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He's got two young kids. Be lucky to remember what he got up to last week. 4 years takes us to 2019. Not worth reading into
Training Pre-Season 2023 (First game 18/3 v North)
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He's got two young kids. Be lucky to remember what he got up to last week. 4 years takes us to 2019. Not worth reading into
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5 takes us to 2018, it was an attempt at humour...
Kane Cornes commenting on us is odd, I thought he was too busy going after Sonja Hood & North.
I didn’t realise he was capable of more than 1 story at a time.
I didn’t realise he was capable of more than 1 story at a time.
Barnett isn't as skinny as I thought he was. Bunga isn't a key position player but he's actually stockier than a lot key forwards.
If he does break into the side via WAFL form, he does look like he could be physically ready at 18. Sorta like Lycett was in 2011
If he does break into the side via WAFL form, he does look like he could be physically ready at 18. Sorta like Lycett was in 2011
Culley. 100% Culley.
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I thinks some posters are either trying to rewrite history or have very short memories.
We're all West Coast fans here, we don't need to circle the wagons and protect the club.
The truth is the rot set in long before the 2022 season. Are we seriously forgetting 2021, in particular the second half of season losing streak where we just couldn't run out games? We refused to tackle? No chasing and players jogging around? Ring a bell?
There is no way anyone who closely follows West Coast seriously believes that our problems began last season with Covid and before that everything was fine?
If anything Covid and injuries was the blessing in disguise (draftwise) that took us from a underperforming midtable season to a ridiculously underperforming bottom of table season.
Now I'll throw this out there and I don't care who believes me or not (you can decide if my posting record is the one of an obvious liar):
I know that in 2021 things were messy behind closed doors between some players (animosity from players that gave a * towards players that didn't).
And I know in 2020 when Covid started certain players wrote the season off and made unguarded and flippant boasts about how they now regarded the season which was then reflected in our abysmal start to the season (contrast this with how Richmond went about it).
Simmo is a legend and a top coach - I'm glad we're backing him in to see if he can get us back up - but the fault does have to lie with him alongside the players for not taking control of certain issues and mindsets along the way that lead to the mess we are/were in.
But beyond just the mess - we squandered 2019 and 2020 as years we really, truly, srsly should have given it a serious shake.
That said, I'm excited about this season and it really does seem like the penny has dropped.
We're all West Coast fans here, we don't need to circle the wagons and protect the club.
The truth is the rot set in long before the 2022 season. Are we seriously forgetting 2021, in particular the second half of season losing streak where we just couldn't run out games? We refused to tackle? No chasing and players jogging around? Ring a bell?
There is no way anyone who closely follows West Coast seriously believes that our problems began last season with Covid and before that everything was fine?
If anything Covid and injuries was the blessing in disguise (draftwise) that took us from a underperforming midtable season to a ridiculously underperforming bottom of table season.
Now I'll throw this out there and I don't care who believes me or not (you can decide if my posting record is the one of an obvious liar):
I know that in 2021 things were messy behind closed doors between some players (animosity from players that gave a * towards players that didn't).
And I know in 2020 when Covid started certain players wrote the season off and made unguarded and flippant boasts about how they now regarded the season which was then reflected in our abysmal start to the season (contrast this with how Richmond went about it).
Simmo is a legend and a top coach - I'm glad we're backing him in to see if he can get us back up - but the fault does have to lie with him alongside the players for not taking control of certain issues and mindsets along the way that lead to the mess we are/were in.
But beyond just the mess - we squandered 2019 and 2020 as years we really, truly, srsly should have given it a serious shake.
That said, I'm excited about this season and it really does seem like the penny has dropped.
Last edited:
Keys
Looking for a cloud to yell at
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- #2,786
Agreed pretty much
Which is why I posted this earlier
As you say our problems started at the beginning of 2020 in the lead up to and during the first hub. What started as fault lines became full on fractures by the mid point of 2021 and we fell apart to close out that season
The repair job was done during that off season and in the lead up to the 2022 season things were on track until injury and covid derailed everything. It was noticeable during 2022 that despite the terrible results the onfield acrimony that surfaced in 2021 wasn’t evident. All things considered morale held up reasonably well
That unity has helped provide the foundation for a much improved preseason this year
A short sentence then
Agree with most of what you say - however it seems many on both sides of this circular debate (or are we all on the same side if it is a circle...?) are rewriting history.
Back half of 2021 was pathetic, probably worse than 2022 if looked at as a capability vs output rather than just results based analysis. But the first half of 2021 was OK - We won 8 games, lost other games by 7, 20, 97, 16, 16. 97 point loss was to Geelong, but none of the others were blowouts.
If our fitness (running capability and strength) dropped off that much from the mid-season bye to the next game then lets chase a government grant for research as it will rewrite everything we know about sports science. The reality is that it was a little bit of injury 'luck' (TBH things like OP and stress fractures should have been diagnosed prior to turning into serious issues) and a LOT of lack of mental and physical application from players.
I'd say we were at about average or maybe in the bottom half of AFL fitness standards in 2021 (not miles off the pace as some are suggesting), and that flowed into 2022 where we were behind the 8-ball prior to all of the issues.
Keys
Looking for a cloud to yell at
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Write up on Oscar Allen as he prepares to fill a JK sized hole. One of a number of players I’m looking forward to watching this year
Oscar Allen has big boots to fill – specifically, the ones worn by Josh Kennedy, the Eagles’ two-time Coleman Medallist and the club’s leading goalkicker on eight occasions.
Before a crook foot kept him out of football for all of 2022, the Eagles were ready to back Allen’s ability to fill big shoes in the lead up to the 2018 grand final against Collingwood. With Jeremy McGovern in doubt and nursing a rib injury, Allen, then 19 and still a skinny kid, was placed on standby in case McGovern didn’t come up.
He had played just two AFL games at the time.
Allen’s next opportunity for big shoe-filling comes on Friday at Mineral Resources Park as West Coast ramps up match simulation intensity in the run into matches.
The Eagles, coming off a season where injuries became the norm, are nervous about losing a swag of players before Round 1 again. They will be more nervous about Allen than most.
Allen is happy to admit his own nerves.
“I won’t lie to you, I will be nervous. We had match simulation a couple of weeks ago and I was nervous taking part in that,” Allen told CODE Sports. “It is a natural part of the game and it means you care about it. If people say they are not nervous most of them would be lying.
“I will be nervous but I am really confident in what not only the strength and conditioning staff but the sports science guys have put in to get me to this stage to allow me to play at a high level.”
Allen, 23, has played 59 games in a career that has offered glimpses of how good he might be even though he has spent much of it playing roles he was not specifically designed for.
He has kicked 66 goals and the Eagles have already had a sneak preview that leaves them confident he will grow into a very good power forward even if he has to replace a champion like Kennedy.
He kicked 28 goals in 2021: a number that is neither imposing nor underwhelming. But the figures hide the potential. He kicked 16 of them in the first six games when playing as a second or third marking target in attack. He scored in every game and his efforts included hauls of four and five.
It was a formline that led 1988 Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy to rate him the best emerging forward in the AFL. The field Healy was assessing included Ben and Max King and Aaron Naughton.
Still, it’s a role he hasn’t played often to date. He has spent much of his career as ruck support for Nic Naitanui or the spare tall defender in case McGovern or Tom Barrass needed a spell.
This was what the Eagles had to weigh when they drafted Allen at pick No. 21 in the 2017 national draft after he had won the Larke Medal as the best player at the national under 18 titles that year.
West Coast couldn’t believe Allen was still on the table at that pick.
But they didn’t need a key forward with Kennedy and Jack Darling in the team.
They didn’t need a key defender either with McGovern and Barrass at that end.
What they did need was ruck support for Naitanui who, explosive as he is, does not have the tank to get through full games. So Allen took one for the team. Actually, he took the best part of three seasons for the team before injury got him in 2022.
He is philosophical about it.
Versatility meant opportunity.
“I was under no illusions,” he said. “If I hadn’t played that role then I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to play in the first place. I might not have played anywhere near the amount of games and had the exposure that I have had.
“I am grateful to the club for doing that but I know the coaching staff and myself have always seen it as a long-term goal for me to play as a key position forward and I am looking forward to that goal this year.”
He learned to see the lighter side of it as well: “I definitely learned to deal with bigger bodies and when someone is stronger than you maybe you have just got to run around the ground a bit more. I definitely learned a lot playing on Nic in match simulations and having him bash me round for half an hour.”
“I am a big advocate that if you are a footballer you should be able to play everywhere,” Allen continued. “You definitely become a more rounded player and you probably understand the game a bit better as well.”
Allen suffered his long-term injury 12 months ago when he reported foot soreness and scans revealed a stress-related bone issue. A few months and a couple of setbacks later, the club ruled him out for the season.
“At the start of the season when the injury first happened we were pretty keen to get going as soon as possible,” he said. “It wasn’t a rushed approach but it was a fast-forwarded rehab.
“Around the midway point of the year I had a little setback and at that stage with the club we made the decision that it wasn’t going to be possible to get back out there without rushing. It wasn’t something that the club and I weren’t prepared to risk when it could potentially affect this season.”
So far, signs are pointing to a full recovery.
“Once the injury happened it did play on my mind – how important it is to have your feet working in good order to play footy or even just go out for a run,” he said. “For the last two-to-three months I have been participating in full contact match simulation drills and I haven’t noticed it once at all. It is not something that plays on my mind anymore.”
Eagles captain Luke Shuey said it was “handy” to have someone as good as Allen in the frame to replace Kennedy this season.
“I think we had all forgotten how good he actually is,” Shuey said this week. “Some of the stuff we have seen him do (in the pre-season) has been a little reminder.
Allen and Darling will be the two targets the Eagles aim at this year after Kennedy’s retirement. Allen believes there is already chemistry there.
“I have learned a lot off Josh and Jack over the last couple of years,” he said. “There were games in the past where Josh wasn’t there because he was nursing an injury or in the pre-season and I think Jack and I had some great chemistry.
“I am really looking forward to seeing what we can do out there and also to challenging myself.”
He described the events of 2022 as a “reality check”.
“It makes you realise how quickly things can change,” Allen continued. “You live a really fortunate life as a footballer. It is a dream I always had growing up and I was able to play a lot of football early in my career.”
It will be approximately 18 months since Allen last played when Round 1 rolls around.
He is about six kilograms heavier than he was at the end of 2021.
He is also two centimetres taller
I have finally finished growing and have started to mature into my body,” he said. “I am probably a more well-rounded athlete. I am fitter. I feel like my body moves better than it did in the past and mentally I am a lot smarter in how I go about it, not only on field but off field as well. I have grown up a little bit.”
And if external expectations of the club are low, they are still high internally.
“We are pretty keen to bounce (back) as quick as we can,” he said. “We have a different mood for the first time since I have been at the footy club where there isn’t a whole heap of external expectation on the club.
“But it doesn’t mean we are not striving to do what we have always done. We still want to qualify for finals as quickly as we can. That has always been the club’s goal from my first year at the club until now. We still have high standards we are driving.”
Oscar Allen has big boots to fill – specifically, the ones worn by Josh Kennedy, the Eagles’ two-time Coleman Medallist and the club’s leading goalkicker on eight occasions.
Before a crook foot kept him out of football for all of 2022, the Eagles were ready to back Allen’s ability to fill big shoes in the lead up to the 2018 grand final against Collingwood. With Jeremy McGovern in doubt and nursing a rib injury, Allen, then 19 and still a skinny kid, was placed on standby in case McGovern didn’t come up.
He had played just two AFL games at the time.
Allen’s next opportunity for big shoe-filling comes on Friday at Mineral Resources Park as West Coast ramps up match simulation intensity in the run into matches.
The Eagles, coming off a season where injuries became the norm, are nervous about losing a swag of players before Round 1 again. They will be more nervous about Allen than most.
Allen is happy to admit his own nerves.
“I won’t lie to you, I will be nervous. We had match simulation a couple of weeks ago and I was nervous taking part in that,” Allen told CODE Sports. “It is a natural part of the game and it means you care about it. If people say they are not nervous most of them would be lying.
“I will be nervous but I am really confident in what not only the strength and conditioning staff but the sports science guys have put in to get me to this stage to allow me to play at a high level.”
Allen, 23, has played 59 games in a career that has offered glimpses of how good he might be even though he has spent much of it playing roles he was not specifically designed for.
He has kicked 66 goals and the Eagles have already had a sneak preview that leaves them confident he will grow into a very good power forward even if he has to replace a champion like Kennedy.
He kicked 28 goals in 2021: a number that is neither imposing nor underwhelming. But the figures hide the potential. He kicked 16 of them in the first six games when playing as a second or third marking target in attack. He scored in every game and his efforts included hauls of four and five.
It was a formline that led 1988 Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy to rate him the best emerging forward in the AFL. The field Healy was assessing included Ben and Max King and Aaron Naughton.
Still, it’s a role he hasn’t played often to date. He has spent much of his career as ruck support for Nic Naitanui or the spare tall defender in case McGovern or Tom Barrass needed a spell.
This was what the Eagles had to weigh when they drafted Allen at pick No. 21 in the 2017 national draft after he had won the Larke Medal as the best player at the national under 18 titles that year.
West Coast couldn’t believe Allen was still on the table at that pick.
But they didn’t need a key forward with Kennedy and Jack Darling in the team.
They didn’t need a key defender either with McGovern and Barrass at that end.
What they did need was ruck support for Naitanui who, explosive as he is, does not have the tank to get through full games. So Allen took one for the team. Actually, he took the best part of three seasons for the team before injury got him in 2022.
He is philosophical about it.
Versatility meant opportunity.
“I was under no illusions,” he said. “If I hadn’t played that role then I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to play in the first place. I might not have played anywhere near the amount of games and had the exposure that I have had.
“I am grateful to the club for doing that but I know the coaching staff and myself have always seen it as a long-term goal for me to play as a key position forward and I am looking forward to that goal this year.”
He learned to see the lighter side of it as well: “I definitely learned to deal with bigger bodies and when someone is stronger than you maybe you have just got to run around the ground a bit more. I definitely learned a lot playing on Nic in match simulations and having him bash me round for half an hour.”
“I am a big advocate that if you are a footballer you should be able to play everywhere,” Allen continued. “You definitely become a more rounded player and you probably understand the game a bit better as well.”
Allen suffered his long-term injury 12 months ago when he reported foot soreness and scans revealed a stress-related bone issue. A few months and a couple of setbacks later, the club ruled him out for the season.
“At the start of the season when the injury first happened we were pretty keen to get going as soon as possible,” he said. “It wasn’t a rushed approach but it was a fast-forwarded rehab.
“Around the midway point of the year I had a little setback and at that stage with the club we made the decision that it wasn’t going to be possible to get back out there without rushing. It wasn’t something that the club and I weren’t prepared to risk when it could potentially affect this season.”
So far, signs are pointing to a full recovery.
“Once the injury happened it did play on my mind – how important it is to have your feet working in good order to play footy or even just go out for a run,” he said. “For the last two-to-three months I have been participating in full contact match simulation drills and I haven’t noticed it once at all. It is not something that plays on my mind anymore.”
Eagles captain Luke Shuey said it was “handy” to have someone as good as Allen in the frame to replace Kennedy this season.
“I think we had all forgotten how good he actually is,” Shuey said this week. “Some of the stuff we have seen him do (in the pre-season) has been a little reminder.
Allen and Darling will be the two targets the Eagles aim at this year after Kennedy’s retirement. Allen believes there is already chemistry there.
“I have learned a lot off Josh and Jack over the last couple of years,” he said. “There were games in the past where Josh wasn’t there because he was nursing an injury or in the pre-season and I think Jack and I had some great chemistry.
“I am really looking forward to seeing what we can do out there and also to challenging myself.”
He described the events of 2022 as a “reality check”.
“It makes you realise how quickly things can change,” Allen continued. “You live a really fortunate life as a footballer. It is a dream I always had growing up and I was able to play a lot of football early in my career.”
It will be approximately 18 months since Allen last played when Round 1 rolls around.
He is about six kilograms heavier than he was at the end of 2021.
He is also two centimetres taller
I have finally finished growing and have started to mature into my body,” he said. “I am probably a more well-rounded athlete. I am fitter. I feel like my body moves better than it did in the past and mentally I am a lot smarter in how I go about it, not only on field but off field as well. I have grown up a little bit.”
And if external expectations of the club are low, they are still high internally.
“We are pretty keen to bounce (back) as quick as we can,” he said. “We have a different mood for the first time since I have been at the footy club where there isn’t a whole heap of external expectation on the club.
“But it doesn’t mean we are not striving to do what we have always done. We still want to qualify for finals as quickly as we can. That has always been the club’s goal from my first year at the club until now. We still have high standards we are driving.”
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Yep the best ive seen them in a while still gotta get there fitness levels up about 5-10% before they are AFL level. The young guys are looking great & at least 8 of them should be picked in round 1. I'd even put barnett on the bench as Nat is looking a bit unfit still. If Nat can get his fitness up to AFL standard he is still first choice but a long way from it. Its exciting to see all the young guys running around i reckon we have about 4-5 players under 20 that will make a huge difference in the future. We may even win our first game against North, but i wouldnt put any money on it.
Geez, that puts him at what, 195/196?
6 kilos of muscle is a lot!
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The Big Questions - West Coast 2023 Season Preview - The Mongrel Punt
The 2023 AFL season inches closer and The Mongrel Punt season previews begin. Here are the Big Questions about the West Coast Eagles
themongrelpunt.com
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