News Media Thread, 2023: Insightful, Inciteful and Incomptent

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Godfather32 said:
Normally I'd agree with you but everything you can find online says he's contracted until the end of 2024.
I don't think the club has ever officially confirmed when he's contracted to and the only thing saying 2025 I can recall ever seeing was from a tweet from Ryan Daniels in response to a question from some on here (think it was Miguel).
Click to expand...
It's on Perth Now.

The thing is though, rather than just Google stuff like we have to do, surely just ring up our media department for clarification.

I just find it lazy.

www.perthnow.com.au

Will he or won’t he? Simpson gives Naitanui injury update

West Coast coach Adam Simpson says superstar ruckman Nic Naitanui is ‘unlikely’ to play in the Eagles’ crucial season opener against wooden spooners North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
www.perthnow.com.au www.perthnow.com.au
 
Tugga27 said:
It's on Perth Now.

The thing is though, rather than just Google stuff like we have to do, surely just ring up our media department for clarification.

I just find it lazy.

www.perthnow.com.au

Will he or won’t he? Simpson gives Naitanui injury update

West Coast coach Adam Simpson says superstar ruckman Nic Naitanui is ‘unlikely’ to play in the Eagles’ crucial season opener against wooden spooners North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
www.perthnow.com.au www.perthnow.com.au
Click to expand...
Sure but so is this saying 2024 and that other article doesn't come up if you do a search. Wouldn't be a problem if the club would just release a statement like pretty much every professional sporting club on the face of the planet would.

REVEALED: North’s fresh bid to POACH Eagles coach
 

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From Jay Clark at the HS

Cap Space: West Coast rebuild using different strategy to Hawks and Roos, who club might target​

Not every rebuild is the same. While Hawthorn and North Melbourne went one way with their off-seasons moves, West Coast went down a different path. Where does it leave the Eagles?

West Coast has chosen a different path to most in its list rebuild.
After two dismal campaigns, the Eagles hit last year’s trade period with two clear options.

Go down the same route as Hawthorn and North Melbourne and trade-out some ageing stars for extra draft capital.

Or defy some of the popular recruiting conventions and hold on to their veterans such as Jeremy McGovern, Jack Darling and Andrew Gaff and Co in the firm belief they were still more valuable in the Eagles’ side than out.

Once star players hit 30, it is generally accepted they are worth about a second-round pick, at best.

That was former premiership Hawk Brian Lake (picks 21 and 43) aged 30 at the end of 2012, and ex-Cat Shaun Higgins (pick 30) aged 32 in 2020.

So, rather than put the big names on the chopping block like the Hawks did last year moving on Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell, West Coast held tight.

They have gone for the anti clean-out rebuild method, the Eagles.

They have backed their ageing stars in, believing they can still provide great value rather than chase another top-25 pick for Darling, McGovern or an even earlier choice for gun backman Tom Barrass who signed a bumper five-year deal in 2021.

This was a brave hold from the blue and gold due to the lack of top-10 picks injected into the list over the past decade.

Since 2010 when the club took Andrew Gaff at pick four 12 years ago, the Eagles have taken only one man with a single-figure draft selection.

It is a reflection of the club’s success which includes four premierships in three decades, and six finals appearances in the past nine years under coach Adam Simpson.

They’re a powerhouse, the Eagles. On and off the field.

But in draft terms, they have had a dry run akin to the Nullabor Plain after handing over four picks for Tim Kelly.

West Coast punted hard on Kelly in the trade deal in 2019, forking out picks 14, a future first-rounder (18), and choices 24 and 33 to Geelong for the star ballwinner.

That is selling the farm, the apartment and the exercise bike for Kelly, and meant the club’s top pick in the 2019 and 2020 drafts was No. 49.

That is a long way back in the beer queue, and clearly, things haven’t worked out on the back of the 2018 flag.

Kelly has played some quality footy and is having his best start to a season this year, but the team has fallen apart around him due largely to a horrific run of injuries, and the two-year COVID-19 switch-off.

The white flag went up in the hub, losing three of its first four games in 2020 and three of its first six in 2021.

Now, West Coast is playing a game of catch-up.

BOTTOMING OUT

The worry with this rebuild method is the chance West Coast hasn’t hit rock bottom yet.

Yes, the injuries have played a huge part in their on-field demise, again, and the high performance department would be feeling nervous.

But the one thing list managers’ fear most is being old and bad.

This year, West Coast fielded the fifth-oldest team in Round 1 and Round 3 and the fourth-oldest team in Round 5, according to Champion Data.

They have won one game this season and were belted by more than 40 points in each of their past four matches.

Spring chickens they are not, and durability concerns over McGovern, Elliot Yeo and Nic Naitanui haven’t enhanced their trade worth, if West Coast change their minds on trading-out the veterans.

They have paid big wages to keep some of these starts including McGovern who was one of the highest-paid players in recent years amid his 2018 premiership heroics, and Gaff, who has earned a fortune out of North Melbourne’s interest.

But the pressure on West Coast’s salary cap is finally set to ease with McGovern out this year, and considerable savings to be made at the end of next year on Darling, Gaff, Yeo and Naitanui.

That is when the club can reset the cap.

West Coast didn’t ever get a seat at the table on the Luke Jackson trade talks last year but they will be eager to sit down with Western Bulldogs’ pair (and WA products) Tim English and Aaron Naughton (both out of contract next year), as well as Port Adelaide’s Mitch Georgiades (out this year).

Richmond defender Nathan Broad is also available this year as a free agent, but GWS Giants’ star key defender Sam Taylor is locked away until 2025.

If a big fish wanted to head to West Coast, they would want to see the ship turnaround first. But perhaps the big free agency play is a few years away.

CRUCIAL PICKS

What it all means is West Coast must not miss on its draft picks in the short-term, and the bold call to split pick two in last year’s trade period has delivered it a pair of local powerhouse midfielders.

The Eagles handed over pick two (Harry Sheezel) to North Melbourne and have already hit the jackpot with Rueben Ginbey (pick nine) and are excited by Elijah Hewett (14).

Ginbey looks like Patrick Cripps in the making with his strength and toughness at the coal face and Hewett has speed and agility, making the pair an ideal combination with different weapons.

North’s Sheezel is the Rising Star favourite, but clubs thought he didn’t want to head interstate.

West Coast added arguably the most highly-rated ruckman in last year’s draft, South Australian 202cm big man Harry Barnett, at pick 23.

And clever small forward Noah Long is clean at ground level and has played all six games to start the 2023 season.

The jewel in the crown is clearly local tall Oscar Allen, 24, who will be the centrepiece of the rebuild after a year out with injury last year.

He will be a restricted free agent when his contract expires at the end of 2025 but the Eagles will tie him-up on a deal worth the best part of $1 million a year if he can stay on the park.

In last year’s draft they took the punt on attacking outside midfield-defender Campbell Chesser, who has been out with a knee injury on the back of last year’s ankle injury.

Pick 37 Rhett Bazzo was considered a bargain for the swingman’s ability to play both ends in a similar manner to Darcy Moore and the athletic Brady Hough (pick 31) has had big jobs down back in his first two seasons.
 
Tugga27 said:
From Jay Clark at the HS

Cap Space: West Coast rebuild using different strategy to Hawks and Roos, who club might target​

Not every rebuild is the same. While Hawthorn and North Melbourne went one way with their off-seasons moves, West Coast went down a different path. Where does it leave the Eagles?

West Coast has chosen a different path to most in its list rebuild.
After two dismal campaigns, the Eagles hit last year’s trade period with two clear options.

Go down the same route as Hawthorn and North Melbourne and trade-out some ageing stars for extra draft capital.

Or defy some of the popular recruiting conventions and hold on to their veterans such as Jeremy McGovern, Jack Darling and Andrew Gaff and Co in the firm belief they were still more valuable in the Eagles’ side than out.

Once star players hit 30, it is generally accepted they are worth about a second-round pick, at best.

That was former premiership Hawk Brian Lake (picks 21 and 43) aged 30 at the end of 2012, and ex-Cat Shaun Higgins (pick 30) aged 32 in 2020.

So, rather than put the big names on the chopping block like the Hawks did last year moving on Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell, West Coast held tight.

They have gone for the anti clean-out rebuild method, the Eagles.

They have backed their ageing stars in, believing they can still provide great value rather than chase another top-25 pick for Darling, McGovern or an even earlier choice for gun backman Tom Barrass who signed a bumper five-year deal in 2021.

This was a brave hold from the blue and gold due to the lack of top-10 picks injected into the list over the past decade.

Since 2010 when the club took Andrew Gaff at pick four 12 years ago, the Eagles have taken only one man with a single-figure draft selection.

It is a reflection of the club’s success which includes four premierships in three decades, and six finals appearances in the past nine years under coach Adam Simpson.

They’re a powerhouse, the Eagles. On and off the field.

But in draft terms, they have had a dry run akin to the Nullabor Plain after handing over four picks for Tim Kelly.

West Coast punted hard on Kelly in the trade deal in 2019, forking out picks 14, a future first-rounder (18), and choices 24 and 33 to Geelong for the star ballwinner.

That is selling the farm, the apartment and the exercise bike for Kelly, and meant the club’s top pick in the 2019 and 2020 drafts was No. 49.

That is a long way back in the beer queue, and clearly, things haven’t worked out on the back of the 2018 flag.

Kelly has played some quality footy and is having his best start to a season this year, but the team has fallen apart around him due largely to a horrific run of injuries, and the two-year COVID-19 switch-off.

The white flag went up in the hub, losing three of its first four games in 2020 and three of its first six in 2021.

Now, West Coast is playing a game of catch-up.

BOTTOMING OUT

The worry with this rebuild method is the chance West Coast hasn’t hit rock bottom yet.

Yes, the injuries have played a huge part in their on-field demise, again, and the high performance department would be feeling nervous.

But the one thing list managers’ fear most is being old and bad.

This year, West Coast fielded the fifth-oldest team in Round 1 and Round 3 and the fourth-oldest team in Round 5, according to Champion Data.

They have won one game this season and were belted by more than 40 points in each of their past four matches.

Spring chickens they are not, and durability concerns over McGovern, Elliot Yeo and Nic Naitanui haven’t enhanced their trade worth, if West Coast change their minds on trading-out the veterans.

They have paid big wages to keep some of these starts including McGovern who was one of the highest-paid players in recent years amid his 2018 premiership heroics, and Gaff, who has earned a fortune out of North Melbourne’s interest.

But the pressure on West Coast’s salary cap is finally set to ease with McGovern out this year, and considerable savings to be made at the end of next year on Darling, Gaff, Yeo and Naitanui.

That is when the club can reset the cap.

West Coast didn’t ever get a seat at the table on the Luke Jackson trade talks last year but they will be eager to sit down with Western Bulldogs’ pair (and WA products) Tim English and Aaron Naughton (both out of contract next year), as well as Port Adelaide’s Mitch Georgiades (out this year).

Richmond defender Nathan Broad is also available this year as a free agent, but GWS Giants’ star key defender Sam Taylor is locked away until 2025.

If a big fish wanted to head to West Coast, they would want to see the ship turnaround first. But perhaps the big free agency play is a few years away.

CRUCIAL PICKS

What it all means is West Coast must not miss on its draft picks in the short-term, and the bold call to split pick two in last year’s trade period has delivered it a pair of local powerhouse midfielders.

The Eagles handed over pick two (Harry Sheezel) to North Melbourne and have already hit the jackpot with Rueben Ginbey (pick nine) and are excited by Elijah Hewett (14).

Ginbey looks like Patrick Cripps in the making with his strength and toughness at the coal face and Hewett has speed and agility, making the pair an ideal combination with different weapons.

North’s Sheezel is the Rising Star favourite, but clubs thought he didn’t want to head interstate.

West Coast added arguably the most highly-rated ruckman in last year’s draft, South Australian 202cm big man Harry Barnett, at pick 23.

And clever small forward Noah Long is clean at ground level and has played all six games to start the 2023 season.

The jewel in the crown is clearly local tall Oscar Allen, 24, who will be the centrepiece of the rebuild after a year out with injury last year.

He will be a restricted free agent when his contract expires at the end of 2025 but the Eagles will tie him-up on a deal worth the best part of $1 million a year if he can stay on the park.

In last year’s draft they took the punt on attacking outside midfield-defender Campbell Chesser, who has been out with a knee injury on the back of last year’s ankle injury.

Pick 37 Rhett Bazzo was considered a bargain for the swingman’s ability to play both ends in a similar manner to Darcy Moore and the athletic Brady Hough (pick 31) has had big jobs down back in his first two seasons.
Click to expand...
Seems somewhat accurate
 
Tugga27 said:
From Jay Clark at the HS

Cap Space: West Coast rebuild using different strategy to Hawks and Roos, who club might target​

Not every rebuild is the same. While Hawthorn and North Melbourne went one way with their off-seasons moves, West Coast went down a different path. Where does it leave the Eagles?

West Coast has chosen a different path to most in its list rebuild.
After two dismal campaigns, the Eagles hit last year’s trade period with two clear options.

Go down the same route as Hawthorn and North Melbourne and trade-out some ageing stars for extra draft capital.

Or defy some of the popular recruiting conventions and hold on to their veterans such as Jeremy McGovern, Jack Darling and Andrew Gaff and Co in the firm belief they were still more valuable in the Eagles’ side than out.

Once star players hit 30, it is generally accepted they are worth about a second-round pick, at best.

That was former premiership Hawk Brian Lake (picks 21 and 43) aged 30 at the end of 2012, and ex-Cat Shaun Higgins (pick 30) aged 32 in 2020.

So, rather than put the big names on the chopping block like the Hawks did last year moving on Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell, West Coast held tight.

They have gone for the anti clean-out rebuild method, the Eagles.

They have backed their ageing stars in, believing they can still provide great value rather than chase another top-25 pick for Darling, McGovern or an even earlier choice for gun backman Tom Barrass who signed a bumper five-year deal in 2021.

This was a brave hold from the blue and gold due to the lack of top-10 picks injected into the list over the past decade.

Since 2010 when the club took Andrew Gaff at pick four 12 years ago, the Eagles have taken only one man with a single-figure draft selection.

It is a reflection of the club’s success which includes four premierships in three decades, and six finals appearances in the past nine years under coach Adam Simpson.

They’re a powerhouse, the Eagles. On and off the field.

But in draft terms, they have had a dry run akin to the Nullabor Plain after handing over four picks for Tim Kelly.

West Coast punted hard on Kelly in the trade deal in 2019, forking out picks 14, a future first-rounder (18), and choices 24 and 33 to Geelong for the star ballwinner.

That is selling the farm, the apartment and the exercise bike for Kelly, and meant the club’s top pick in the 2019 and 2020 drafts was No. 49.

That is a long way back in the beer queue, and clearly, things haven’t worked out on the back of the 2018 flag.

Kelly has played some quality footy and is having his best start to a season this year, but the team has fallen apart around him due largely to a horrific run of injuries, and the two-year COVID-19 switch-off.

The white flag went up in the hub, losing three of its first four games in 2020 and three of its first six in 2021.

Now, West Coast is playing a game of catch-up.

BOTTOMING OUT

The worry with this rebuild method is the chance West Coast hasn’t hit rock bottom yet.

Yes, the injuries have played a huge part in their on-field demise, again, and the high performance department would be feeling nervous.

But the one thing list managers’ fear most is being old and bad.

This year, West Coast fielded the fifth-oldest team in Round 1 and Round 3 and the fourth-oldest team in Round 5, according to Champion Data.

They have won one game this season and were belted by more than 40 points in each of their past four matches.

Spring chickens they are not, and durability concerns over McGovern, Elliot Yeo and Nic Naitanui haven’t enhanced their trade worth, if West Coast change their minds on trading-out the veterans.

They have paid big wages to keep some of these starts including McGovern who was one of the highest-paid players in recent years amid his 2018 premiership heroics, and Gaff, who has earned a fortune out of North Melbourne’s interest.

But the pressure on West Coast’s salary cap is finally set to ease with McGovern out this year, and considerable savings to be made at the end of next year on Darling, Gaff, Yeo and Naitanui.

That is when the club can reset the cap.

West Coast didn’t ever get a seat at the table on the Luke Jackson trade talks last year but they will be eager to sit down with Western Bulldogs’ pair (and WA products) Tim English and Aaron Naughton (both out of contract next year), as well as Port Adelaide’s Mitch Georgiades (out this year).

Richmond defender Nathan Broad is also available this year as a free agent, but GWS Giants’ star key defender Sam Taylor is locked away until 2025.

If a big fish wanted to head to West Coast, they would want to see the ship turnaround first. But perhaps the big free agency play is a few years away.

CRUCIAL PICKS

What it all means is West Coast must not miss on its draft picks in the short-term, and the bold call to split pick two in last year’s trade period has delivered it a pair of local powerhouse midfielders.

The Eagles handed over pick two (Harry Sheezel) to North Melbourne and have already hit the jackpot with Rueben Ginbey (pick nine) and are excited by Elijah Hewett (14).

Ginbey looks like Patrick Cripps in the making with his strength and toughness at the coal face and Hewett has speed and agility, making the pair an ideal combination with different weapons.

North’s Sheezel is the Rising Star favourite, but clubs thought he didn’t want to head interstate.

West Coast added arguably the most highly-rated ruckman in last year’s draft, South Australian 202cm big man Harry Barnett, at pick 23.

And clever small forward Noah Long is clean at ground level and has played all six games to start the 2023 season.

The jewel in the crown is clearly local tall Oscar Allen, 24, who will be the centrepiece of the rebuild after a year out with injury last year.

He will be a restricted free agent when his contract expires at the end of 2025 but the Eagles will tie him-up on a deal worth the best part of $1 million a year if he can stay on the park.

In last year’s draft they took the punt on attacking outside midfield-defender Campbell Chesser, who has been out with a knee injury on the back of last year’s ankle injury.

Pick 37 Rhett Bazzo was considered a bargain for the swingman’s ability to play both ends in a similar manner to Darcy Moore and the athletic Brady Hough (pick 31) has had big jobs down back in his first two seasons.
Click to expand...

Stopping the pay of half your salary cap to the same four guys who play less than 10 games a season over the last four seasons would be a good start
 
Chris_6678 said:
thewest.com.au

Sumich calls for Eagles overhaul after another failed season

West Coast members, sponsors and fans deserve to know more accurately what has led the club to a playing crisis never seen before, writes Peter Sumich.
thewest.com.au thewest.com.au

What did he say?
Click to expand...

giphy.gif
 
Tugga27 said:
It's not so much the headline, which I thought was ok.
It's when they get basic information incorrect.

That's their job.
Get it right.
Click to expand...
As long as it is inflamatory it attracts readers. (Not me). Their job is to sell copy which sells advertising. The bigger the sales the more, they can charge for advertising. I am saddened that you think the media is factual. Its just like social media in that regard.



They are very professional and know their business well.
1682568591246.jpeg
 
ziad said:
The media is in the buisness of advertising saled through mass marketing - outlandish headlines are a great tool to attact attention.
Click to expand...
Headlines aren’t written by the journo. So a good article can have a BS headline - which may piss off the journo. (And a BS article can’t be saved no matter what the headline.)
 

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FKASC said:
Seems somewhat accurate
Click to expand...
The article is ok although i gather West Coast were hoping not to have another horror injury and more go down the Collinwood path who even last year had a pretty experienced team with a mixture of high end talent older players and recent draftees after finishing near the bottom of the ladder.

Hawthorns rebuild has been going on for quite a few years without success so was a path i was hoping to avoid although that now seems unlikely. Interesting that the North Melbourne team last week had i think the 6th oldest team at just under the average age of 26 years.
 
Tugga27 said:
From Jay Clark at the HS

Cap Space: West Coast rebuild using different strategy to Hawks and Roos, who club might target​

Not every rebuild is the same. While Hawthorn and North Melbourne went one way with their off-seasons moves, West Coast went down a different path. Where does it leave the Eagles?

West Coast has chosen a different path to most in its list rebuild.
After two dismal campaigns, the Eagles hit last year’s trade period with two clear options.

Go down the same route as Hawthorn and North Melbourne and trade-out some ageing stars for extra draft capital.

Or defy some of the popular recruiting conventions and hold on to their veterans such as Jeremy McGovern, Jack Darling and Andrew Gaff and Co in the firm belief they were still more valuable in the Eagles’ side than out.

Once star players hit 30, it is generally accepted they are worth about a second-round pick, at best.

That was former premiership Hawk Brian Lake (picks 21 and 43) aged 30 at the end of 2012, and ex-Cat Shaun Higgins (pick 30) aged 32 in 2020.

So, rather than put the big names on the chopping block like the Hawks did last year moving on Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell, West Coast held tight.

They have gone for the anti clean-out rebuild method, the Eagles.

They have backed their ageing stars in, believing they can still provide great value rather than chase another top-25 pick for Darling, McGovern or an even earlier choice for gun backman Tom Barrass who signed a bumper five-year deal in 2021.

This was a brave hold from the blue and gold due to the lack of top-10 picks injected into the list over the past decade.

Since 2010 when the club took Andrew Gaff at pick four 12 years ago, the Eagles have taken only one man with a single-figure draft selection.

It is a reflection of the club’s success which includes four premierships in three decades, and six finals appearances in the past nine years under coach Adam Simpson.

They’re a powerhouse, the Eagles. On and off the field.

But in draft terms, they have had a dry run akin to the Nullabor Plain after handing over four picks for Tim Kelly.

West Coast punted hard on Kelly in the trade deal in 2019, forking out picks 14, a future first-rounder (18), and choices 24 and 33 to Geelong for the star ballwinner.

That is selling the farm, the apartment and the exercise bike for Kelly, and meant the club’s top pick in the 2019 and 2020 drafts was No. 49.

That is a long way back in the beer queue, and clearly, things haven’t worked out on the back of the 2018 flag.

Kelly has played some quality footy and is having his best start to a season this year, but the team has fallen apart around him due largely to a horrific run of injuries, and the two-year COVID-19 switch-off.

The white flag went up in the hub, losing three of its first four games in 2020 and three of its first six in 2021.

Now, West Coast is playing a game of catch-up.

BOTTOMING OUT

The worry with this rebuild method is the chance West Coast hasn’t hit rock bottom yet.

Yes, the injuries have played a huge part in their on-field demise, again, and the high performance department would be feeling nervous.

But the one thing list managers’ fear most is being old and bad.

This year, West Coast fielded the fifth-oldest team in Round 1 and Round 3 and the fourth-oldest team in Round 5, according to Champion Data.

They have won one game this season and were belted by more than 40 points in each of their past four matches.

Spring chickens they are not, and durability concerns over McGovern, Elliot Yeo and Nic Naitanui haven’t enhanced their trade worth, if West Coast change their minds on trading-out the veterans.

They have paid big wages to keep some of these starts including McGovern who was one of the highest-paid players in recent years amid his 2018 premiership heroics, and Gaff, who has earned a fortune out of North Melbourne’s interest.

But the pressure on West Coast’s salary cap is finally set to ease with McGovern out this year, and considerable savings to be made at the end of next year on Darling, Gaff, Yeo and Naitanui.

That is when the club can reset the cap.

West Coast didn’t ever get a seat at the table on the Luke Jackson trade talks last year but they will be eager to sit down with Western Bulldogs’ pair (and WA products) Tim English and Aaron Naughton (both out of contract next year), as well as Port Adelaide’s Mitch Georgiades (out this year).

Richmond defender Nathan Broad is also available this year as a free agent, but GWS Giants’ star key defender Sam Taylor is locked away until 2025.

If a big fish wanted to head to West Coast, they would want to see the ship turnaround first. But perhaps the big free agency play is a few years away.

CRUCIAL PICKS

What it all means is West Coast must not miss on its draft picks in the short-term, and the bold call to split pick two in last year’s trade period has delivered it a pair of local powerhouse midfielders.

The Eagles handed over pick two (Harry Sheezel) to North Melbourne and have already hit the jackpot with Rueben Ginbey (pick nine) and are excited by Elijah Hewett (14).

Ginbey looks like Patrick Cripps in the making with his strength and toughness at the coal face and Hewett has speed and agility, making the pair an ideal combination with different weapons.

North’s Sheezel is the Rising Star favourite, but clubs thought he didn’t want to head interstate.

West Coast added arguably the most highly-rated ruckman in last year’s draft, South Australian 202cm big man Harry Barnett, at pick 23.

And clever small forward Noah Long is clean at ground level and has played all six games to start the 2023 season.

The jewel in the crown is clearly local tall Oscar Allen, 24, who will be the centrepiece of the rebuild after a year out with injury last year.

He will be a restricted free agent when his contract expires at the end of 2025 but the Eagles will tie him-up on a deal worth the best part of $1 million a year if he can stay on the park.

In last year’s draft they took the punt on attacking outside midfield-defender Campbell Chesser, who has been out with a knee injury on the back of last year’s ankle injury.

Pick 37 Rhett Bazzo was considered a bargain for the swingman’s ability to play both ends in a similar manner to Darcy Moore and the athletic Brady Hough (pick 31) has had big jobs down back in his first two seasons.
Click to expand...
Once Shuey was subbed off, our team on the weekend was the youngest in the AFL for the round.

I note Jay conveniently left that part out, as it doesn't suit his position.

Not dismissing it as an article, but it would've been good for him to note and include that part.
 
Chris_6678 said:
thewest.com.au

Sumich calls for Eagles overhaul after another failed season

West Coast members, sponsors and fans deserve to know more accurately what has led the club to a playing crisis never seen before, writes Peter Sumich.
thewest.com.au thewest.com.au

What did he say?
Click to expand...
West Coast Eagles
AFL
OPINION
Peter Sumich: West Coast need to reveal reasons behind another failed season, questionable football program
Peter Sumich
The West Australian
Thu, 27 April 2023 2:00AM
Comments
Peter Sumich

With West Coast resigned to finishing low on the ladder, it is time to identify just what is the club’s identity.

Eagles powerbrokers might be avoiding admitting it but the club is in crisis.

When I walked into West Coast back in 1989 there were distinct plans for extended future success.


Under coach John Todd and the ruthless management at that time, everyone was on notice that foundations were being laid for a club culture and identity which revolved around winning.

It was a failed season overall, with just seven wins, and Toddy was sacked, despite being one of WA’s greatest ever coaches and a man I admire greatly.

John Todd.
John Todd. Credit: GSP Images/AFL Photos/GSP
We had a list of emerging players and the industry could clearly see what was in motion.

AFL Match Centre
We won five of our final seven games in 1989, straight out of an infamous 142-point belting from Essendon at Windy Hill in round 15.

The Eagles appointed imported Victorian disciplinarian Mick Malthouse as coach and top local administrator Trevor Nisbett as football boss.

History confirms just how effective the establishment of that ruthless winning culture was.

A decade of supremacy was established on a bunch of gun players relentless in pursuit of excellence.


The identification and emergence of John Worsfold, Guy McKenna, Chris Lewis, Peter Matera, Dean Kemp, Glen Jakovich, Don Pyke, Tony Evans, Chris Mainwaring, Michael Brennan, David Hart , David Hynes, Brett Heady, Ashley McIntosh Chris Waterman, Paul Peos, Scott Watters, Karl Langdon and Craig Turley was part of a definite strategy to build a powerful list.

They were all young, raw and ready physically and mentally to take on and beat the brutal nature of AFL competition and, especially, win finals.

West Coast became the most powerful sporting organisation in Australia.

With what’s happening around West Coast now, I just can’t see their identity.

I can’t see what this West Coast truly stand for.

I can’t see what this West Coast truly stand for.

Call it an identity crisis if you want. There is just too much acceptance of honourable losses and “small wins” like just being ahead in a quarter before seven, eight and nine-goal losses.

That’s still losing.


It’s a winning business and nothing else should be accepted or tolerated.

Mounting losses, painstaking excuses for a disastrously huge attrition rate and repetition of so many injuries have to be called out.

The reasons behind another failed West Coast season and questionable football program needs full disclosure.

Alarmingly, West Coast’s decline as an AFL force will get worse if club heavyweights don’t wake up and firstly identify the need for change - and then action those necessary changes.

The Eagles’ football operations have plummeted to new depths of dreadful despair.

Repeat injuries are at unacceptably high levels because of the age of so many of the players who are constantly breaking down, especially in training mishaps, as well as a soft approach to list management of worn-out players.

No one should be spared in a full examination and then overhaul of West Coast operations.


Coach Adam Simpson and his support staff, player development management, doctors, physiotherapists, recruiters and strength and conditioning faults must all be scrupulously assessed in a full review.

It’s time for change of personnel and operational strategies to generate a new and more fierce culture and to get their identity back.

Here’s at least a few top priority aspects in need of comprehensive evaluation at West Coast:

• Training methods.

• Injuries and type of repeated injuries

• Match-day operations

• Recovery processes

• Strength and conditioning priorities

• Game styles

• List management

• Talent identification and recruitment

• Development of players and staff

• Medical practices and all-round player welfare

• Search for world’s best welfare and development possibilities

A brutal analysis and overhaul at West Coast should have been undertaken in about of August last year - before the end of a two-win season, the Eagles’ worst on record.

A no-holds-barred look at such a failure should have been conducted well ahead of pre-season so the club could have hit a new summer training regime with significant changes or with staff on notice that repeat injuries wouldn’t be tolerated.

It is imperative any investigation into the failing football department cannot be conducted by any of the current Eagles staff.

That would mean failed culprits of the diminishing program cannot have any input or assessment to ensure an honest appraisal of the club’s plight.

The review should be fully independent.

Although that would be highly unlikely around West Coast with their established business governance model, with chief executive Nisbett and right-hand man Tim Gepp so widely known for being heavily invested in football procedures and decisions.

Nisbett is also a West Coast board member.

The pair always have their fingerprints firmly on all critical football matters.

As head coach, Simpson has to be held accountable for responsibility of all football operations and methods.

West Coast have won just five of their past 37 games since sitting seventh on the ladder in July 2021, at their mid-season bye.

That’s an appalling win ratio of just 13.5 per cent.

And the average losing margin across that disastrous run is 45 points.

Simpson has been consistent in claims that West Coast will bounce back from their losing spiral when ageing stars resume from persistent injuries.


Just three weeks ago Simpson was publicly claiming a near “fully fit” playing list after what he described as “the best pre-season” in the past three years.

Losses and repetition injuries are mounting, rather than diminishing.

On the eve of this season, a crucial and senior West Coast star who had repeated soft tissue injuries, pinged a muscle when told by medical staff to “do five more minutes”, even though the player was comfortable with his session and ready to play.

This sort of mismanagement of star players coming out of Lathlain is as repetitious as the many Eagles’ duplication of soft tissue injuries.

If the same bunch of footy department operators are responsible for what is turning into a disaster at West Coast, then they should go.

Time has run out for the constant excuses relating to COVID illness setbacks in March and April of last year and injuries to star players that we had been told constantly would be fully fit and match capable on their returns.

It’s not entirely fault of the players.

Some West Coast players simply aren’t up to coping with the physical and mental demands of the AFL.

That falls on the heads of talent identification and recruitment, initially.

Then it’s a highly-questionable training and development program that has left West Coast staggering behind almost every other AFL club.

The injury scourge seriously restricting West Coast winning potential with the constant loss of crucial players has plagued the club for way more than the past 16-18 months.

The repeat injuries to frontliners Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo, Nic Naitanui and Jeremy McGovern need to be explained.

West Coast’s board of directors, senior management and genuine influencers around operations should be asking a lot of questions on the failing nature of their football department.

Certainly, a stack of former players that gave their hearts and sole to West Coast and built the club into a powerful sporting force on and off the field are alarmed that the once mighty Eagles are mired in the doldrums with an awful culture and an identity in decline.

Current West Coast football management seems immune to any internal challenging or harsh and honest assessment.

West Coast members, corporate investors and fans deserve to know more accurately what has led the club to a playing and performance crisis never seen before.

If heavyweights around Lathlain Park sincerely believe West Coast’s training programs and procedures, medical assessments and fitness and conditioning strategies are acceptable, then it’s time for the board to get involved and seriously look at the football department management and find out if they are the right people to take the club forward again.

If not, they all should go.

Strong and ruthless management might be an important start to reviving West Coast’s culture and winning identity.
 
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