For the believers, 2016 season still alive

[Moose1414]

Look Nic is my all time favourite Eagle and watching him is a joy and I may never forgive this club for whats happened but the 2016 season is more alive today that its been at any point this season. This is a thread for anyone who isn't ready to roll over and die with one week to go before finals.

For the record, we've just beaten 2 of the hottest favourites for this years flag in GWS and Hawthorn and no it wasn't all Nic that got the job done.

Last week was Shueys best game ever

This week Priddis and Gaff played their best games of 2016 [Gaff's PB possession high last night]

Sheed is back in the side and we look a lot better for it

Yeo played forward last night and proved how desperately we need a third tall, looked ready to tear the game apart at any moment and apart from some brain fades caused huge problems for the Hawks defence

Gov has taken a huge step forward and is playing outstanding football at the moment

We've found a real player in Barrass who can now allow us to swing Gov into even more dangerous positions

Shep and Wellingham were epic last night with the overdue return of the 2015 small defence

Jetta is finally in the side and looks committed

Kennedy is going to win the coleman by 10 and is even a cheeky chance at cracking the ton if we go all the way to the GF, form forward of the comp.

Even I have to admit I didn't completely hate Le Cras game last night, is maybe in form

Lycett isn't Nic but he's still a good player and will contest the ruck fine going forward and has already had a good practice run at it. He'll cope, maybe even flourish

There is a lot of evidence things have finally clicked for this side and we just destroyed the Hawks and its the most open finals series in ages. We're a huge chance. Look around at the other sides in the hunt and realise they all have issues really apart from Adelaide.

Hawks have huge injury concerns of their own and are clearly not the force they once were, someone will likely take them out before the GF.

Sydney are strong but only beat North by a goal today.

North might even miss finals altogether and Melbourne take their place

If Melbourne make it, they will likely have to travel over here to play us in an elimination final.

GWS are still young and untested in finals heat and probably won't make top 4

Bulldogs have been crippled by injury

Adelaide look great but like us last year have bolted suddely into contention so how they handle finals is unknown, plus we match up well on them always and there is no MCG home ground advantage if they go to the GF.

Basically half the teams we might meet in a GF will be playing away from home and that is a huge equaliser for us.

So yeah, losing Nic is tragic but its not just him playing well there are a huge block of key players for us who have finally hit form now and look switched on and determined, the devastation of losing Nic should only strenghten their resolve.

I am at a season high for confidence right now, we're a massive chance for this year. As good a chance as anyone, probably a better chance than most in fact. Who's with me?

 

[leccanation]

Look Nic is my all time favourite Eagle and watching him is a joy and I may never forgive this club for whats happened but the 2016 season is more alive today that its been at any point this season. This is a thread for anyone who isn't ready to roll over and die with one week to go before finals.

For the record, we've just beaten 2 of the hottest favourites for this years flag in GWS and Hawthorn and no it wasn't all Nic that got the job done.

Last week was Shueys best game ever

This week Priddis and Gaff played their best games of 2016 [Gaff's PB possession high last night]

Sheed is back in the side and we look a lot better for it

Yeo played forward last night and proved how desperately we need a third tall, looked ready to tear the game apart at any moment and apart from some brain fades caused huge problems for the Hawks defence

Gov has taken a huge step forward and is playing outstanding football at the moment

We've found a real player in Barrass who can now allow us to swing Gov into even more dangerous positions

Shep and Wellingham were epic last night with the overdue return of the 2015 small defence

Jetta is finally in the side and looks committed

Kennedy is going to win the coleman by 10 and is even a cheeky chance at cracking the ton if we go all the way to the GF, form forward of the comp.

Even I have to admit I didn't completely hate Le Cras game last night, is maybe in form

Lycett isn't Nic but he's still a good player and will contest the ruck fine going forward and has already had a good practice run at it. He'll cope, maybe even flourish

There is a lot of evidence things have finally clicked for this side and we just destroyed the Hawks and its the most open finals series in ages. We're a huge chance. Look around at the other sides in the hunt and realise they all have issues really apart from Adelaide.

Hawks have huge injury concerns of their own and are clearly not the force they once were, someone will likely take them out before the GF.

Sydney are strong but only beat North by a goal today.

North might even miss finals altogether and Melbourne take their place

If Melbourne make it, they will likely have to travel over here to play us in an elimination final.

GWS are still young and untested in finals heat and probably won't make top 4

Bulldogs have been crippled by injury

Adelaide look great but like us last year have bolted suddely into contention so how they handle finals is unknown, plus we match up well on them always and there is no MCG home ground advantage if they go to the GF.

Basically half the teams we might meet in a GF will be playing away from home and that is a huge equaliser for us.

So yeah, losing Nic is tragic but its not just him playing well there are a huge block of key players for us who have finally hit form now and look switched on and determined, the devastation of losing Nic should only strenghten their resolve.

I am at a season high for confidence right now, we're a massive chance for this year. As good a chance as anyone, probably a better chance than most in fact. Who's with me?

Very true

 

[Natho]

Scotty Lycett is a damn good ruckman. You cant really compare him to Nat. He is just a freak and can do things nobody else can do. Scott is going to give everything for this team and if the 2015 eagles are really back results will take care of themselves.

 

[bkozican]

I dont have this confidence you speak of.

 

[eaglespremiers]

Couldn't care less now what we do this year, or next year TBH.

 

[Eaglespur]

Couldn't care less now what we do this year, or next year TBH.

Lol .. mmk

 

[WCErevival]

We most likely weren't going to go deep into finals anyway. I'm more concerned with next season.

We are playing better as a unit now though so who knows

 

[dajesmac]

I'd share some optimism if we were a shot at the top four. But it's too much of a stretch at this point.

Honest opinion is that we will miss finals next year - I was thinking that before we lost Nic. A minor clean out and injection of talent is needed.

 

[ThePuma #9]

This is a moment that will define us, all year we have had our hopes quashed with indifferent form and expectations lowered and now our favourite son has gone down with a serious injury in what will most likely keep him out for a lengthy period.

I've shed more than enough tears over this, I didn't even shed one when we were obliterated in the GF last year but i have had an epiphany.

This is where we show the rest of the competition that we aren't bandwagon supporters, that we are a proud club and adversity will not deter us as it has not in the past.

We came into this league the hard way, training in cow paddocks.

We won our premierships the hard way, traveling interstate as we have always had to.

We have rebuilt time and time again the hard way as the "prized recruits" never top us up.

We have dealt with adversity before, how many other clubs could lose their "Cuz & Judds" in one year and still persevere.

We have stuck by our club with strong membership numbers and decent crowds even when things have been tough.

We don't give up.

We are the West Coast Eagles and when things get tough we find a way to hold our head high.

I'm so proud to be a supporter of this great club and whilst we are hurting today i know we will find a way to help each other through this and move forward.

We are West Coast!

 

[ep2018]

I'd share some optimism if we were a shot at the top four. But it's too much of a stretch at this point.

Honest opinion is that we will miss finals next year - I was thinking that before we lost Nic. A minor clean out and injection of talent is needed.

Without NN, maybe the coaching staff will finally clean out and rebuild our midfield...

 

[Eagle got a win]

I guess when you think about it not many teams have a decent ruckman anyhow. Apart from GWS and Kangaroos everyone else has just your normal average ruck. So it comes down to weather our midfield can pick up the pieces, that's a huge ??

 

[Euro Star]

Without NN, maybe the coaching staff will finally clean out and rebuild our midfield...

This could be the silver lining, while I don't think we'll have a big clean out I'm hopeful this stops us "topping up" with more depth and we go to the draft instead.

 

[SpaceClef]

Without NN, maybe the coaching staff will finally clean out and rebuild our midfield...

Nah just need some more players in the right age bracket.

Conca, Howlett, these types

 

[Moose1414]

I'd share some optimism if we were a shot at the top four. But it's too much of a stretch at this point.

Honest opinion is that we will miss finals next year - I was thinking that before we lost Nic. A minor clean out and injection of talent is needed.

Honestly, who the hell cares if we don't go top 4. I don't. 5th or 6th we get a home final and its against one of the 2 weakest teams in finals. We have a week off after round 23 anyway which is automatically as much of a rest as any side has been given in every previous finals series.

If we finish top 4 and have to travel first week of finals we play 1st or 2nd and those games are gruelling, without a win it just makes it harder and if we get the win it means we deal with the challenge of trying to hold form over the course of 2 back to back 14 day breaks.

1st or 2nd is out of reach so best case scenario for us is finish 5th and get Roos or Demons in a home elim final and smash them. Then we travel to take on one of the 2 losing top 4 sides who've had a much harder first final [likely one they had to travel for] which we win because we've got the fresher legs. Then the following week we ambush a top side who's spent most of the finals on holidays while we've been building form. Then whoever we meet in the final we've got a huge chance against unless its hawthorn, and even if it is we know we can beat them and no player worth a dam is going to allow last years GF embarrassment to happen twice.

 

[Eagle got a win]

Imagine with we won the premiership without Nic Nat.
Be great but I want Nic Nat to have a premiership Medal.

Unfortunately Nics going to have to win his medal at the same time we are going for our three peat.

 

[Yamumluvsbigcox]

It's like a flog barrett sliding doors
if..... you think wce are still a chance to contend without natanui

then....your in denial .

 

[CM9000]

Let's put things into perspective, who is Lycett better than?

Sydney:
*Callum Sinclair, great for us but terrible for Sydney, Scotty's better then him.
*Toby Nankervis, unproven and still raw, Scotty would beat him 90% of the time,

Hawthorn:
*Ben McEvoy, a good competitor, Scotty beat him on Friday easy.

Adelaide:
*Sam Jacobs, a very good ruckman (I will admit), but Scotty can bring it up to him.

Geelong:
*Zac Smith, good ruckman, but Scotty would beat him with his hardness at the contest.
*Mark Blicavs, barely rucks.
*Rhys Stanley, great athleticism, comparable to Lobb when it comes to rucking, Scotty should best him.

GWS:
*Mumford's annoying, toughness an aspect of his game, Scotty would keep up with him.

Footscray:
*Tom Campbell, haven't really seen much of him, so I'm guessing he's just average, easily beaten.

North Melbourne/Melbourne:
*Gawn/Goldstein may pose a major threat against us, but Scotty's toughness plus our defence should hold up.

If Lycett keeps improving, or magically pulls the post Gardiner form of Dean Cox, we should be alright.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Let's put things into perspective, who is Lycett better than?

Sydney:
*Callum Sinclair, great for us but terrible for Sydney, Scotty's better then him.
*Toby Nankervis, unproven and still raw, Scotty would beat him 90% of the time,

Hawthorn:
*Ben McEvoy, a good competitor, Scotty beat him on Friday easy.

Adelaide:
*Sam Jacobs, a very good ruckman (I will admit), but Scotty can bring it up to him.

Geelong:
*Zac Smith, good ruckman, but Scotty would beat him with his hardness at the contest.
*Mark Blicavs, barely rucks.
*Rhys Stanley, great athleticism, comparable to Lobb when it comes to rucking, Scotty should best him.

GWS:
*Mumford's annoying, toughness an aspect of his game, Scotty would keep up with him.

Footscray:
*Tom Campbell, haven't really seen much of him, so I'm guessing he's just average, easily beaten.

North Melbourne/Melbourne:
*Gawn/Goldstein may pose a major threat against us, but Scotty's toughness plus our defence should hold up.

If Lycett keeps improving, or magically pulls the post Gardiner form of Dean Cox, we should be alright.

It's all about Naitanui's work in the clearances and around the contest though, not just the ruck work. It's a devastating blow for our midfield.

 

[CM9000]

It's all about Naitanui's work in the clearances and around the contest though, not just the ruck work. It's a devastating blow for our midfield.

I know, I'm just referring to the best aspect of Nic's game.

 

[dave123]

Let's put things into perspective, who is Lycett better than?

Sydney:
*Callum Sinclair, great for us but terrible for Sydney, Scotty's better then him.
*Toby Nankervis, unproven and still raw, Scotty would beat him 90% of the time,

Hawthorn:
*Ben McEvoy, a good competitor, Scotty beat him on Friday easy.

Adelaide:
*Sam Jacobs, a very good ruckman (I will admit), but Scotty can bring it up to him.

Geelong:
*Zac Smith, good ruckman, but Scotty would beat him with his hardness at the contest.
*Mark Blicavs, barely rucks.
*Rhys Stanley, great athleticism, comparable to Lobb when it comes to rucking, Scotty should best him.

GWS:
*Mumford's annoying, toughness an aspect of his game, Scotty would keep up with him.

Footscray:
*Tom Campbell, haven't really seen much of him, so I'm guessing he's just average, easily beaten.

North Melbourne/Melbourne:
*Gawn/Goldstein may pose a major threat against us, but Scotty's toughness plus our defence should hold up.

If Lycett keeps improving, or magically pulls the post Gardiner form of Dean Cox, we should be alright.

I agreè

Our forward line and defense are brilliant

I reckon we can beat crows next week

 

[eagles rule]

Honestly, who the hell cares if we don't go top 4. I don't. 5th or 6th we get a home final and its against one of the 2 weakest teams in finals. We have a week off after round 23 anyway which is automatically as much of a rest as any side has been given in every previous finals series.

If we finish top 4 and have to travel first week of finals we play 1st or 2nd and those games are gruelling, without a win it just makes it harder and if we get the win it means we deal with the challenge of trying to hold form over the course of 2 back to back 14 day breaks.

1st or 2nd is out of reach so best case scenario for us is finish 5th and get Roos or Demons in a home elim final and smash them. Then we travel to take on one of the 2 losing top 4 sides who've had a much harder first final [likely one they had to travel for] which we win because we've got the fresher legs. Then the following week we ambush a top side who's spent most of the finals on holidays while we've been building form. Then whoever we meet in the final we've got a huge chance against unless its hawthorn, and even if it is we know we can beat them and no player worth a dam is going to allow last years GF embarrassment to happen twice.

It`s a positive if we can get a home elimination final and a bonus if we can scrape into top 4 ,who knows what can happen in finals and the old cliché "you have to be in it to win it ."

 

[Moose1414]

Let's put things into perspective, who is Lycett better than?

Sydney:
*Callum Sinclair, great for us but terrible for Sydney, Scotty's better then him.
*Toby Nankervis, unproven and still raw, Scotty would beat him 90% of the time,

Hawthorn:
*Ben McEvoy, a good competitor, Scotty beat him on Friday easy.

Adelaide:
*Sam Jacobs, a very good ruckman (I will admit), but Scotty can bring it up to him.

Geelong:
*Zac Smith, good ruckman, but Scotty would beat him with his hardness at the contest.
*Mark Blicavs, barely rucks.
*Rhys Stanley, great athleticism, comparable to Lobb when it comes to rucking, Scotty should best him.

GWS:
*Mumford's annoying, toughness an aspect of his game, Scotty would keep up with him.

Footscray:
*Tom Campbell, haven't really seen much of him, so I'm guessing he's just average, easily beaten.

North Melbourne/Melbourne:
*Gawn/Goldstein may pose a major threat against us, but Scotty's toughness plus our defence should hold up.

If Lycett keeps improving, or magically pulls the post Gardiner form of Dean Cox, we should be alright.

Good post, you forgot Max Gawn. Form ruckman of the comp who Lycett also did fine against, probably shouldn't of won that game though but a wins a win.

 

[The Stid]

The mids are really going to need to stand up now. Hopefully Sheed was just that point of difference. We have looked better with him in the last two games. And hopefully Jetta has taken a lot of confidence out of last night, he knows he has the support of the boys and the club, lets hope he keeps it up, we could really use his skill set going into finals.

What I'm concerned about is if they believe they can only win with Nic playing, they looked devastated in the 4th and we fell away a bit, but... I have a feeling Lycett will go absolutely f**king beast mode.
He just needs to keep a cool head and not do anything stupid, unless it's on someone like Hodge in the GF.

 

[Eagleboy68]

Hopefully Scotty can do a Cox and take over the ruck in nics absence and rise to the occasion becoming our premier Ruckman.
When natanui comes back he can play the backup forward/ruck role so his body can be managed better.
Imagine the forward line of natanui, Kennedy, darling for opposition defenders to deal with.
If we have lobb then he plays forward and darling becomes our third tall.

Time for the positives that can come out of this

We can become stronger and I agree with the op we can make an impact this finals series with Scotty.
I love his aggression at the contest and some of his taps yesterday reminded me of nics.

 

[WCEswift]

Mids know they'll need to lift
Scotty will grow for it mark my words