. What was at first hoped to be a soft rebuild quickly turned into a full rebuild, with a majority of its list turning over in a relatively short period of time.
If we compare with the timelines of other recent rebuilds (e.g. Lions, Demons, Freo etc.) 2026 should be the year when some of the decisions (hopefully good ones) they’ve made since ‘’22/’23 start to bear fruit and fans start to believe in a future that doesn’t consist of contending for the spoon.
The Pieces
We won’t know if the drafting and trading decisions of 2022-25 were good for another couple of years, but if we try and select a team from current players aged 25 and under, it does look somewhat promising.
B: Harry Edwards, Sandy Brock, Brady Hough
HB: Josh Lindsay, Reuben Ginbey, Bo Allan
C: William Duursma, Dev Robertson, Hamish Davis
HF: Jacob Newton, Archer Reid, Elijah Hewett
F: Harry Schoenberg, Jobe Shanahan, Tylar Williams
R: Cooper Duff-Tytler, Harley Reid, Tom McCarthy
INT: Tom Gross, Ryan Maric, Lucca Greggo, Harry Barnett, Rhett Bazzo
At a glance, not a terrible future as I would estimate that 70 percent of these players are going to make it as players, even if the forward lines look a little thin. But just to solidify my thinking, here is a breakdown of my confidence level with each player.
Who am I sold on?
Harry Edwards, Brady Hough, Reuben Ginbey, Jobe Shanahan, Harley Reid, Tom McCarthy
Absolutely sold on these boys! Both reassuring that half of them will help fill in the depleted backline, but also alarming there are no small forwards!
Who do I predict will make good players?
William Duursma, Cooper Duff-Tytler, Jacob Newton, Hamish Davis, Josh Lindsay, Elijah Hewett
Elijah Hewett is on the precipice of jumping off this list into “I’m sold.” All he needs is some more consistency and a solid season without injury.
Surprisingly, the two boys I am bullish on don’t get much of the spotlight – Jacob Newton and Hamish Davis.
Newton may be small in stature, but can play much taller in the forward line and has clean hands and explosive power that could see him in the midfield one day. Selected with a second round mid season draft pick, this kid could be an absolute bargain.
Davis apparently has a lot of respect within the club. I’ve loved what I’ve seen so far. He’s a great runner and has a good eye for the game. Can see him running up and down the wings, or maybe high forward, for years to come.
Who needs to show me something?
Sandy Brock, Bo Allan, Dev Robertson, Tom Gross, Archer Reid , Harry Schoenberg, Tylar Williams
I was really into Gross last year, but he seems to have taken a step back in his development. Bo Allan had a disrupted season last year and hopefully can get a good run at it and show some potential. Unfortunately for Bo Allan, his name will always be associated with the infamous pick 3 trade to Carlton and the fact Freo picked up Murphy Reid two picks later in the 2024 draft.
Who I’ve given up on
Harry Barnett, Ryan Maric, Lucca Greggo
I know some people are very big on Ryan Maric, but I am not one of them. He can certainly accumulate the numbers, but his ball handling skills, particularly under pressure, his decision making and his defensive efforts make me shout at the TV.
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That exercise suggests the Eagles future, with a few astute trades and drafts, will rise up the ladder in the coming years when they’ve pumped 50-100 games into this squad.
I am quite optimistic about West Coast in the future, but for 2026 I would definitely land in the camp of pessimism. So when I see some of the rhetoric from the club over the preseason, I have to say I am a bit pissed off. I know clubs have to try and engage their membership, but I think they need to read the room better.
The 2026 preseason of bullshit
We all know that one person who talks themselves up despite the reality that they aren’t as good as they think they are. Well, if a club could embody a person, this is the type of person the West Coast Eagles would be at the moment.
Despite having a horror season of 1 win, for some unexplainable reason, the club has decided to hype themselves up to their supporters about their chances in the 2026 season, which has started giving me Carlton vibes, a la, they know we’re coming.
In recent days, West Coast released a piece of propaganda so delusional that even Hitler would be inspired to take notes. All the Way West ironically calls out to supporters to join the team to have heart and nerve, something that I have not seen from the club in some time. Furthermore, this sleek piece of marketing promoting “The West” feels completely out of place in the current environment where most clubs likely enjoy coming to Perth to easily secure 4 points and a trip to the beach.
Additionally, when you have their own players like Tom McCarthy say things like the following quote and openly telling fans they’ll win 10 games this year, you start to understand how people can drink the Kool aid like in Jonestown.
“So if any Eagles fans out there are sort of wondering how we’re going to go this year, I wouldn’t look at the praccy. Practice matches are nothing. They’re a learning for us. We’re hopefully going to go and dominate this year.”
Even Liam Duggan, the captain who has seen his fair share of misery, used hyperbole like they were “on the path back to the top” and “What I am seeing day to day gives me enormous confidence.”
Look, there is every possibility that they know something us fans do not and that the preseason flogging by Port Adelaide was some kind of fever dream and not a precursor to things to come. After the absolutely demolition of Geelong on Friday night, I bet a lot of Eagles supporters will be a tad bit nervous about their first round opponents, the Suns.
Logically, they already have enough talent in the team to win at least 5 games, but due to the last few years of poor performance and mistrust, I just can’t get on board with this newfound optimism until I see some action on the field.
Until then, all this preseason hype is indulgent and should be ignored. So my challenge to the West Coast Eagles is to simply shut up or put up.
